Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 1991

J - Occupations Unique to Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities

Occupations in this broad occupational category are primarily concerned with supervisory and production work in manufacturing, processing and utilities.

J1 - Machine Operators in Manufacturing

Occupations in this major group are primarily concerned with operating machines to process metals, petroleum, chemicals, rubber and plastics, food and beverages, forest products and textiles.

J17 - Machine Operators and Related Workers in Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing

Occupations in this minor group are primarily concerned with operating machines to process food, beverages and tobacco; and inspecting and grading work associated with these products.

J171 - Process Control and Machine Operators, Food and Beverage Processing

Occupations in this unit group are primarily concerned with operating machinery used in the processing of food and beverage products, except fish, by mixing, blending, cooling, fermenting, freezing and similar processes, and operating machinery to bottle or can food and beverage products.

• Example Titles

  • Bacon curer
  • Bologna maker, food and beverage processing
  • Bologna stuffer, food and beverage processing
  • Bottling-line attendant, food and beverage
  • Bottling-machine operator, food and beverage
  • Brewhouse operator, food and beverage processing
  • Canner, food and beverage processing
  • Casing-machine operator, food and beverage processing
  • Control-room operator, food and beverage processing
  • Cooker, food and beverage processing
  • Cooler operator, food and beverage processing
  • Curer, food and beverage processing
  • Dry curer, food and beverage processing
  • Fermenter operator, food and beverage processing
  • Freezer operator, food and beverage processing
  • Fryer operator, food and beverage processing
  • Ham baker, food and beverage processing
  • Ham boiler, food and beverage processing
  • Ham curer, food and beverage processing
  • Kettle tender, food and beverage processing
  • Lard maker, food and beverage processing
  • Lard refiner, food and beverage processing
  • Lard renderer, food and beverage processing
  • Machine operator, food and beverage processing
  • Meat canner, food and beverage processing
  • Meat cook, food and beverage processing
  • Meat curer, food and beverage processing
  • Meat drier, food and beverage processing
  • Meat grinder, food and beverage processing
  • Meat mixer, food and beverage processing
  • Meat pickler, food and beverage processing
  • Meat salter, food and beverage processing
  • Meat smoker, food and beverage processing
  • Oven operator, food and beverage processing
  • Pasteurizer operator, food and beverage processing
  • Press operator, food and beverage processing
  • Renderer, food and beverage processing
  • Salter, food and beverage processing
  • Sausage making machine operator, food and beverage process
  • Sausage stuffer, food and beverage processing
  • Sausage twister, food and beverage processing
  • Smoker, food and beverage processing
  • Sponge and dough mixer, food and beverage processing
  • Steam tender, food and beverage processing
  • Stuffer, food and beverage processing
  • Stuffing-machine operator, food and beverage processing
  • Sugar boiler, food and beverage processing
  • Tallow maker, food and beverage processing
  • Tallow refiner, food and beverage processing

• Exclusion

  • Foremen/women, food and beverage processing (See J013 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing)
  • Industrial butchers and meat cutters that slaughter livestock and poultry and prepare the initial cuts of meat for further processing and packaging (See J172 Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers)
  • Workers that process fish (See J173 Fish Plant Workers)

J172 - Industrial Butchers and Meat Cutters, Poultry Preparers and Related Workers

Occupations in this unit group are primarily concerned with killing livestock and poultry and cleaning, cutting, trimming and deboning meat in preparation for further processing and packaging, or for marketing.

• Example Titles

  • Animal eviscerator
  • Back puller, meat and poultry packing
  • Back splitter, meat and poultry packing
  • Backer, meat and poultry packing
  • Beef boner, meat packing
  • Beef cutter, meat packing
  • Beef sawman, meat packing
  • Beef-pluck trimmer
  • Benchman, meat and poultry packing
  • Bladder trimmer, meat packing
  • Boner, meat and poultry packing
  • Breaker, meat and poultry packing
  • Breast sawyer, meat and poultry packing
  • Brisket cutter, meat packing
  • Brisket opener, meat packing
  • Brisket puller, meat packing
  • Brisket splitter, meat packing
  • Butcher, industrial
  • Carcass splitter, meat and poultry packing
  • Cattle backer
  • Cattle gutter
  • Cattle killer
  • Cattle splitter
  • Cattle sticker
  • Chicken cleaner, food processing
  • Chicken drawer
  • Chicken plucker
  • Chuck boner, meat packing
  • Chuck splitter, meat packing
  • Cleaner, chicken, food processing
  • Cleaner, poultry, food processing
  • Cutter, beef, meat packing
  • Cutter, brisket, meat packing
  • Cutter, ham, meat packing
  • Cutter, meat, meat packing
  • Dehairing-machine tender, meat
  • Flesher operator, meat and poultry packing
  • Gland man / woman, meat packing
  • Gland remover, meat packing
  • Ham cutter, industrial
  • Ham trimmer, industrial
  • Head boner, meat and poultry packing
  • Head remover, meat and poultry packing
  • Head skinner, meat and poultry packing
  • Head trimmer, meat and poultry packing
  • Header, meat and poultry packing
  • Hide trimmer, meat and poultry packing
  • Hog killer
  • Hog ribber
  • Hog sawyer
  • Hog splitter
  • Hog sticker
  • Hog-casing puller, meat packing
  • Industrial butcher
  • Industrial meat cutter
  • Lamb sawyer
  • Meat boner, industrial
  • Meat chopper, industrial
  • Meat cutter, industrial
  • Meat dresser, industrial
  • Meat sawyer, industrial
  • Meat trimmer, industrial
  • Offal man / woman, meat packing
  • Offal worker, meat packing
  • Picker, poultry preparer
  • Pig sticker
  • Pork boner
  • Pork cutter, industrial
  • Poultry boner
  • Poultry cleaner, food processing
  • Poultry dresser, food processing
  • Poultry killer
  • Poultry picker
  • Poultry plucker
  • Poultry preparer, food processing
  • Poultry worker, poultry packing
  • Poultry-specialty butcher
  • Puller, back, meat and poultry packing
  • Puller, brisket, meat packing
  • Rib sawyer, meat packing
  • Ribber, meat packing
  • Rumper, meat packing
  • Scalper, meat packing
  • Sheep killer
  • Shoulder boner, meat packing
  • Shoulder chopper, meat packing
  • Shoulder trimmer, meat packing
  • Shrouder, meat packing
  • Skinner, meat and poultry packing
  • Slaughterer, livestock
  • Small-stock facer, meat packing
  • Splitter, meat and poultry packing
  • Sticker, meat and poultry packing
  • Trimmer, ham, meat packing
  • Trimmer, hide, meat packing
  • Trimmer, meat and poultry packing
  • Trimmer, shoulder, meat packing
  • Turkey-roll maker, poultry packing

• Exclusion

  • Foremen/women, meat cutting plants (See J013 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing)
  • Occupations concerned with preparing standard cuts of meat for retail selling or for preparation in restaurants (See G941 Butchers and Meat Cutters, Retail and Wholesale)

J173 - Fish Plant Workers

Occupations in this unit group are primarily concerned with setting up and operating machinery to process and package fish products and cutting, trimming and cleaning fish by hand.

• Example Titles

  • Canning machine operator, fish processing
  • Fish cake maker
  • Fish canning machine operator
  • Fish cleaner and cutter
  • Fish cutting machine operator
  • Fish plant machine operator
  • Fish plant worker
  • Fish skinner
  • Fish slimer, fish products
  • Fish trimmer
  • Fish-paste grinder
  • Grinder and drier, fish products
  • Scraper, fish products
  • Shellfish processor, hand
  • Shellfish separator tender
  • Shellfish shucker, fish products
  • Shucker, shellfish

• Exclusion

  • Fish graders (See J175 Testers and Graders, Food and Beverage Processing)
  • Foremen/women, fish plant (See J013 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing)

J174 - Tobacco Processing Machine Operators

Occupations in this unit group are primarily concerned with operating machines to prepare and treat raw tobacco leaves or to produce tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars.

• Example Titles

  • Casing cooker, tobacco processing
  • Cigar buncher
  • Cigar maker, tobacco processing
  • Cigarette machine tender, tobacco processing
  • Cleaning and classifying operator (C. and C.), tobacco pro
  • Conveyor tender, tobacco processing
  • Dryer tender, tobacco processing
  • Filter-cigarette-machine tender
  • Module tender, tobacco processing
  • Redryer operator, tobacco processing
  • Strip cutter and blending operator, tobacco processing
  • Strip-cutting-machine tender, tobacco processing
  • Tobacco blender
  • Tobacco-machine tender
  • Turret-machine tender, tobacco processing

• Exclusion

  • Foremen/women, tobacco processing (See J013 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing)
  • Tobacco testers and graders (See J175 Testers and Graders, Food and Beverage Processing)

J175 - Testers and Graders, Food and Beverage Processing

Occupations in this unit group are primarily concerned with testing and grading ingredients and finished food and beverage products to ensure conformity to company standards or to classify finished products.

• Example Titles

  • Agricultural product tester
  • Beer tester
  • Cheese grader
  • Fish grader, fish processing
  • Milk grader
  • Milk receiver / tester
  • Product checker, food and beverage processing
  • Product tester, food and beverage processing
  • Tobacco grader

• Exclusion

  • Inspectors of fish and agricultural products (See C122 Agricultural and Fish Products Inspectors)
  • Supervisors of food testers (See J013 Supervisors, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Processing)