Food Safety Inspector

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness

Division: Food Safety Inspection Delivery Branch

City: Downsview

Job term: 2 Permanent

Job code: 60704 - Agricultural Specialist 3

$1,349.34 - $1,697.54 Per week*
*Indicates the salary listed as per the OPSEU Collective Agreement.

Interested in food safety? Check out our Food Safety Inspector video to learn more about this exciting and rewarding role!

Are you looking for an exciting career where you will help keep Ontario's food safe and ensure animal welfare through your knowledge of agriculture, food safety and regulatory compliance? Do you have knowledge of food production practices and food safety hazards? The Food Safety Inspection Delivery Branch is seeking Food Safety Inspectors to keep food safe and ensure animal welfare by conducting regulatory compliance verification and providing professional advice and assistance on food safety practices. The Food Safety Inspection Delivery Branch oversees the slaughter and processing of both livestock and poultry, which includes chicken, pigs, sheep, cattle, goats, and rabbits. The Food Safety Inspection Delivery Branch ensures the safety of a variety of food Ontarian's enjoy such as meat and livestock products, milk and milk products, fish, fruits, vegetables, maple products and honey by providing inspection services to their production, processing, marketing and distribution. We cooperate with colleague branches and agencies to establish food safety standards and works with other ministries and agencies to provide a strong and seamless food inspection environment from farm to fork in Ontario. As a Food Safety Inspector, you will be an integral part of a team that plays an important role in the daily lives of Ontarians by keeping their food safe.

Our newly hired Food Safety Inspectors are provided comprehensive training, including 1:1 practical training with experienced inspectors. Training is on-going throughout your career, and development and growth is supported and encouraged!

The work environment of a Food Safety Inspector:

• requires frequent travel in all weather conditions and the ability to conduct physically demanding fieldwork in all types of weather conditions.
• is very demanding psychologically with Inspectors managing people who may have challenging personalities.
• requires assessing, touching, lifting, and approaching a wide variety of animals including but not limited to chicken, pigs, sheep, cattle, goats and rabbit. This position at times can be very physically demanding.
• includes working in environments where there is a presence of strong odors, feces, dead animals, blood, loud noise, cold/hot/inclement weather, etc.

About the job

This position falls under the Meat Inspection Program. In this role you will help keep food and Ontarians safe by:

• inspecting agricultural and food products for processing to support food safety for Ontarians including performing both ante and post mortem assessment of livestock and carcasses
• assessing recipes, formulations, production, processing, packaging, preservation and storage methods of food products
• evaluating practices, programs and records for process control systems
• identifying unacceptable food safety hazards or noncompliance with applicable regulatory requirements
• collecting a variety of samples from agricultural or food products and processing environments to test regularly for biological, physical or chemical food safety hazards
• preparing and maintaining reports for compliance verification activities
• providing technical assistance to premises operators and other related parties (e.g. industry organizations and associations, equipment suppliers)
• conducting field sampling and related reporting activities during emergency response, and participate in regular emergency preparedness exercises and training

After joining the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) as a Food Safety Inspector you will work towards obtaining one or more required food safety inspection certifications provided by the ministry. You may have the opportunity to explore further certifications based on commodities of interest.

What you bring to the team

Mandatory requirements

• You must have a valid Ontario class “G” driver's license or equivalent as recognized by the province of Ontario and have the ability to travel extensively
• You must be able to work in hot and cold working conditions

Technical knowledge:

• You have knowledge of food safety hazards and risks.
• You have knowledge of food production and processing practices including raw materials, product formulations, food additives/ingredients, and quality control methods and practices.
• You can interpret and apply legislation, regulations and operational policies, protocols, guidelines, and procedures as they relate to food production.

Analytical and problem-solving skills:

You can:

• apply knowledge of principles and application of quality assurance systems such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).
• monitor work quality against current inspection and compliance standards and policies.
• assess inspection and audit corrective action plans.
• exercise judgement to recognize and understand the issues that arise during inspections.
• assess stakeholder concerns/issues regarding deficiencies, methods, techniques, critical control points and hazards.
• apply understanding of science-based risk assessment principles, develop contingency plans and identify control measures.

Training experience:

• You have knowledge of adult learning principles to help deliver training and coaching to new staff, monitoring progress and preparing written assessments.

Communication and interpersonal skills:

• You can develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external clients.
• You can mitigate disputes and confrontational situations when conflicts occur between clients' perceived interests and inspection requirements.
• You can provide information as it relates to outcomes, application of legislation/regulations and technical advice.

Computer and arithmetic skills:

• You have proficiency with computer software applications to locate, adapt, manipulate and store data/information.
• You possess arithmetic skills to perform calculations in order to verify accuracy of records and compliance measures.

Don't meet every qualification?

If you are excited about this position and meet most, but not all, of the listed qualifications, please still consider applying. We recognize that no one person might have every qualification in this job ad, and you just might be the right candidate!

How we support diversity, inclusion and accessibility

We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.

Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please contact us.

Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:

• diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• accessibility
• Anti-Racism Policy

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• About security checks:
  A criminal or other federal offence record does not automatically disqualify you from the position. We consider each situation based on the position’s responsibilities.
  If a check is needed and you've lived outside of Canada in the past 5 years for 6 or more months in a row, or if you are not a Canadian resident, you'll need to provide an out-of-country police clearance certificate from the country you lived in.
  Employment screening checks are only reviewed and evaluated by the Transition and Security Office, which also maintains them and keeps them strictly confidential.
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Language requirements and assessment: All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.