FRUIT INSPECTOR

A K HORTICULTURE LIMITEDOrchard WorkerTauranga, Bay of Plenty2w ago

To inspect fruit, orchard operations and produce-handling practices to ensure compliance with the employer’s quality requirements, grower specifications and applicable horticultural industry standards relating to quality, hygiene, traceability and product integrity.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Inspect fruit crops and harvested produce to identify quality issues, diseases, pest damage, contamination, physical defects and other conditions affecting marketability.

Inspect fruit during harvesting, field handling, binning, transportation, storage and preparation for delivery to ensure compliance with required quality standards.

Assess fruit against prescribed specifications for maturity, size, colour, shape, firmness, sugar content, appearance and freedom from defects.

Collect, identify and label representative fruit samples from orchards, harvesting teams, bins or production batches for inspection and prescribed quality testing.

Use suitable inspection and testing equipment, including refractometers, firmness testers, sizing tools, scales and temperature-monitoring devices.

Monitor orchard and fruit-handling practices to ensure compliance with grower requirements, customer specifications and recognised horticultural quality-assurance procedures.

Inspect orchards, equipment, fruit bins, storage areas and produce-handling facilities to confirm that appropriate hygiene and contamination-control standards are being followed.

Verify that fruit is harvested at the appropriate maturity and handled in a manner that minimises bruising, punctures, contamination and deterioration.

Identify non-conforming fruit or practices and advise supervisors, team leaders and orchard personnel of the required corrective action.

Place affected fruit on hold, recommend rejection or reclassification, and arrange follow-up inspections where quality requirements have not been met.

Monitor fruit-grading and sorting activities to ensure produce is consistently classified according to the approved quality specifications.

Check product identification, orchard block details, batch information and traceability records for accuracy and completeness.

Record inspection findings, sample results, defects, rejected quantities and corrective actions in the company’s quality-control records.

Prepare inspection reports and promptly report serious or recurring quality issues to management and the relevant grower or contractor.

Investigate the likely causes of quality failures and recommend improvements to harvesting, handling, storage and transportation practices.

Conduct follow-up inspections to ensure corrective actions have been completed and required standards are being maintained.

Provide workers and supervisors with guidance on fruit-quality requirements, defect identification, hygiene and appropriate produce-handling procedures.

Maintain inspection instruments and ensure that all equipment is clean, accurate and suitable for use.

Follow workplace health and safety, food-safety, hygiene and biosecurity procedures at all worksites.

Travel between the company’s contracted orchards and other horticultural worksites as reasonably required.

Minimum Requirements

Applicants must have either:

At least two years of relevant work experience; or

a relevant qualification at NZQF Level 5 or higher, or an equivalent recognised overseas qualification.

Pay: $28.00 – $32.00 per hour

Expected hours: 30.0 – 40.0 per week

Work Location: In person

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