All enterprise or workplace procedures and activities are carried out according to relevant government regulations, licensing and other compliance requirements, including food safety and hygiene regulations and procedures and ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles.

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Gather and collate information regarding food and related product specifications

1.1. Information related tonew product specification is sought from production trials and/or laboratory tests.

1.2. Existing specifications relating to new product components and/or process are collated and confirmed.

1.3. End user requirements for specification/formulations are confirmed.

2. Plan development of final formulation to achieve results within agreed timeframe

2.1. Requirements for development of final formulation are established from product specifications and confirmed.

2.2. Ingredients and/or processes required to produce product to profile are identified, costed and confirmed.

2.3. Consistency of ingredient supply against specifications is confirmed.

2.4. Constraints to formulation planning are identified and solutions proposed to minimise delay.

2.5. Documentation of formulation is completed.

3. Finalise and publish formulations and/or specifications

3.1. Product formulation and specifications are clear, accurate and convey information critical to reproduction of product.

3.2. Information regarding formulation and preparation of product is concise, accurate and in a format which meets customer needs.

3.3. Customers are canvassed to ensure product developed from formulation meets specifications and/or requirements.

3.4. Formulation and/or specifications developed meet relevant requirements.

4. Record formulations and product specifications

4.1. Product formulations and specifications are maintained and authorised changes are accurate and implemented in a timely manner.

4.2. Publishing and maintenance of formulations and/or specifications are correctly completed.

4.3. Personnel affected by changes in formulations or specifications are informed within timeframes which optimise efficiency of performance.

Required skills

collecting, recording and analysing data

communicating with work teams, managers and/or customers

identifying control points in accordance with enterprise food safety plan

identifying suitable components and/or ingredients to match product specifications

interpreting information from production trials, laboratory tests, standards and/or raw material specifications

optimising processing and/or production equipment or facilities

prioritising tasks and giving appropriate attention to detail

solving problems.

Literacy skills used for:

addressing cultural issues in written materials

reading and interpreting information

recording and interpreting data

writing formulations and/or technical specifications.

Numeracy skills used for:

calculating averages and percentages

calculating volume, time and relationship between temperature, pressure and flow

estimating costs.

Required knowledge

allowable additives and basic food chemistry

enterprise product costing methodology

food regulations pertaining to the product

food safety requirements and microbiology

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and the enterprise food safety plan

material safety data sheets (MSDS) information, and how to access

requirements of a product specification.

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:

manage formulations and/or specifications to ensure continuing conformance with any change to regulations or food safety standards which may affect the product

perform tasks necessary to develop formulations and/or specifications for a seafood product from information sought or supplied, and to present the information in a manner which supports the integrity of the finished product.

Assessment must confirm knowledge of:

enterprise expectations of the new or revised product

food safety requirements, including HACCP planning needs

relevant standards

enterprise standard operating procedures (SOPs)

location and use of MSDS

location, availability and suitability of raw material inputs

special language needs of the workforce.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment may be conducted in the workplace or in a simulated work environment.

Resources may include:

access to enterprise expertise in production, processing and/or engineering

enterprise HACCP plan

enterprise SOPs

food safety and other relevant standards

MSDS

product costing information sufficient to confirm relevant aspects of assessment

relevant data/information from production trials and/or laboratory tests.

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods are suggested:

project (work or scenario based)

workplace documents, such as logs, calculations and reports

written or oral questions.

Guidance information for assessment

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

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.

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

ESD principles, environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control

food safety, HACCP, hygiene and temperature control along chain of custody

imports quarantine and inspection, and importing approved arrangements for Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS), Australian Customs Service (ACS) and Biosecurity Australia (BA)

business or workplace operations, policies and practices:

commercial law, including fair trading and trade practices

consumer law

corporate law, including registration, licensing and financial reporting

disability policies and practices

equal opportunity, anti-discrimination and sexual harassment

industrial relations and awards, individual employment contracts and share of catch agreements

jurisdictional variations

superannuation

taxation

trade practices

warnings and dismissals

worker's compensation

occupational health and safety (OHS) hazard identification, risk assessment and control

product quality assurance:

correct naming and labelling (e.g. country of origin, Australian Fish Names Standard and eco-labelling)

correct quantities, sizes and other customer requirements

third-party certification (e.g. Australian Grown and ISO 14001:2004 Environmental management systems).

Food safety and hygiene regulations and procedures may include:

Australian Shellfish Sanitation program

display, packaging and sale of food, including seafood and aquatic products

equipment design, use, cleaning and maintenance

exporting requirements, including AQIS Export Control (Fish) orders

handling and disposal of condemned or recalled seafood products

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)

processing, further processing and preparation of food, including seafood and aquatic products

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:

increasing use of renewable, recyclable and recoverable resources

managing environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control

managing, controlling and treating effluents, chemical residues, contaminants, wastes and pollution

minimising noise, dust, light or odour emissions

planning environmental and resource efficiency improvements

reducing emissions of greenhouse gases

reducing use of non-renewable resources

reducing energy use and introducing alternative energy sources.

Information related tonew product may come from:

a need to address new quality standards

customer requests

external sources

MSDS

new product concepts

pre-production trials.

Requirements for development may include:

training needs

marketing considerations

meeting OHS and food safety regulatory requirements

packaging production

production planning

selection of suppliers

supply of raw materials.

Customer needs may include:

formulation data and specifications, and preparation instructions for internal staff

information in a format understood by staff

specific country labelling requirements.

Unit sector

Seafood processing

This unit contains employability skills.