Food Processing Occupations

Summary

Butchers may need to lift large cuts of meat.

Quick Facts: Food Processing Occupations
2010 Median Pay	$23,950 per year $11.51 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Less than high school
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	See How to Become One
Number of Jobs, 2010	311,300
Job Outlook, 2010-20	12% (About as fast as average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	37,400

What Food Processing Occupations Do

Food processing occupations include butchers and meat cutters; meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers; and operators and tenders of roasting, baking, and drying machinery. These workers cut, trim, or otherwise process food items, such as meat, or nonfood items, such as tobacco, for retail sale.

Work Environment

Workers in food processing occupations work in grocery stores or food processing facilities. All of these occupations require strenuous activity and may include exposure to hot or cold temperatures and dangerous equipment. Nearly all workers in food processing occupations work full time.

How to Become a Food Processing Worker

There are no formal education requirements for workers in food processing occupations; workers receive on-the-job training. Butchers usually enter the occupation after getting experience in a position such as a meat cutter in a grocery store or a line worker in a meat processing facility. Food preparation workers may need to be certified by the appropriate governmental agency to ensure conformity with health standards. Education and training for certification will most likely be carried out on the job.

Pay

The median annual wage of food processing occupations was $23,950 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of food processing occupations is expected to increase by 12 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Population growth and international trade will increase demand for these workers.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of food processing occupations with similar occupations.

O*NET

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about food processing occupations by contacting these additional resources.

What Food Processing Occupations Do About this section

Butchers prepare raw products for display and retail sale.

Food processing occupations include butchers and meat cutters; meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers; and operators and tenders of roasting, baking, and drying machinery. These workers cut, trim, or otherwise process food items, such as meat, or nonfood items, such as tobacco, for retail sale.

Duties

Butchers and meat cutters typically do the following:

• Cut steaks and chops and shape and tie roasts
• Grind meats for sale as chopped meats or sausage
• Maintain inventory quantities and track the freshness of products
• Sharpen knives and take care of equipment
• Clean all knives, equipment, and workspaces to meet health guidelines
• Prepare and package meats for display cases
• Create attractive displays to promote the sale of products
• Help customers with special orders

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers typically do the following:

• Perform a cut in the production of a meat, poultry, or fish product
• Clean, trim, and cut carcasses to prepare them for further processing
• Lift carcasses onto conveyors
• Inspect products for defects and irregularities
• Operate handtools, such as hand vacuums, knives, and saws
• Sharpen knives and take care of equipment
• Label or identify goods to make transporting and using them easy

Roasting, baking, and drying machinery operators and tenders typically do the following:

• Control the temperature, humidity, and pressure of machinery using thermostats and valves
• Ensure that gauges and sensors work properly by touching, seeing, and smelling the products they measure
• Watch the flow of products through machinery and listen for malfunctions
• Fill work orders, weigh, and otherwise check products to ensure accuracy

Butchers and meat cutters cut and trim meat from larger, wholesale portions into steaks, chops, roasts, and other cuts that shoppers want.

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers produce ready-to-eat, partially cooked, easy-to-prepare, and display-ready packages of meat, poultry, and fish products at processing plants, ultimately for sale in grocery and specialty food stores. This often involves filleting meat, poultry or fish; cutting it into bite-sized pieces; and adding vegetables, sauces, flavorings, or breading.

Fish cutters and trimmers remove non-edible parts and then cut the fish into steaks or fillets. In retail stores, these workers also may wait on customers and clean fish to order. Some processing is done aboard ships, where fish are caught, processed, and flash frozen to preserve freshness.

Roasting, baking, and drying machinery operators and tenders work primarily in animal processing plants but also roast, bake, or dry other food and nonfood products, such as tortillas, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, coffee beans, and tobacco products. They use equipment such as hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum dryers in their work.

The following are examples of types of food processing occupations:

Meat carvers have special skills that enhance the final presentation of meats.

Poultry eviscerators clean birds so that they can be made into various products.

Fish filleters use sharp knives and precise movements to separate fillets of fish from the bones.

Oyster shuckers and shrimp pickers separate the flesh of oysters and shrimp from the shells or exoskeleton for packaging and wholesale or retail sale.

Meat roasters, dryers, and fish smokers operate large commercial roasters, dryers, or smokers to prepare fish and other meats for packaging and sale in wholesale or retail outlets.

Commercial bakers and tortilla makers operate large mixing and baking machines to produce large quantities of baked goods, such as bread or tortillas.

Coffee roasters follow or create recipes to produce standard or specialty coffees.

Tobacco roasters cure tobacco for wholesale distribution to cigarette manufacturers and other makers of tobacco products.

Dryers of fruits and vegetables operate machines that produce raisins or other dehydrated foods.

Work Environment About this section

Fish trimmers and cutters usually work in factory settings.

There were about 311,300 food processing jobs in 2010. Most butchers and meat cutters work in retail stores, such as grocery stores. Most meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers work in food manufacturing plants.

Both environments require employees to stand for most, if not all, of their shift. Heavy lifting may be required, and working in cold rooms (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit) for extended periods is likely.

Retail grocery butchers often interact with customers and fill special orders. However, some butchers work in specialty shops that provide meat to restaurants; these butchers, therefore, have little contact with the general public. About 9 percent of butchers and meat cutters worked in animal slaughtering and processing plants in 2010.

Meat trimmers and cutters in the food processing industry may have a more limited range of activities and duties than do butchers and meat cutters. Because they are usually working on an assembly line, meat processing workers usually do one specific function (that is, one cut) during their shift. Workers often rotate between stations each shift. The retail food and beverage stores accounted for 18 percent of employment for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in 2010.

Operators of roasting, baking, and drying machinery may be exposed to high temperatures for long periods. Also, the environment may be loud. Heavy lifting is likely.

All of these occupations typically require the use of dangerous tools and machinery, such as knives, saws, and ovens. Workers may have to wear protective safety equipment or sanitary garments to prevent food from becoming contaminated.

Most workers in food processing occupations work full time.

Injuries

Workers in food processing occupations have a higher rate of injuries and illnesses than other manufacturing workers because of their constant exposure to sharp cutting tools. Rates have been improving over the past few decades and are expected to continue to improve.

How to Become a Food Processing Worker About this section

Butchers usually enter the occupation after getting experience in a related occupation, such as working as a meat cutter in a grocery store.

There are no formal education requirements for workers in food processing occupations; workers receive on-the-job training. Butchers usually enter the occupation after getting experience in a position such as a meat cutter in a grocery store or a line worker in a meat processing facility. Food preparation workers may need to be certified by the appropriate governmental agency to ensure conformity with health standards. Education and training for certification will most likely be carried out on the job.

Training

Butchers and meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers receive on-the-job training. The length of training varies considerably. Simple cutting operations require a few days to learn. More complicated cutting tasks generally require several months of training. The training period for butchers at the retail level may be 1 or 2 years. Apprentice butchers can spend several years learning the skills and building the strength they need to become fully qualified butchers.

Generally, trainees begin by doing less difficult jobs, such as making simple cuts or removing bones. Under the guidance of experienced workers, trainees learn the proper use and care of tools and equipment while also learning how to prepare various cuts of meat. After demonstrating skill with various meat cutting tools, trainees learn to divide wholesale cuts into retail and individual portions.

Trainees also may learn to roll and tie roasts, prepare sausage, and cure meat. Those employed in retail food establishments often are taught to perform basic business operations, such as inventory control, meat buying, and recordkeeping. In addition, growing concern about foodborne pathogens in meats has led employers to offer numerous seminars and extensive training in food safety to employees.

On-the-job training is common among food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders. These workers learn to run the different types of equipment by watching and helping other workers. Training can last anywhere from a month to a year, depending on the complexity of the tasks and the number of products involved.

Certification

Food handlers may need to be certified by an appropriate government agency. Specialized workers, including butchers who follow religious guidelines for food preparation, may be required to undergo a lengthy apprenticeship, certification process, or both before becoming completely qualified and endorsed by an organization to perform their duties.

Education

There are no formal education requirements for workers in food processing occupations. A degree in an appropriate area—dairy science for those working in dairy product operations, for example—can be helpful for advancing to a lead worker or supervisory role.

A bachelor’s or associate’s degree may allow a prospective butcher or manager to enter his or her occupation of choice more easily. There are programs that offer hands-on training cutting meat. There are also degree programs, such as meat merchandising and meat marketing, that are designed specifically for training butchers and meat sellers.

Important Qualities

Concentration. Workers in food processing occupations must be able to pay close attention to what they are doing so that they avoid injury and waste of product.

Coordination. Hand–eye coordination is needed to prepare products safely and in a timely manner.

Customer-service skills. Those who work in retail stores should be able to identify and meet the needs of customers while making them feel comfortable and happy about their purchases.

Listening skills. Workers must pay close attention to directions so they avoid costly mistakes.

Stamina. Workers in this occupation must be physically active for long periods.

Teamwork. Food processing occupations usually require high levels of teamwork, and workers are often closely supported by managerial staff.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of food processing occupations was $23,950 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,600, and the top 10 percent earned more than $40,350.

Median wages for food processing occupations in May 2010 were as follows:

• $28,600 for butchers and meat cutters
• $27,140 for food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders
• $22,330 for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers

Most workers in food processing occupations work full time. Like many workers in manufacturing, those in food processing occupations may work a shift that requires either early mornings or nights and evenings.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of food processing occupations is expected to grow by 12 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. More people around the world are demanding prepared and pre-cut food. Also, more people are buying partially prepared and easy-to-cook products. Both of these trends are expected to drive demand for food processing workers. These trends will create growth in the occupation even as new machines make the work more productive.

As the food processing industry becomes more consolidated, production processes become more streamlined. Therefore, the ability of processing facilities to employ meat cutters and trimmers should remain strong because of reduced costs in other areas of the industry.

A growing global population and increasing wealth among developing countries should cause demand for meat to increase worldwide. This is especially true for U.S.-made food products because they are produced to comparatively high food safety standards. Increased demand and steady turnover create good prospects for those wanting to enter food processing occupations.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For information about the meat processing industry and related trends, visit

American Meat Institute