Patent ID: 7946295

Claim:
A process for preparing a tobacco composition suitable for use as a smokeless tobacco composition, comprising: providing a moist tobacco material having a moisture content of at least about 30% by weight, based on the total weight of the moist tobacco material; heating the moist tobacco to a temperature of at least about 85° C. for a time sufficient to pasteurize the tobacco material while maintaining the moisture content at a level of at least about 30% by weight; adding an amount of a base and water to the moist tobacco material sufficient to raise the pH of the moist tobacco material to at least about 8.7 and raise the moisture content to at least about 40% by weight, thereby forming a pH-adjusted moist tobacco material; continuing to heat the pH-adjusted moist tobacco material to a temperature of at least about 55° C. for a time sufficient for the pH of the moist tobacco material to drop to less than about 8.5 while maintaining a moisture content of at least about 40% by weight; and drying the pH-adjusted tobacco material at a temperature of at least about 35° C. for a time sufficient to reduce the moisture content of the tobacco to less than about 35% by weight while maintaining a pH of at least about 7.6.