RSPH

Poultry processors can now improve their post mortem inspection capability, following the development of a revised proficiency qualification for Plant Inspection Assistants (PIAs).

A new Level 2 Award for Proficiency in Poultry Meat Inspection is now available through Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). The award, which has been developed by sector skills council Improve, working in partnership with the Meat Hygiene Service, Food Standards Agency, British Poultry Council, RSPH and sector employers, is designed to provide the learning outcomes and to assess the proficiency of PIAs in carrying out poultry post-mortem checks.

The award has been developed in response to the identified skills needs of employers in poultry processing, as Derek Williams, Development Director at Improve, highlights; ‘The main benefit of the new qualification is that training and assessment can be provided on and close-to the job’. The focus of the award is on proving the overall competence of PIAs to perform consistently in carrying out practical, post-mortem inspection work. The qualification is structured into three core units – practical skills, the background knowledge that underpins these skills, and understanding of food safety procedures. The food safety unit is common to all who undertake the qualification, while the skills and underpinning knowledge units are tailored for specific types of bird. PIAs can therefore undertake a relevant Award depending on whether they work with broilers and hens, turkeys, ducks and geese, or non-hunted game birds.

Dr Richard Burton, qualifications development manager at RSPH, said: “RSPH has a long history in the development and delivery of qualifications for poultry meat hygiene and inspection. We are proud to have been involved with Improve and the FSA in the development of this new qualification, which will enable poultry plants to tailor the assessment of their staff to their particular requirements.”

Organisations that would like to become approved centres for the delivery of this qualification should contact Dr Richard Burton at RSPH by emailing rburton@rsph.org.uk or telephoning 020 3177 1650.

For further information, go to www.rsph.org.uk