There are many techniques used by the food processing industry to preserve food, maintain its consistency, make sure that it is available all year round, and improve its flavor. It is also important for them to market and distribute food which is made easier by food processing.
The food processing industry is known for its vastness and extreme diversity. You will find many different categories of food processing. Workers in the food processing industry are highly skilled since their job entails processing raw foods into products that are marketed to grocers, wholesalers, and institutional food services.
One category is in animal slaughtering plants where the workers are meat and fish cutters and trimmers. The different kinds of meat that they cut and trim are whole beef, pork, poultry, and fish. This plant can also process fabricated meat products including sausages and hamburgers. On the other hand, there are also bakers who produce pastries and baked goods by mixing and baking different ingredients according to specific recipes. Specialty and grocery stores employ these bakers. Bakers can also be hired by manufacturing firms.
There are also food batchmakers employed in the food processing industries. BAtchmakers’ duties include setting up and operating equipment used for mixing, blending, and cooking different kinds of ingredients. Food batchmakers are hired by manufacturing companies as that specific food products can be created on a large scale following formulas or recipes.
Entering the food processing occupation does not require you to have a college degree or training. You will become a trainee or an apprentice if you join. When you are on the job, then you learn many skills but you can advance your career if you have basic knowledge about the field that you want to work it. Baking ingredients, processes, and products are the things that you should know about if you want to be a baker. You should also have knowledge of mechanical baking and mixing equipment.
If you want to be in this field, then you can take some correspondence course, related online degrees or certificates, or other training programs with certificates plus on-the-job training. If you take these courses, you can finish fast according to your pace. You will be taught about nutrition and ingredients, applied chemistry, governmental health and sanitation rules, and business concepts. You should also learn how to handle and operate a computer since this is very much used in the food industry today.
If you want to be a meat cutter or trimmer, then you have to spend may months on-the-job training. Before you can really be a skilled butcher, it would take up to 2 years.
Food machine operators also need training. From 2 months to a year you can complete your training.