Our eight-month Food Processing (Animal Proteins) certificate program (11-months for international students), focuses on providing the skills and experiences needed to immediately begin working in Canada’s growing meat processing industry.
Students learn all aspects of the retail meat cuttingbutcher trade, as well as develop specialized industrial skills in high demand by local employers in the meat processing industry.
Program Learning Outcomes
Understand the fundamentals of meat theory including meat structure, nutrition, grading and inspection. Order, judge and select meats.
Use safe and sanitary practices relating to meat storage and handling.
Prepare fresh meat (poultry, beef, pork, goat and lamb), fish, poultry and value-added items.Process pork carcasses into primal cuts.
Butcher and package pork primal cuts into value-added specifications for local, national and international premium markets.
Carry out other tasks related to the processing of meat for shipping to customers or storage.
Care for and safely operate hand tools and power meat-cutting equipment.
Provide quality customer service during the Retail Meat Store training component.
Engage in business fundamentals, including purchasing, receiving, marketing strategies, inventory control and product merchandising.
Apply business math techniques in profit principles, retail pricing and spreadsheet analysis.
Adhere to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and food safety standards.
Examples of jobs that graduates from the program can do:
Graduates may find work as industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers that prepare meat and poultry for further processing or for packaging for wholesale distribution. They are employed in meat and poultry slaughtering, processing and packing establishments.
Graduates may also find work as retail meat cutters, meat processes, and butchers that prepare standard and specialty cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments. They are employed in industrial settings such as food processing plants, or retail settings such as supermarkets or butcher shops.