Poultry Processing Industry eTool

Poultry Processing Industry » Tasks

The following sections describe tasks that are common across the Poultry Processing plant.

Sanitation Worker

The job of a sanitation worker is one of the most hazardous jobs in the poultry processing industry. Sanitation workers may work a regular production shift, or they may be part of a special sanitation or cleaning crew.

Receiving & Killing

The receiving and killing operation is a largely automated process in most poultry plants and includes receiving live birds, killing, scalding, defeathering, and removing feet

Evisceration

The receiving and killing operation is a largely automated process in most poultry plants and includes receiving live birds, killing, scalding, defeathering, and removing feet.

Cutting & Deboning

After a chicken has been eviscerated and cleaned, it is prepared for packaging as a whole bird, or it may enter one of two processes: 1) the cutting process for preparation of a bone-in product, or 2) the cutting and deboning process for preparation of bone-out products.

Packout

Packaging is necessary to get the processed product from the plant to the consumer. It is generally a two-part procedure. First, the bird or bird parts are placed in a bag or package; and second, the package is placed in a shipping box. Poultry can be packaged in a wide variety of formats which range from minimal processing to maximum processing.

Warehousing

Once the chicken is packed in its shipping container, it is moved from the processing floor. Options are moving to a truck for immediate shipment or placement in a warehouse for storage. Lifting and moving heavy loads using awkward body postures is common practice.