Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required for the humane, effective and hygienic bleeding of animals.
This unit is applicable to workers in registered slaughtering establishments.
All work should be carried out to comply with workplace procedures, customer requirements and product specifications.
This unit applies to individuals who work under broad direction and take responsibility for their own work including limited responsibility for the work of others. They provide and communicate solutions to a range of predictable problems.
No occupational licensing, legislative or certification requirements are known to apply to this unit at the time of publication.
This unit must be delivered and assessed in the context of Australian meat processing standards and regulations.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Element | Performance criteria |
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Stick and bleed the animal | 1.1 Accurately locate and identify major blood vessels, trachea and/or oesophagus 1.2 Use knife to sever the major blood vessels safely and hygienically to workplace requirements 1.3 Stick animal in manner to avoid undue and unnecessary suffering to the animal in accordance with animal welfare requirements 1.4 Make incision exposing the trachea or oesophagus in accordance with animal welfare, regulatory and workplace requirements, where part of work instruction 1.5 Conduct sticking procedures to minimise risk of contamination to the carcase and to maintain product quality 1.6 Identify and explain threats of contamination and cross-contamination in the sticking process 1.7 Bleed animal in a fast and complete process to avoid undue suffering 1.8 Bleed carcase in accordance with workplace and regulatory requirements |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must humanely, effectively and hygienically bleed animals.
The candidate must:
demonstrate effective sticking of animal in accordance with workplace health and safety and workplace requirements
maintain, clean and handle knives safely and hygienically
apply communication skills relevant to work instructions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
apply relevant regulatory requirements
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must demonstrate a factual, technical, procedural and theoretical knowledge of:
religious requirements, where relevant
animal welfare considerations and animal welfare requirements
consequences of an incomplete bleed for the quality of the product
purpose of sticking
purpose of a fast and complete bleed
anatomical structures relevant to sticking, including variations between species
relevant regulatory requirements
potential causes of contamination and cross-contamination
requirements of the Animal Welfare standards and regulations, and enterprise ethical standards relating to the bleeding of animals
Assessment Conditions
Assessment must occur in a registered slaughtering establishment under normal production conditions.
Competency must be demonstrated at normal chain speed.
As a minimum the following three forms of assessment must be used:
quiz of underpinning knowledge
workplace demonstration
workplace referee or third-party report of performance over time
Assessors must satisfy the current standards for RTOs.
Foundation Skills
Foundation Skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.