Agricultural Commodity Inspector

Overview

The Delaware Department of Agriculture seeks an Agricultural Commodity Inspector to conduct inspections of agricultural commodities, primarily in the poultry industry, across facilities in Sussex County. The position is night shift and requires independent inspection work as per federal and state standards.

• Conduct inspections of poultry, eggs, fruit, and vegetable commodities to determine compliance with USDA standards.
• Inspect, sample, test, and grade poultry products, including whole birds, drumsticks, legs, wings, breast, boneless skinless products, marinated products, antibiotic‑free claims, and organic claims.
• Examine eggs for weight, color, soundness, shell texture, defect absence, and yolk/albumen clarity.
• Prepare and issue certifications for both international and national distribution.
• Monitor food safety controls such as sanitation, processing, and storage conditions; report issues immediately to supervisor or management.
• Verify labeling compliance including expiration dates, product codes, and other required information.
• Enforce federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, resolving issues within plant activities.
• Interpret and apply technical standards, explain and defend grade and inspection determinations, and coordinate grading services with plant production.
• Collaborate with federal and state agencies and other state representatives on inspection and grading matters.
• Develop effective relationships with plant personnel, retailers, farmers, and facility management.
• Utilize computers to enter information and prepare reports and records such as production data and grading results.
• Provide technical information and assistance to investigative offices in preparing court cases and testifying.

• Coursework, training, or work experience in poultry, eggs, or other agricultural commodities.
• Mathematics background covering addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, or decimals.
• Experience in record keeping.
• Knowledge of laws, rules, regulations, standards, policies, and procedures that apply to inspection and grading.
• Experience using an automated information system to enter, update, modify, delete, retrieve, and report data.
• Valid driver’s license (not suspended, revoked, or disqualified).

Must obtain a poultry grading license after completing at least 160 hours of training.