Dry pre-mix for moist snuff

A dry pre-mix is provided whereby a moist snuff can be prepared by addition of water. The pre-mix consists of a mixture of snuff-type tobaccos, cut to a predetermined size and having a moisture level between 6% and 16%.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a novel tobacco product. More particularly, the 
invention relates to a dry, finely-cut tobacco mixture, to which a 
consumer may add water to produce moist snuff. 
Snuff is one of the oldest tobacco products known. Two types exist, dry 
snuff and moist (or wet) snuff. The former is produced as a dry powder. 
The latter product is produced from similar tobacco blends but is finely 
cut rather than ground, and it has a high moisture level. The present 
invention concerns moist snuff, and further discussion will be limited to 
that product. 
The properties of snuff, as with any tobacco product, are determined 
primarily by the tobacco blend and processing variables. Important 
variables include the temperature/time relationship during processing, the 
cut, casing, top dressing, and final moisture content. 
The tobacco blend is crucial to achieving proper snuff flavor and color 
characteristics. For example, cigarette tobacco blends normally include 
large amounts of Burley, Flue-cured, and Turkish tobaccos. Snuff derives 
many of its characteristics from the use of "snuff-type" tobaccos, such as 
Dark Fired, Green River, and One-Sucker tobaccos, primarily from Tennessee 
and Kentucky. Snuff-type tobaccos can be characterized chemically by a 
high level of nitrogenous constituents, particularly nicotine. Physically, 
these tobaccos are heavy-bodied, having long wide leaves. Use of these 
types of tobacco is dictated by considerations of flavor and the ability 
to withstand processing; other type tobaccos tend to degrade physically 
when subjected to snuff processing. A modern snuff mixture might also 
contain a significant percentage of other tobacco materials, such as 
rolled stems. A traditional snuff blend, for example, could contain 70% 
Dark Fired tobacco, 10% each of One-Sucker and Green River, with 10% of a 
more common tobacco variety, such as Burley. To provide the taste and 
color characteristics the consumer has come to expect from snuff, however, 
the blend's major constituents must be snuff-type tobaccos. 
Casing and top dressing (flavoring) is extensively used in snuff 
production. The distinction between these two operations is that casing 
materials normally are applied during processing operations, while top 
dressing, or final flavoring, usually is applied as a final, or near-final 
step. A wide variety of flavorants has found acceptance among snuff 
consumers. Mint, attar of rose, fruit, and wintergreen flavors enjoy 
considerable market acceptance. 
The time-temperature relationship in snuff manufacturing differs 
considerably from other tobacco processes. Traditionally, the snuff 
manufacturing process requires up to 18 months, in addition to the 
two--four years' storage in hogsheads. Even though modern techniques have 
reduced processing time to the three to four month range, the processing 
scheme closely follows traditional methods. Tobacco is removed from the 
hogsheads, at which time it has a moisture content between 20 and 22%. 
Casing material is added, raising the moisture level above about 40%. The 
wet tobacco is then stored at room temperature, producing an environment 
highly conducive to bacterial growth. The resulting fermentation releases 
heat, raising the temperature of the mixture and promoting further 
bacterial growth and fermentation. This process is allowed to continue 60 
to 90 days, until the manufacturer is satisfied that a proper flavor level 
has been achieved. The decision to proceed with processing relies upon art 
rather than pure science. The primary differences between traditional and 
modern processing methods are the realization that acceptable flavoring 
can be produced in reduced time, and the use of cold storage to abort the 
fermentation when desired flavor levels are achieved. 
Different tobacco products are also characterized by different techniques 
used in cutting the tobacco. In all snuff manufacturing, however, tobacco 
strips (the portions of the tobacco leaf remaining after removal of the 
stems) are subjected to a double cutting process. The standard measure of 
tobacco cutting processes is the number of cuts made per inch of tobacco 
strip. For example, cigarette tobacco filler undergoes about thirty-two 
cuts per inch. Here, the moist snuff tobacco initially is coarsely 
shredded at about twenty cuts per inch, and after fermentation, it is 
subjected to a second cutting process. Rather than shredding, here the 
tobacco is run through a hammer mill, where the tobacco is comminuted into 
small particles. This second cutting process is roughly equivalent to a 
single cut at about ninety cuts per inch. 
Moisture content has proven crucial to consumer perception of snuff 
quality. Unlike other tobacco processes, the moisture content is not 
carefully controlled and varied during processing; rather, final moisture 
content adjusted to a desired level immediately prior to packing. Moist 
snuff processing further is unique in that the entire process is conducted 
at elevated moisture levels. After the initial addition of casing 
material, the tobacco remains above the 40% moisture level, and it must be 
packed at a moisture level between 48 and 55%. This level has proved a 
crucial variable, because customers can perceive moisture differences of 
as little as 3% and will reject such a product as being too dry and too 
light in color. 
Maintaining an acceptable moisture level between production and consumption 
is the major problem facing moist snuff producers. The product tends to 
lose moisture in the packing process, and it experiences additional 
moisture losses after packaging. Moist snuff normally is marketed in a 
cardboard, wax-coated container which is highly permeable to moisture. 
Tests reveal that if such a container is allowed to remain unopened at 
room temperature for sixty days, moisture content of the product will drop 
from 55% to 32%. Long before that point, of course, the product would have 
become unacceptable to consumers. Replacement of the normal packaging 
material with an hermetically sealed container would not solve this 
problem, because the fermentation process is continuing, albeit at a low 
level. Even at a low level, however, some gas is evolved. Thus, an 
hermetically sealed container would result in unacceptable pressure 
buildup inside, leading to bulging, buckling, and ultimate failure of the 
container. Plastic containers, recently tested as replacements for the 
traditional cardboard, have featured vent holes to allow gas to escape. 
Because moisture will also escape through such holes, changing the 
packaging material will not eliminate this seemingly inherent problem of 
moist snuff. Of course, moisture loss accelerates after the can has been 
opened. 
This problem has led to moist snuff being marketed as a highly perishable 
product. The combination of moisture loss and the small amount of product 
consumed at one time has dictated a small package; the container normally 
used in the art contains only 1.2 ounces. Further, a leading producer of 
moist snuff date stamps each can and has established a distribution system 
that rapidly moves the product from the factory to the shelf, apparently 
the only possible response to consumer demand for fresh product. Consumer 
surveys demonstrate that snuff users look for fresh product and are 
willing to go out of their way to find it. 
Given the limitations inherent in the product, the prior art has found no 
solution to the problem of obtaining a moist snuff having a stable shelf 
life. Rather, the industry seems content to maintain the existing 
cumbersome and expensive distribution system and to endure spoilage and 
consumer dissatisfaction. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Applicant has discovered that it is possible to provide a tobacco product 
at a low moisture level, to which the consumer can add a measured quantity 
of water to produce moist snuff. Elimination of the moisture level problem 
will free the industry from the burdens of small containers, cumbersome 
distribution, and extensive consumer dissatisfaction. The product can be 
provided to customers either in bulk or in suitable containers which 
permit easy and accurate measurement for addition of the correct amount of 
water. 
An object of this invention is to provide a dry tobacco product which, when 
mixed with the correct amount of water, will produce a moist snuff. 
A further object of this invention is to produce a tobacco product, to be 
consumed as a moist snuff, having a substantially longer shelf life than 
presently known moist snuff products. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a moist snuff product which 
will allow consumers to obtain product in reasonable quantities, without 
sacrificing freshness.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Dry pre-mix for moist snuff is produced in a manner radically different 
from the traditional moist snuff process. Initially the aging process is 
reduced to a maximum of two to three years in hogsheads, and the moisture 
content upon removal from the hogsheads is in the range 12-14%. The 
tobacco is then blended, using techniques and apparatus known in the art. 
Either before or after blending, the moisture level is adjusted to about 
12-18% in apparatus such as reordering drums, normally employing steam 
conditioning. The exact blend may vary according to the taste 
characteristics desired, but snuff-type tobaccos should constitute the 
major portion of the mixture. Applicant's preferred embodiment consists of 
5-25% Dark Fired tobacco, 10-30% Green River, 30-50% One-Sucker and up to 
40% other tobacco materials. At this stage, casing materials such as 
water, licorice, flavorants, and sugars may be added to the tobacco. This 
step normally is carried out at an elevated temperature, preferably 
140.degree.-180.degree. F. (60.degree.-82.degree. C.) 
At this point, the tobacco enters a forced aging stage. Forced aging 
simulates the result of the traditional fermentation step by inducing 
natural chemical reactions, known as Maillard reactions, in the tobacco, 
which produce browning reactions in the sugars present therein. These 
reactions result in darkening the tobacco and producing snuff flavor 
precursors. The tobacco mixture emerges from the previous casing step at a 
temperature between about 160.degree. and 190.degree. F. 
(71.degree.-88.degree.), preferably 190.degree. F. (88.degree. C.), 
whereupon it is placed into containers. The mixture remains within these 
containers between about 24 and 48 hours. The Maillard reactions are 
induced by maintaining the tobacco at this elevated temperature during the 
holding period. This temperature can be maintained by applying external 
heat to the container holding area, as with steam, or simply by 
maintaining the containers within an insulated area and allowing the heat 
liberated by the Maillard reactions to maintain the proper temperature. 
With either method, the tobacco temperature rises to about 200.degree. F. 
(93.degree. C.). The resulting product closely simulates that produced 
through traditional fermentation, but it does so in one to two days rather 
than two to three months. The product emerges from the forced aging step 
having a moisture content between 10 and 14%, rather than the elevated 
moisture level of over 40% found in the prior art. 
The mixture is then fed into a cutter, of which many types are well-known 
in the art. Cutting parameters can be varied depending upon the desired 
degree of fineness in the finished product, within a normal range of 
40-120 cuts per inch. Applicant prefers a double cut, using two cutters 
rather than the cutter/hammer mill combination used in the prior art. The 
first cutter is set at about 32 cuts per inch, and the second at about 90 
cuts per inch. 
Here, those skilled in the art would adjust the moisture level to 55% 
preparatory to packing. Applicant, however, proceeds directly to addition 
of top dressing to the dry tobacco. In this final step, pH may be adjusted 
by addition of ammonium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, or other additives; 
salt and flavorants such as wintergreen or mint are added to produce the 
desired flavor, both steps being known to the art. 
The product, still having a moisture content between about 6 and 16%, 
preferably 10-14%, is then packed and shipped to consumers. 
Conversion of the product from a dry pre-mix to moist snuff occurs in the 
hands of the consumer. The exact method of conversion depends primarily 
upon the packaging means selected. One method would be to market the 
pre-mix in bulk, providing a small container in which the consumer could 
prepare moist snuff as needed. Another method might be to market 
relatively small containers, with instructions to prepare moist snuff 
within that container. Still another method would be to market the product 
in multi-cell flexible packaging, with one cell containing pre-mix and 
another containing water. By applying pressure, the customer could rupture 
the seal between the pre-mix and the water, and simply by kneading the 
resulting mixture, produce moist snuff. 
It should be understood that variations in the method of production and in 
the product itself will be obvious to those having skill in the art. For 
example, the proportions or types of snuff-type tobaccos may be altered, 
or the time/temperature relationships could be varied to produce desired 
flavors. Such variations are included within the scope of the present 
invention.