Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to utilise the Meats Standards Australia (MSA) system in order to improve demand for beef and sheep products and achieve an associated shift in price and volume.
Participants in the MSA program must be licensed to use the Trade Mark and Certified products.
This unit is suitable for people working in food services, boning rooms or meat retailing enterprises.
All training must be conducted in accordance with Australian meat industry standards and regulations.
All work should be carried out to comply with workplace requirements and hygiene standards.
This unit applies to individuals who work under broad direction and take responsibility for their own work.
No occupational licensing, legislative or certification requirements are known to apply to this unit at the time of publication.
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. Implement the MSA system | 1.1 Describe how and why MSA was developed 1.2 Identify factors that affect eating quality 1.3 Cut product for each approved cooking method |
2. Describe the licensing requirements for an MSA end user | 2.1 Use MSA Standards Manual 2.2 Identify accurate methods of MSA product identification 2.3 Interpret carton end panels and carcase cut and cook reports accurately 2.4 Describe the MSA customer complaint system |
3. Explore value adding opportunities through eating quality principles | 3.1 Identify primals and sub-primal cuts 3.2 Value-add primals by seaming into individual muscles 3.3 Prepare product according to MSA approved eating quality and cooking methods |
4. Investigate potential profit opportunities through value adding techniques | 4.1 Investigate variation in yield differences between preparing product traditionally versus value-adding 4.2 Investigate gross profit of preparing product traditionally versus value-adding 4.3 identify differences in portion sizes between traditionally prepared product and value-added product |
Evidence of Performance
Evidence must demonstrate the candidate's consistency of performance over time.
The candidate must:
accurately identify MSA products
apply value adding techniques to a range of beef or sheepmeat primal using MSA eating quality principles
investigate gross profit percentages of selling sub-primal cuts versus traditionally sliced
demonstrate active listening in relation to customer complaints
complete an MSA customer complaint form and provide all necessary information
apply relevant workplace health and safety, regulatory and workplace requirements
use relevant communication skills
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must demonstrate a factual, technical, procedural and theoretical knowledge of:
differences between the MSA beef and sheepmeat programs
variables that impact on eating quality
key elements of the MSA program
relationship between cut and cooking method
consumer taste test system on which MSA is based
relevant workplace health and safety, regulatory and workplace requirements
primals that have variable eating quality
sources of information on the MSA program
benefits of MSA
MSA approved cooking methods and describe their preparation requirements
value-added options using muscle seaming
Assessment Conditions
Competency must be demonstrated over time and under typical operating conditions for the enterprise.
Assessment must occur in the workplace under normal operating conditions or in a simulated environment.
The following three forms of assessment must be used:
quiz of underpinning knowledge
demonstration in the workplace or simulated environment
workplace referee or third-party report of performance over time
Assessors must satisfy current standards for RTOs.
Foundation Skills
Foundation Skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.