Tobacco material and treatment thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10111457-B2
Application number	US-201415033281-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2014
Priority date	Oct 31, 2013
Publication date	Oct 30, 2018
Grant date	Oct 30, 2018

Abstract

A tobacco material and a process for the treatment of tobacco are provided. The process comprises securing the tobacco material within a moisture-retaining material and exposing the tobacco material to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C., with the tobacco having a packing density of at least 200 kg/m3 on a dry matter weight base at the start of the process and a moisture content of between about 10% and 15.5%. The treated tobacco material has an aerobic plate count of up to about 1000 CFU/g.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process for treating tobacco material wherein the treated tobacco material has an aerobic plate count of up to about 1000 CFU/g, the process comprising securing tobacco material within a moisture-retaining material and exposing the tobacco material to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. whilst secured within the moisture-retaining material, wherein the tobacco material has a packing density on a dry matter weight base of between about 200 kg/m 3 and about 500 kg/m 3 at the start of the process and has a moisture content of between about 10% and 15.5% before and during treatment.

2. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the microbial content of the treated tobacco material is lower than the microbial content of untreated tobacco material.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material is secured within the moisture-retaining material for between about 5 and 65 days.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material is exposed to an ambient processing temperature of above 55° C.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the treated tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. for between 10 days and 65 days whilst secured within the moisture retaining material.

6. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the treated tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. for between about 10 and 40 days whilst secured within the moisture retaining material.

7. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the temperature of the tobacco material reaches the ambient processing temperature within about 4 to 10 days.

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the ambient processing humidity is between about 50-500 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around or above 100° C., about 50-340 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 90° C., about 50-230 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 80° C., about 50-160 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 70° C., about 50-110 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 60° C., about 40-80 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 55° C. or about 30-70 g water/m 3 for ambient processing temperatures around 45° C.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the moisture-retaining material is wrapped around the tobacco material.

10. The process according to claim 9 , wherein the moisture-retaining material comprises flexible polymeric material.

11. The process according to claim 10 , wherein the flexible polymeric material comprises polyethylene.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material secured within the moisture-retaining material is placed in a chamber to control the ambient processing temperature and/or ambient processing humidity.

13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material comprises whole leaf tobacco.

14. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material does not comprise cut rag tobacco.

15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material is post-curing tobacco.

16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the treated tobacco material has an aerobic plate count of up to about 100 CFU/g.

17. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises manufacturing a smoking article or a smokeless tobacco product from the treated tobacco material.

18. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises manufacturing a tobacco extract from the treated tobacco material.

19. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material secured within the moisture retaining material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature during the process of above 55° C. for between 10 days and 65 days.

20. A process according to claim 19 , wherein the temperature of the tobacco material reaches the ambient processing temperature within about 4 to 10 days.

21. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the tobacco material secured within the moisture retaining material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature during the process of above 55° C. for between about 10 and 40 days.

22. A tobacco material secured within a moisture-retaining material, wherein the tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C. whilst secured within the moisture retaining material, has a packing density on a dry matter weight base of between about 200 kg/m 3 and about 500 kg/m 3 and a moisture content of between about 10% and 15.5%, and wherein the tobacco material has an aerobic plate count of up to about 1000 CFU/g.

23. A tobacco material according to claim 22 , wherein the tobacco material has an aerobic plate count of up to about 100 CFU/g.

24. The tobacco material according to claim 22 , wherein the microbial content of the tobacco material is lower than the microbial content of tobacco material prior to being secured within a moisture-retaining material and exposed to an ambient processing temperature of at least about 45° C.

25. The tobacco material according to claim 22 , wherein the treated tobacco material has been exposed to an ambient processing temperature of above 55° C. whilst secured within the moisture retaining material.

Assignees

• British American Tobacco Investments Ltd

Inventors

• Benjak Denis
• Field Pedro
• Glesse Alcindo
• Link Matthias

Classifications

• A24B3/04 Primary

  Humidifying or drying tobacco bunches or cut tobacco (A24B3/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A24B15/18

  Treatment of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes · CPC title

• A24B15/183 Primary

  sterilization, preservation or biological decontamination · CPC title

• A24B3/18 Primary

  Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning · CPC title

• A24B3/12

  Steaming, curing, or flavouring tobacco · CPC title