8 Facts About Industrial Butchers

Last Updated on July 14, 2024

Butchery is one of the oldest professions in the food and beverage industry. This profession dates all the way back to the domestication of livestock when butchers formed guilds in England. That’s as far back as 1272! It encompasses the art and skills of cutting, preparing and selling meat products.

Although butchery is a vital important profession much of the meat that you purchase in the supermarket is cut and processing in food processing plants. This career profile investigates the exciting careers of butchers – more specifically, the jobs of industrial butchers. They’re similar but not quite the same as retail butchers. The major difference is that industrial butchers primarily work in food processing plants and not supermarkets/specialty stores that cater directly to consumers.

1. Industrial Butchers prepare and process meat

Industrial butchers (meat cutters) prepare meat for customers by boning, tying, grinding, cutting and trimming meat. They safely use a combination of knives and specialized equipment to turn farm-raised animals into safe meat products that adhere to industry, governmental and organizational standards. To correctly cut meat, butchers must have a strong knowledge of animal anatomy. Some examples of tasks that they may perform include:

• Breaking carcasses into larger cuts for other departments
• Preparing individual portions by breaking larger portions of meat
• Removing bones and cutting meat into specific cuts

During these tasks, industrial butchers will also inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them and any excess fat. Additionally, meat cutters maintain and clean their workstations to reduce the risk of food contamination and adhere to food safety guidelines. Cleaning includes washing down stations, taking apart and putting equipment back together.

2. Industrial Butchers do not need postsecondary degrees

Becoming an industrial butcher is a great career if you are looking for a job that does not require a postsecondary degree. Generally, employers only require a high school diploma or equivalent. Many food processors will hire with no past work experience and are willing to train their employees. However, it is typical that meat cutters will not be immediately placed on the line but instead will perform adjacent meat cutting duties until they are fully trained. This might include assisting with general packing and working on the line. However, in recent years more opportunities have arisen allowing an individual to become a certified meat cutter. For example, Food Processing Skills Canada offers a certified industrial meat cutter certification which recognizes individuals who meet standards defining competence in the meat field.

3. Industrial Butchers understand meat

Although it might sound obvious, butchers truly understand meat. Some trained butchers even learn how to make sausages, cure meat and roll roasts. These techniques are also considered to be an art in themselves. If you want to test this knowledge out for yourselves, drop by your local butcher shop and ask your butcher a few questions.

4. Industrial Butchers know how to use processing equipment

Depending on their position, a fish worker may be required to control automated machinery. Some common pieces of machinery found in processing plants include:

• Sausage Stuffers
• Grinders
• Coolers and freezers
• Slicers

As a machine operator, an individual must know how to set up, maintain, and disassemble equipment based on a product’s requirements. Furthermore, they must closely monitor machinery during production runs. If they notice that the products do not match company standards they will perform corrective machine adjustments and let quality assurance become aware of the problem.

Related: Interview with Ryan Kippers, Planning and Analysis Team Lead at Conestoga Meats

5. Industrial Butchers can have physically demanding jobs

For a variety of reasons, butchering is considered a physically demanding profession. Firstly, butchers must stand for long periods and continuously repeat the same movements. Depending on their position they may be required to lift large boxes to different facility areas. In recent years, employers have focused on cross-functionally training employees to prevent the job from becoming too repetitive. Cross-functional training is when an individual is trained to do multiple roles. Therefore, an industrial butcher may debone chickens during the morning shift but in the afternoon may shift to cutting the chickens into individual portions.

6. Industrial Butchers work in cold environments

Butchers work in cold environments to preserve the freshness of meat products and prevent the growth of bacteria. That means entire food processing areas can be chilled like one giant refrigerator! Butchers keep up with the cold by wearing layers and taking breaks in warmer areas of the facility. Both aspects are fundamental because fatigue happens faster in cold environments.

7. Industrial Butchers work cleanly

Extra care has to be taken when keeping equipment clean and sanitized at meat processing facilities. Equipment used at these processing facilities can harbour bacteria such E.coli, Salmonella and Clostridium. If an individual were to consume these bacteria they could get very sick or even die. Therefore, butchers need to clean their tools and work surfaces frequently.

Keeping things clean is a facility-wide effort. In addition to the cleaning above during scheduled intervals meat processing plants are cleaned thoroughly. Foam cleaners are used that cover the entire room including walls and floors. This foam cleaner helps to get in all the small cracks where bacteria could grow. Once the foaming agent has been applied, cleaners will manually scrub and wash all areas. Scrubbing agitates bacteria’s membrane essentially killing them. Once scrubbed the cleaning process is completed by rinsing down the surfaces and adding a sanitizer to the surfaces.   

8. Industrial Butchers have manual dexterity, attention for detail and stamina

Being an industrial butcher demands a diverse range of skills, but some are absolutely essential. These skills are not just beneficial, they’re crucial for success in this role:

•  Manual dexterity – Butchers work in cold environments which can be uncomfortable and cause a butcher’s hands to become numb. These professionals need to have the dexterity to work in both warm and cold conditions and consistently perform the correct cuts of meat.

• Attention to detail – Properly breaking down a cow (or any other animal) requires a high degree of vigilance. A single incorrect cut could ruin a good piece of meat or even cause injury to oneself. Additionally, meat cutters must pay close attention to the meat for defects, bruises or blemishes during the cutting process. 

•  Physical Stamina – Most of a butcher’s job occurs on their feet. Butchers are comfortable spending their entire jobs on their feet bending, twisting, turning and other associated actions. As you can imagine, this is a very physical occupation!