What To Do About Mold In Unnamed Manufacturer Tins

[jking]

100% behind what Adam (click) and Dave have said.
They're compensating customers, which is good. They're not doing enough to address the issue, which is bad. More time and effort needed in QC, less in promoting and pumping out new blends. My 2 coppers worth.
Also, don't blame the mod that closed down the previous thread. He's just doing what is required. It really is sad.

 

[woodsroad]

They're not doing enough to address the issue, which is bad.

How do you know this?

He's just doing what is required. It really is sad.

Sad? How?

 

[jking]

Well Dan since you quoted me I'll say this...
Are they still selling new blends with the magical red VA? Carolina Red anyone? Bijou anyone?? Temple Bar anyone??? Let's forget about problems with oh shall we say, Kajun Kake. How about the best selling tinned tobacco currently on one of the major sponsors of this place???? No one has reported that being a moldy mess of yet have they? Or maybe they have and it was supressed???
It's sad because it's forbidden to talk about getting into the pockets of those who support and run this place. It's sad because 100% of the people who come here in the first place for pipe tobacco friendship must wade through gobs of irrelevant posts only to find what may be of utmost importance is hidden behind the scenes. What they do see is a banner at the top of the page that cries, buy me!

 

[crashthegrey]

Back to a previous point, what about alcohol? I am not saying that one would want to do this to 20 tins, but let's say someone has a tin of a tobacco that they aren't sure about and don't want to return. To my knowledge, alcohol will kill nearly any mold spore. Would it be feasible to soak the tobacco in Everclear or the like and dry it and jar it? Would this destroy the tobacco?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh, I'm not sure why it wouldn't work to microwave it. I know that fruit gets low doses of microwaves to kill off... harmful fruit stuff. Then, maybe if someone had access to an xray machine, it might be possible to kill off mold by xraying it a few times. Then there are low doses of radiation at a certain point in the atmosphere. If you don't have access to those really big model rockets, you could maybe send the stuff up in a weather balloon, but just be sure to tie it to a really long string.

 

[pitchfork]

FWIW, I bought a few tins of Carolina Red Flake this summer. I opened one, found a tiny bit of mold and returned the others. I could have returned them all, but I really wanted to try the Red Flake, so I plucked out the tiny bit of visible mold, dumped the contents of the tin onto a plate and microwaved it for about 20 seconds. Four months later, and there isn't a stitch of mold on what's left of that tin. I even put it back in the original tin (after rinsing with hot water).

 

[yaddy306]

Back to a previous point, what about alcohol? I am not saying that one would want to do this to 20 tins, but let's say someone has a tin of a tobacco that they aren't sure about and don't want to return. To my knowledge, alcohol will kill nearly any mold spore. Would it be feasible to soak the tobacco in Everclear or the like and dry it and jar it? Would this destroy the tobacco?

Again, no mycologist here, but although Everclear (or microwaves) might kill mold, there's no guarantee it would get rid of any toxins left behind by the mold (if there are any, which there may not be).

 

[jpmcwjr]

Spores, right amount of oxygen, enough humidity, the right temperature= mold growth. (No?)
Spore population can be reduced, but not eliminated without extreme measures. So now down to heat, air and moisture. High enough or low enough, mold doesn't bloom. Obviously you don't want 100% humidity in your tobacco, as in soaking it in water, so that leaves drying it below a certain point if that's a critical factor.
Turning to heat, high enough heat should kill mold spores or at least prevent bloom. But what is that temp.? What bad effects will it have? Freezing would seem to stop everything in its tracks, but the problem rolls on once reintroduced to normal environments such as a jar at room temperature. And freezing could ruin the tobacco. (?)
Air or oxygen: The absence of such may inhibit growth, and total absence of such is impossible to achieve in the home environment, possibly excepting nitrogen gas injected to displace all the air.
Only trying to sort through the options; I have no solution and haven't encountered mold on tobacco yet. On cream cheese, plenty.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What about just shooting it with a shotgun? Not buckshot, but something less damaging, like bird shot. Explosives? Just a little? A mild explosive, like M80s? Round Up? Stabbing it repeatedly, over and over and over...

 

[crashthegrey]

As to freezing, this will stop mold growth whilst at low temperatures, but only kill some molds. Other molds will survive the cold temperatures and just lay dormant. I also find that when I leave my tobacco in my car during freezing temperatures, it dries it out. It's not just dry, it tends to get a little strange and I don't really know how to describe it.

 

[woodsroad]

jking:
You said:

"They're not doing enough to address the issue, which is bad."

Why, in your estimation, are they not doing enough? They had a production issue, worked to resolve it and offered folks a refund. They've been very straightforward, as far as I can tell.

It's sad because it's forbidden to talk about getting into the pockets of those who support and run this place.

How so? I don't see it. Have you been banned? Have your posts been deleted? You just have to realize that this isn't your house. It's Kevin's. And it costs Kevin a nice chunk of change to keep the lights on here. Sponsors make this site possible, and we owe them a debt of gratitude that is not well served by letting threads about legitimate concerns devolve into repetitive, whining, sponsor-bashing ugliness.

It's sad because 100% of the people who come here in the first place for pipe tobacco friendship must wade through gobs of irrelevant posts only to find what may be of utmost importance is hidden behind the scenes. What they do see is a banner at the top of the page that cries, buy me!

Sorry sir, but you are so far off base that I have top say that you have no idea what you are talking about. This subject has been debated here in several threads now. There is nothing new being added but baseless, uninformed vitriol. I'm surprised that this thread is still here. If I was a mod, it wouldn't be.

 

[pipesmokingtom]

Yep. And now we're on to the 2nd page.

 

[pitchfork]

No appreciation for baseless, uninformed vitriol? SAD! #sarcasm

 

[woodsroad]

Guilty as charged. I fed the troll, my bad. Reminds me of MLC.

 

[jefff]

#No9birdshot

 

[didimauw]

Oh man you guys are too much sometimes! :crazy: :rofl:

 

[bigpond]

No one seemed to give a toss abut my post on page 1, but I'll say it again...
NIH says you can smoke tobacco that has mold growth without undue ill
but don't chew it, cuz that could kill you
If you want to kill mold in a tin I think the best way to go about is it to bake it. Tin baking has it's advocates anyway, might as well age the tobacco and kill the mold in one go.
Also, the op could bake all 20 tins at once without much fuss.

 

[woodsroad]

Here's some mold-killing info. Please note that the temperatures are listed in ºc
How To Kill Mold Growth
Dry heat: You will need to heat the core to a temp of 350ºf for one hour to kill spores.

 

[jking]

Wow Dan, that's impressive.
First of all Mr. Troy was/is a smart man. I never claimed to be nor am I.
I'm just stating facts. The facts are there has and continues to be a serious problem with blends from said company containing red VA. The facts are if you mention said blend and/or the company that manufactures these blends it's frowned upon here. The facts are it's been a problem for quite awhile now and continues to be so. The facts are said company has been very good about replacing the problem tins. The facts are in some of those cases the replacements had the same exact issue. The facts are they really haven't taken the problem (read moldy red VA) off the market completely. The facts are unsuspecting customers are still buying and the facts are if it's mentioned here it's quickly stricken down and/or supported by the loyal members of the sweep it under the rug crowd.
I'm not here to bash anyone Dan. Never was my intention. I know who runs this place and I know full well what his mind set is. I also know there's a HUGE problem with tobacco manufactured by Cornell and Diehl that contains the coveted red VA. And until they decide to trash the whole lot and take a loss, no matter what new blend they come up with, it will continue to be a problem for the end users. It's also quite apparent to me, quite possibly only me, that nobody else gets that.
I'm happy with that, are you?

 

[jpmcwjr]

OK, we're getting some good info. Bigpond- I read your post and noted it, and was also thankful I don't chew the stuff.
Question: heating sealed tins at 350º for an hour would also create steam which might blow the tins apart. Yes? No? Once the seal is broken, the heat will drive moisture out, also reducing the environment for mold growth.
Is this the one we should concentrate on? (from Dan's link)

Incineration >500o
Vaporizes organic material on nonflammable surfaces but may destroy many substances in the process.