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Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Prepare for on-farm post-harvest handling
  2. Grade, label and treat stock
  3. Pack produce
  4. Deliver produce to an on-farm storage facility and maintain hygiene levels
  5. Finalise and review basic post-harvest activities

Required Skills

Required skills

communicating with supervisor on postharvest activities and on own performance

communicating ideas on possible improvements

delivering produce to an onfarm storage facility

depurating andor purging stock

determining industry specifications prior to packaging

ensuring temperature control of produce

handling stock

maintaining postharvest storage facility hygiene levels

monitoring conditions of storage environment

providing oral reports to supervisor on postharvest activities

weighing grading labelling and treating a crop according to customer or market specifications

Literacy skills used for

interpreting market specifications

reading and writing labels

Numeracy skills used for

packing produce and stacking pallets

weighing or packing limitsrecommendations such as weights and numbers

Required knowledge

core temperature rigour and facilities required for storing stock during and after postharvest activities

environmental and biological requirements of live culture stock held for processing

humidity levels and their effect on the quality of produce

hygiene issues in the storage of seafood and aquatic products

methods of handling and transporting various types of stock or products and other postharvest activities

operation and maintenance of automatic or mechanised equipment

packaging standards relevant to the various distribution channels for seafood and other aquatic products

procedures for depurating andor purging tank operations

types of cooling systems appropriate to products

Evidence Required

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit

Assessment must confirm the ability to

carry out onfarm postharvest handling of stock safely and to enterprise standards and customer specifications including grading depurating purging applying relevant treatments packing storing and transporting

Assessment must confirm knowledge of

postharvest treatments

product quality

storage facility operations

work procedures relevant to onfarm postharvest operations

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment is to be conducted at the workplace or in a simulated work environment and involve a range of processes typically carried out for local species at an aquaculture enterprise

Resources may include

cooling equipment and ice

equipment necessary for carrying out postharvest treatments transport and storage

harvested stock

market or product specifications

monitoring equipment

packaging materials

work procedures for postharvest tasks

treatments appropriate to the harvested stock and methods of packing storage and transport

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods are suggested

demonstration

practical exercises

written or oral shortanswer testing

Guidance information for assessment

This unit may be assessed holistically with other units within a qualification


Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Cultured or held stock may include:

adults, broodstock (ready to breed), seedstock or stockers, eggs and sperm, fertilised eggs, larvae, post-larvae, seed, spat, hatchlings, yearlings, juveniles, fry, fingerlings, yearlings, smolt, sporophytes, seedlings and tissue cultures

finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic reptiles, amphibians, polychaete and oligochaete worms, plankton, micro-algae, seaweed, aquatic plants, live rock, sponges and other aquatic invertebrates

for human consumption (seafood), stockers for other farms, stockers for conservation or recreational fishing, display or companion animals (ornamentals), and other products including pearls, skins, shells, eggs, chemicals and pigments

wild caught, hatchery or nursery reared.

Relevant government regulations, licensing and other compliance requirements may include:

biodiversity and genetically modified organisms

biosecurity, translocation and quarantine

business or workplace operations, policies and practices

correct marketing names and labelling

environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control

food safety/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), hygiene and temperature control along chain of custody, and Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) Export Control (Fish) orders

health and welfare of aquatic animals

OHS hazard identification, risk assessment and control.

OHS guidelines may include:

appropriate workplace provision of first aid kits and fire extinguishers

clean, uncluttered, hygienic workplace

codes of practice, regulations and/or guidance notes which may apply in a jurisdiction or industry sector

enterprise-specific OHS procedures, policies or standards

hazard and risk assessment of workplace, maintenance activities and control measures

induction or training of staff, contractors and visitors in relevant OHS procedures and/or requirements to allow them to carry out their duties in a safe manner

OHS training register

safe lifting, carrying and handling techniques, including manual handling, and the handling and storage of hazardous substances

safe systems and procedures for confined space entry and the protection of people in the workplace

systems and procedures for the safe maintenance of property, machinery and equipment, including hydraulics and exposed moving parts

the appropriate use, maintenance and storage of PPE.

Food safety and hygiene regulations and procedures may include:

Australian Shellfish Sanitation program

equipment design, use, cleaning and maintenance

exporting requirements, including AQIS Export Control (Fish) orders

HACCP, food safety program, and other risk minimisation and quality assurance systems

location, construction and servicing of seafood premises

people, product and place hygiene and sanitation requirements

Primary Products Standard and the Australian Seafood Standard (voluntary)

product labelling, tracing and recall

receipt, storage and transportation of food, including seafood and aquatic products

requirements set out in Australian and New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) Food Standards Code and state and territory food regulations

temperature and contamination control along chain of custody.

ESD principles may include:

applying animal welfare ethics and procedures

control of effluents, chemical residues, contaminants, wastes and pollution

improving energy efficiency

increasing use of renewable, recyclable and recoverable resources

minimising noise, dust, light or odour emissions

preventing live cultured or held organisms from escaping into environment

reducing emissions of greenhouse gases

reducing energy use

reducing use of non-renewable resources

undertaking environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control.

PPE may include:

gloves, mitts or gauntlets, and protective hand and arm covering

protective hair, beard and boot covers

insulated protective clothing for freezers, chillers and refrigeration units

non-slip and waterproof boots (gumboots) or other safety footwear

protective eyewear, glasses and face mask

uniforms, overalls or protective clothing (e.g. mesh and waterproof aprons).

Specifications of post-harvest stock may include:

absence of pests or contaminants

alive or dead, and whole (not processed)

colour and appearance

hygiene standards

industry standards

other customer requirements

quality assurance

quantity

size, weight and grades

species

temperature ranges.

Workplace procedures may include:

care of stock

channels of communication

contamination controls

hygiene routines and standards

quality assurance

temperature ranges

weighing, using zero balance or scales.

Basic post-harvest activities may include:

anaesthesia or sedation

cool room storage

depuration or shellfish sanitation

dips, drips and sprays

icing, chilling, ice slurry or refrigeration

meeting quarantine or biosecurity requirements

on-facility transport of livestock or product

packing

preparation for off-facility transport of dead stock or product

purging or holding (live)

sorting, grading or removing half pearls from molluscs

washing, cleaning and hydrating.

Packaging materials may include:

container divisions to separate stock

foam lining

plastic bags and liners

substrate, including plastic mesh, coconut fibre, sawdust, paper cuttings and cotton wool

ties.

Containers may include:

bags

boxes, trays and crates

bulk bins

foam eskies

tanks.

Environmental conditions in the storage facility may include:

humidity

light

oxygen

protection from contamination and pests

salinity

temperature

waste products (nitrogenous and carbon dioxide).

Pests may include:

microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi

insects

rodents.