Q&A with Scott Steinman
Q&A with Scott Steinman, Application Specialist at Reiser. Scott, with more than 22 years of experience in injection technology and in the meat and poultry industry, is currently Application Specialist at Reiser. In his role, he regularly visits plants around North America and talks with processors about their needs and how they can best be met with the latest injection technologies and equipment.
Question: How would you describe the current use of injection among meat and poultry processors?
Answer: Growing! Processors are producing more and more value-added items every day, including all types of marinated products. From what I see, there are two extremes. On one hand, you have companies that are producing high-end, all-natural, all-clean label types of products and on the other hand, there are those who are injecting price-point driven products. There is a growing demand on both sides. And in the middle, you have the commodity products and this area is increasing every day, as well.
Question: What are some common demands and interests among meat and poultry companies that inject meat, including large processors and smaller, independent operations?
Answer: The injection goals for large and small processors are pretty much identical – they are just on different scales. All processors want to improve product quality. They all want to produce a uniform product, day in and day out. They all want to eliminate clogged needles. They all want to hit their injection targets and achieve consistent yields. And they all want the flexibility to inject a variety of products using one machine with minimal labor and time.
Other interests that are common to all processors are ease of programming the injector, ease of operation, ease of cleaning, and ease of loading product onto the injector belt.
Question: What are some of the ways you help provide solutions to processors’ challenges, no matter what the size and scale of their operation might be?
Answer: I am often invited to visit facilities and evaluate the processor’s operation. I ask them to “Tell me about your process, tell me about your products, tell me about your future plans, and tell me about your challenges.” I ask a lot of questions. I dig deep to find ways to improve their processes and minimize their challenges. I evaluate their entire process and then come back with recommendations and solutions to improve their process and their product.