MEAT & POULTRY INSPECTOR - CIRCUIT 2-2 (BUREAU CO - target title for posting 52141)

State of Illinois•Springfield, IL

4d•$5,369 - $7,368

About The Position

The Department of Agriculture is seeking to hire a Meat and Poultry Inspector in the Bureau County area. This position does have a residency requirement of Bureau, Lee, LaSalle, or Putnam county. Meat and Poultry Inspectors are essential employees on the front lines of protecting our food production system. The successful candidate will monitor and inspect animals and animal products from slaughter to processing to packaging and labeling. We invite qualified applicants to apply for this position to help the Department of Agriculture ensure the production of safe and wholesome meat and poultry products. The Illinois Department of Agriculture administers an annual budget of approximately $200 million and employs more than 400 people statewide, with several hundred more seasonal employees hired during the summer to support the Illinois State Fair and Du Quoin State Fair. Separate bureaus administer programs and services directed at conserving the State's land and water resources; protecting the health and welfare of livestock and companion animals; overseeing state and county fairs; regulating seed, feed, and fertilizer products; ensuring the financial stability of grain dealers and warehouses; promoting Illinois food and agricultural products; and operating the State's horse racing programs. AGR values employees with different backgrounds, life experiences, and talents.

Requirements

Requires knowledge, skill, and mental development equivalent to the completion of high school (preferably with courses in algebra, biology, or chemistry).
Requires the successful completion of an agency approved meat and poultry inspection training program.
Requires a valid Driver’s License and ability to travel between job assignments.
Requires ability to lift materials weighing up to 20 pounds, bend and stoop in the inspection of animals.
Requires ability to successfully pass background check.
Requires ability to tolerate exposure to unpleasant odors in slaughterhouses and in meat preparation areas, to extreme cold in meat lockers and heat in processing areas.
Requires ability to use safety practices around dangerous meat cutting and processing machinery.
Requires the ability to work overtime on occasion, which may include weekends or holidays.
Requires the ability to pass a pre-employment physical.
Requires residency in Bureau, Lee, Putnam or LaSalle Co.

Nice To Haves

Prefers working knowledge of the methods and techniques of antemortem and postmortem inspections involving meat producing animals and poultry.
Prefers working knowledge of applicable laws, rules and regulations governing the inspection and processing of meat and poultry products.
Prefers working knowledge of the use of additives and preservatives used in processing meat and poultry products.
Prefers experience conducting antemortem and postmortem inspections of animals, poultry, carcasses and parts to determine the presence or absence of disease or abnormal conditions.
Prefers experience removing, dissecting and analyzing glands, organs and parts of animals for signs of obvious disease.
Prefers elementary knowledge of computer hardware and software.
Prefers experience operating a computer and the software and database applications utilized by the agency.
Prefers experience analyzing and determining the compliance of processing procedures and formulations to law and regulations.

Responsibilities

Performs processing inspections in state and/or federal plants on a variety of fresh, smoked, cured or cooked meat and poultry products.
Conducts antemortem and postmortem inspections in state and/or federal plants of animals and/or poultry.
Inspects processing procedures in plants daily, for proper product formulations and labeling on product.
Submits product samples for laboratory analysis to determine compliance with laws and regulations.
Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above.