Is this Mold on Kendall Plug?

[cosmicfolklore]

The problem with people's perceptions of science is that one experiment does not "prove" anything that applies to the world at large. It requires being done over and over. There was a article that stated that French people have less obesity than Americans, and French people drink wine, and thus wine keeps your heart healthy and helps you control your weight. There was no science in the article, but people will still claim that wine is healthy for your heart. But, the article never told you that the French walk more, drink more water, and eat healthier than Americans.
For it to be even worthy of being called science, they would have to test maybe a thousand cigars. A handful of cigars does not make a study. Then the study has to be redone by another lab to test the reliability of the first. Then on and on... NOTHING has been debunked. It was a great post with pictures and big words. Don't fall for the glitter and bullshit.

 

[crashthegrey]

Notice that I didn't even mention above that I am a chemist. That has zero to do with my statement. I won't even address that study from a scientific standpoint. Thus my analogy. But again, just an opinion. I don't care if someone believes it, I just warn against why I don't.

 

[hakchuma]

I don't really care what you follow. That's not my problem.

 

[balkisobrains]

Get a decent handheld microscope, it makes it easy to see what a lot of that stuff looks like. I have an old Tasco 30x with a light in it. But from the last pic, OPs looks like something that shouldn't be there. If you just bought it, then take it up with the retailer.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

From a Google Search, tobacco burns at approximately 900 degree F. If you think it will burn at 175 degrees, sit it in the oven, set the oven at 175 degrees and see how long it takes to ignite. Try it again at 350, then at 525 if your oven will go that high. A similar Google search showed that most molds are killed at temperatures of 212 degrees.
I think it is safe to say that in the photos shown by the OP, 99% of the volume of that plug (or more) were tobacco leaving less than 1% allegedly being mold. I apologize for being a cynic but it seems logical to be a lot more concerned about the damage caused by the 99% + tobacco than the sub 1% content of mold that will be incinerated before entering your body.
For those that are concerned about the alleged mold in the OP photos, I would highly recommend you do not visit farms, stockyards, food processing facilities, distribution centers, prep areas in grocery stores or the kitchens in most restaurants. You will starve to death within 3 months.

 

[olkofri]

Hmm, I've thought about the fire killing it too, BUT, the entire chamber contents aren't ignited all at once. Temperatures might be 900 atop, but they're much lower in the distillation zone and even less in the unburnt zone, yet the air is passing through those areas when drawing, thus potentially pulling unkilled mold into one's mouth and beyond. I wouldn't risk it.
Spores are also highly resistant to temperature extremes. Fungi are tough basterds!

 

[bluto]

Hey coz , don’t get hung up on a study or research project worth millions of dollars
Or ànalyzing a few lab sample and showing the results
Both have value

 

[bluto]

..potentially pulling unkilled mold into one's mouth and beyond. I wouldn't risk it.

There is that
So why not just warm the entire thing up to kill off the spores and enjoy ..

 

[crashthegrey]

Bluto, I don't know if you have looked at the "study" in question, but the problem is not money. It is two-fold. Reproducibility, and the fact that they didn't test for anything but mold.

 

[bluto]

That’s what I’m saying , it’s not a study
Its a result from an analysis

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha, I think what Crash was saying, is that if asked to find something, we don't necessarily find out what the white stuff is, exactly, but we find out if and what molds are present. That doesn't necessarily mean the white stuff is the particular mold, since mold spores are found all over tobacco. So, of course they will find mold.
I hope that makes sense. I would have thought Crash to be better at esplainin' stuff than me.

 

[crashthegrey]

Don't count my eggs before they are hatched, Cosmic. I am not good at much.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I’m good for nothing, but that has never stopped me, ha ha!

 

[erhardt85]

The takeaway here should be that it's not advisable to smoke pipe Tobacco with mold on it. I'm gonna have to trade some scientific papers on this

 

[bluto]

I recall , not long ago , there was something in the news about E. coli found in flour . So they got the contaminated bags off the shelf , pretty much how they sometimes discover listeria in prepared meats or bacteria in lettuce etc .
Anyhoo , the upshot was , they later determined there is always E. coli in flour , simply because its in the soil and thru thrashing and harvesting it’s always going to be there .
Long story short , don’t eat raw flour , for example raw cookie dough. After the flour is baked all the bacteria is destroyed and it’s safe again. Is there mold and germs on food , yes obviously .
But that’s not to say it’s always harmful and there is nothing stopping people from washing their fruit or heating their meats.
Carry on

 

[erhardt85]

A magnificent example of why analogies aren't very good at proving a point. It's true that you can probably find some mold spores in all tobacco, especially on the stems, but there is the question of viability. Even if put in good growing conditions little more than half might grow. So yes, maybe there are toxina anyways but there would be more toxic material on tobacco with provably viable mold spores in the right conditions. The vast majority of time s don't fit that description.

 

[bluto]

example of why analogies aren't very good at proving a point.

But it’s not an analogy and there is no point to prove
I often have no point , it’s a part of my charm

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

The takeaway here should be that it's not advisable to smoke pipe Tobacco with mold on it

That wasn't my takeaway. If you wish to be technical about it, it's not advisable from a health perspective to smoke pipe tobacco period. I saw nothing factual in this thread that would point to any health issues from smoking the tobacco shown in the OP aside from the normal potential hazards with smoking pipe tobacco. Were I to be concerned, it would be about the 99.99% that was tobacco, not the .01% that was allegedly mold. If the OP wants to send me that Kendall Plug, I'll gladly smoke it.

 

[bluto]

Can’t they just shoot holes in it with a gun and move on

 

[erhardt85]

You're a free man I guess.

https://www.moldsafesolutions.com/mold-tobacco/