Consumer Safety Inspector.

Food Safety and Inspection Service; Seminole (TX); On-site; USD 52,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

Food Safety and Inspection Service in the United States is seeking a Consumer Safety Inspector to ensure meat and poultry establishments comply with federal safety standards.

The role includes conducting inspections, reviewing SSOP and HACCP plans, documenting noncompliance, and recommending enforcement actions while communicating with plant management and other agency staff. You will collect samples, perform health verifications, and coordinate with other federal agencies as needed.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience showing knowledge of regulated food commodities and consumer safety standards.
• Experience documenting inspections and noncompliance with regulatory requirements.
• Ability to review SSOP and HACCP plans and enforce corrective actions.

Responsibilities

• Inspect regulated establishments to ensure safe product production and determine non-compliance.
• Verify SSOP and HACCP plans meet regulatory requirements and prevent unsanitary conditions.
• Document noncompliance and prepare enforcement action when warranted.
• Coordinate with plant managers and agency staff to explain regulatory requirements and remedies.
• Conduct sampling and testing to gather data on potential issues and trends.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Food safety inspection

Documentation

Stakeholder communication

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in agricultural, biological, physical sciences, food technology, epidemiology, home economics, pharmacy, engineering, or nutrition

Job description

• Ensure that regulated establishments produce a safe product by executing appropriate inspection methods, determining non-compliance with regulatory requirements, documenting noncompliance and initiating enforcement action, where warranted.
• Verify that meat and poultry slaughter and/or processing establishment's Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans meet regulatory requirements.
• Verify execution of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans effectively to prevent unsanitary conditions and adulteration of product.
• Review records, observe plant operations and conduct hands‑on verification to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and prepare detailed documentation (Non-Compliance Records) of non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Determine when regulatory control action is necessary. You will assess whether the plant's corrective or preventative actions are acceptable and effective, if there are trends in non‑compliance, or if enforcement action is warranted.
• Conduct regulatory oversight activities inside plants in matters relating to other consumer protections (e.g., economic adulteration and misbranding).
• Have contact with plant managers, owners and others to explain legal and regulatory requirements, discuss operation of the plant's SSOP, HACCP plan and other food safety programs.
• Communicate and defend determinations on non‑compliance issues and discuss plans for addressing non‑compliance.
• Work with a variety of individuals to resolve problems, clarify differences of interpretation concerning HACCP and other food safety or consumer protection requirements.
• Advise other Agency inspectors, supervisors and officers on inspection and enforcement matters for which you are involved.
• Conduct various samplings, surveys and tests to obtain pertinent data on potential problem areas, industry trends, or other issues of current interest to the Agency.
• Be involved in performing health and safety verification sampling and tests for detection of specific microbes (e.g., salmonella, listeria, etc.), residues or contaminants.
• Assure that products approved for import are in full compliance with all applicable Federal regulations governing the importation of meat and poultry products.
• Authorize entry of all meat or poultry products considered to comply with Federal regulations or refuse entry of any products which violate any of the requirements for admission into this country.
• Coordinate with other Federal agencies (e.g., the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or U.S. Customs and Border Protection) on such matters as animal health restrictions and refused entry lots.

Duties

• Ensure that regulated establishments produce a safe product by executing appropriate inspection methods, determining non-compliance with regulatory requirements, documenting noncompliance and initiating enforcement action, where warranted.
• Verify that meat and poultry slaughter and/or processing establishment's Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans meet regulatory requirements.
• Verify execution of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans effectively to prevent unsanitary conditions and adulteration of product.
• Review records, observe plant operations and conduct hands‑on verification to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and prepare detailed documentation (Non-Compliance Records) of non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Determine when regulatory control action is necessary. You will assess whether the plant's corrective or preventative actions are acceptable and effective, if there are trends in non‑compliance, or if enforcement action is warranted.
• Conduct regulatory oversight activities inside plants in matters relating to other consumer protections (e.g., economic adulteration and misbranding).
• Have contact with plant managers, owners and others to explain legal and regulatory requirements, discuss operation of the plant's SSOP, HACCP plan and other food safety programs.
• Communicate and defend determinations on non‑compliance issues and discuss plans for addressing non‑compliance.
• Work with a variety of individuals to resolve problems, clarify differences of interpretation concerning HACCP and other food safety or consumer protection requirements.
• Advise other Agency inspectors, supervisors and officers on inspection and enforcement matters for which you are involved.
• Conduct various samplings, surveys and tests to obtain pertinent data on potential problem areas, industry trends, or other issues of current interest to the Agency.
• Be involved in performing health and safety verification sampling and tests for detection of specific microbes (e.g., salmonella, listeria, etc.), residues or contaminants.
• Assure that products approved for import are in full compliance with all applicable Federal regulations governing the importation of meat and poultry products.
• Authorize entry of all meat or poultry products considered to comply with Federal regulations or refuse entry of any products which violate any of the requirements for admission into this country.
• Coordinate with other Federal agencies (e.g., the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or U.S. Customs and Border Protection) on such matters as animal health restrictions and refused entry lots.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Training as a condition of employment (TCOE) is required. You must begin the training within 90 days of the effective date of your selection, and you must successfully complete it within 12 months of the effective date of your selection.
• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
• Successful completion of a pre‑employment medical examination.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Successfully pass the E‑Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E‑Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104‑134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• If you are selected, you may need to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF‑306) prior to being appointed to determine suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.
• False statements or responses on a resume or application can jeopardize employment and may be grounds for disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
• Should be able to read, speak, write, and effectively communicate in the English language.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Specialized Experience

Specialized experience is experience that provided you with knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities or other products for human consumption. Such experience may have been acquired in work such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aide, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or similar position with responsibility for sampling, quality control and sanitation in a food manufacturing or production environment, or similar environment for other ingestible items.

See specific grade level specialized experience definitions below.

For the GS-05 Level:

Applicants must have at least 52 weeks of qualifying experience that provided knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities and substances; such as: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other food or beverages for human consumption, or other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals. You are to show in your resume examples such as applying proper techniques for collecting samples and/or performing field tests and examinations (e.g. identifying abnormalities in the product or production environment and recommending corrective actions), developing written reports and/or reporting findings of results orally (e.g. documenting abnormalities in the product or production environment and communicating those findings to others), and/or skill in maintaining effective personal contacts with a variety of individuals (e.g. discussing findings with internal or external contacts regarding the food safety standards established in the production environment), or other similar work making determinations on products for human consumption or the production environment (e.g. ensuring conformance with established standards). Such experience may have been acquired working positions such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aid, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or other related position.

For the GS-07 Level:

In addition to the qualifications above, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 level), and incumbents are expected to have performed standard and recurrent duties on an independent basis. Your resume should demonstrate at least 52 weeks of experience in independently carrying out routine, standard assignments on a regular and recurring basis that provided you with knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities and substances; such as: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other food for human consumption, and other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals.

For the GS-08 Level:

Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level). In addition to the qualifications above, experience must include working with the Federal Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products Inspection Acts in order to inspect meat, poultry and egg products; working with basic SSOP and HACCP principles and practices in order to verify plant HACCP and SSOP responsibilities; performing basic mathematics and elementary statistical concepts and methods to perform testing and sampling procedures; and experience in reaching and interpreting conclusions.

For the GS-09 Level:

Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-08 level). In addition to the qualifications above, incumbents are expected to have experience working at a more independent level than lower graded CSIs, which may include duties such as recommending refusal of exports and providing temporary coverage at locations outside of the official duty station.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Please View OPM's Qualifications Standards,

The duties of a Consumer Safety Inspector are performed in a hazardous working environment. For additional information, please click

Education

Education may be used to qualify in lieu of specialized experience as described below.

For the GS-05 level:

Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours/credits in any combination of coursework in the areas of: agricultural, biological, or physical sciences, food technology, epidemiology, home economics, pharmacy, engineering, or nutrition. Specialized government or military training may be creditable if it is related directly to this position.

OR

A combination of education and specialized experience. In this instance, only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (with some related coursework, as described in number 2 above) is creditable towards meeting the requirements, along with specialized work experience.

For the GS-07 Level:

One full year of directly related graduate education is qualifying for GS-07.

OR

A combination of education and specialized experience. In this instance, only graduate education directly related to the work of the position is creditable towards meeting the requirements, along with specialized work experience. The combination must equal 100% of the requirement. For example, if you have 33% of the education requirement, then you will need 67% of the specialized experience requirement.

For the GS-09 Level:

Two full years of directly related graduate education or a directly related master's degree is qualifying for GS-09.

OR

A combination of education and specialized experience. In this instance, only graduate education in excess of the first 18 semester hours directly related to the work of the position is creditable towards the requirements, along with specialized work experience. The combination must equal 100% of the requirement. For example, if you have 33% of the education requirement, then you will need 67% of the specialized experience requirement.

Additional information

Applicants Must

THIS POSITION REQUIRES A PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICAL:

• Be physically and medically able to efficiently perform the essential job functions, without being a direct threat to themselves and others.
• Have full range of motion to perform rapid repetitive twisting and working with arms above shoulder level.
• Be able to stand and walk on slippery and uneven floors and catwalks, and climbing stairs and ladders.