Hi, I just saw your message on IG as well. I’m not sure this is mold, after seeing your second photos. Mold inhibitors commonly used in tobacco, wine, cheese, cured meats, and other aged, fermented, or mold prone profucts are white or very light gray powders. These are mixed with a carrying agent of some kind and when thoroughly mixed, some completely dissolve, and some partially dissolve, requiring agitation to ensure an even distribution. These that don’t dissolve can tend to pool a bit in the veins of tobacco, and on darker leaf, Latakia, Perique, steamed / stoved leaf, etc., this pooling is sometimes visible. Unless the photo is still not quite focused, I don’t see the cottony or threads tendrils of mold but rather what appears like a crusting or staining of mineral deposit. If that’s what you’re seeing, then sorry that this piece is a little unsightly but this isn’t mold. If I’m missing something and there is a cottony structure to this, then it is mold. Again, judging from the pictures, I see a powdering effect on the smaller piece that is in the foreground of your second photo. Please let me know if my mold inhibitor theory sounds correct. If not, rest assured we will stand by this and get this right for you.
