MEAT INSPECTOR

JOB DESCRIPTION

A Meat Inspector plays an important role in keeping our food safe! They follow the entire manufacturing process right from livestock to the end product to ensure all proper food safety regulations are being followed and that your meat is free from contamination.

Meat Inspectors are similar to Food Safety Auditors, except their focus and specialty lies in the regulations surrounding meat production and contamination such as pork, beef, lamb, poultry, and sometimes seafood (usually that’s a special area on its own). Inspectors frequently make a presence in the plant to ensure the animals are healthy, the equipment & facility is properly sanitized, and all food safety measures are in place and being followed!

No day is ever the same. Meat inspectors do a fair amount of travel within the province and across Canada to visit different abattoirs and meat processing facilities. If you enjoy working independently, taking initiative and driving your own workload, this career has the potential to be a very good fit for you. You’ll still get lots of time to connect with people when you visit the plants.

Watch How to Become a USDA Meat Inspector here

THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

The temperatures in meat processing facilities vary from hot, to cold, to freezing – so you’ll be exposed to fluctuating temperatures as you perform checks, document and observe.

Inspectors perform post-mortem analysis’ on livestock, which means that you will see and work with animal carcasses prior to processing. You will also see the various phases of processing which some may find unpleasant or unsettling. Different odours exist throughout the plant that are unavoidable when working in meat production. Unfortunately, this is something that is hard to get around when working with meat & poultry.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is worn throughout the plant to keep you safe and the plant uncontaminated, this includes a lab coat, hair/ beard nets, gloves, masks, safety goggles, steel toes shoes or boots, and other safety equipment as required. You’ll also have to comply with any PPE required for testing labs. Inspectors are regularly on their feet, walking around the plant floor or standing for long hours, so endurance is required.

A portion of your time will be spent at a digital workstation to complete reports and other documentation, during these times your workspace will be more like a classic office environment.

FACT: Some meat and poultry plants are capable of processing hundreds or even thousands of livestock per day!

MEAT INSPECTOR SALARY

Low Range

$37K+ annually
$19 per hour

Average

$64K+ annually
$33+ per hour

High Range

$83K+ annually
$43+ per hour

*Annual salary calculated by 37.5 hr work week, and by a 52 weeks per year

Your breadth of experience, education, your employer and your location are all good determinants for your wage, usually, inspector positions are salaried. Some provinces produce more meat and simply have a higher demand for inspectors and may pay more to attract more qualified candidates.

Most inspectors are employed by the provincial or federal government and there’s a whole slew of benefits that come with the job to increase its attractiveness! Benefits could include RRSP matching, a pension, educational opportunities, language training opportunities, overtime pay, travelling allowances, cellphone coverage, health and wellness benefits, etc. Due to the nature of the job, you may also have to work on evenings or weekends and receive additional compensation.

Large and super-sized meat plants often have their own meat inspectors on staff, to work alongside the government inspectors. An oversight in food safety could cost a plant millions in lost revenues, so they dedicate a person or small team to ensure adherence. When working directly with a meat company perks may include discounts on their products.

MEAT INSPECTOR JOB DUTIES

Here are some of the job responsibilities that you’ll be involved in as a Meat Inspector:

Inspect animals to determine their state of health, observing any possible diseases or other problems.
Inspect animal carcasses post-mortem to determine if they are fit for human consumption, closely observing for suspected diseases.
Ensuring the proper disposal and destruction of unfit meat
Inspect meat processing facilities for sanitation procedures and conditions, performing swabs and other forms of tests to ensure adherence to strict sanitation standards.
Ensure facility’s compliance with federal and/ or provincial regulations for meat product manufacturing, including all food safety protocols and any relevant workplace health and safety concerns.
Monitoring daily operations and food safety compliance of the employees
Ensuring that facilities are adhering to regular standards such as GMPs, SOPs and SSOPs.
Performing daily maintenance inspection
Grading different types and cuts of meat
Communicating with regulatory officials, compliance auditors, safety inspectors and other external facility personnel
Directing and performing shelf-life studies for material freshness, molding, aging and preservation.
Performing quality control checks.
Examining samples and sending them to testing labs for routine checks, as well as preparing reports about test results.
Managing nutritional labeling requirements
Managing vendor certification programs
Monitors final products, packaging, storing and shipping

FACT: Meat Inspectors travel all over Canada.

BECOMING A MEAT INSPECTOR

Competitiveness & Availability

Meat Inspectors have a solid career outlook! It’s not the sexiest of jobs, but it’s certainly a reliable job with a steady customer base. So as long as consumers are still making bacon & sausages for breakfast and indulging in steak dinners – it’s pretty safe to say that you’ve got a job!

There are tons of food safety infractions, and meat inspectors have the duty of catching and reporting these infractions and making sure that companies actually fix the problems afterward. Being a regulator and enforcer, sometimes means that people may not agree with your assessments or be particularly happy to see you in general. Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to make fair judgement calls, go a long way when working with people and will ultimately help distinguish you from other inspectors, giving you a leg up. Remember, we all have the same goal, but there’s a way of working with people to get the best results – this will be your competitive edge and means for advancement.

Advancement Opportunities

All meat inspectors should have the same level of education and training, so advancement opportunities are going to come from differences in experience level and higher-level credentials such as PhDs in the sciences.

Some inspectors specialize in different types of meat or in different stages of production, such as the care and health of the livestock or large-scale production. This is where the breadth of your experience really comes into play in terms of advancement opportunities – the more exposure you have, the better positioned you are to take on more senior roles.

There are even a few director-level positions for extremely experienced inspectors with a minimum of 15+ years of experience. Directors may run departments or regions of inspectors on the ground.

Education

For this role, you’re going to need an educational background in a science-related field such as food science, biochemistry, food technology, animal health & science, agriculture, chemistry, microbiology, managing food quality, food engineering, etc. To do this job, it’s absolutely mandatory that you have sound knowledge of animal diseases and pathology, as well as the purpose behind food safety practices.

Most Meat Inspectors work for the Federal or Provincial government where they have an additional 2-3 year on-the-job training program before you can perform as an independent inspector.

Throughout Canada, many Colleges offer programs where you can gain a Meat Cutter Certification – which isn’t necessary but will definitely help you move up the ladder quicker when it comes to career advancement. Also, programs may have an educational internship portion, exposing you to a variety of situations to allow you to gain more perspective on what to look for.

A Food Safe Certificate and other industry-specific training is highly attractive for employers, and a sure way to show that you care. You may want to consider some short courses in food safety and other industry-related topics, such as: