This invention concerns the technical field of tobacco products, in particular a method for manufacturing a moist snuff composition comprising at least one gelling agent. A composition obtainable by said method is also provided and a container containing one or more composition(s).

Moist snuff and other tobacco products presently available on the market are difficult to form. Their formability is very limited which is a drawback for consumers wishing to form a certain amount of tobacco product, preferably moist snuff, into a dainty and inviting piece of tobacco product. Also the water keeping characteristics of the tobacco products of today have drawbacks.

The manufacture of portion moist snuff is a method for facilitating use of moist snuff in portion form, and these portion moist snuff pinches are generally surrounded by a paper material. However there are consumers that do not like the feeling of paper in the mouth.

There is a tobacco composition disclosed in WO 2004/056218 and WO 2004/0118422 wherein a moist snuff composition comprising at least one thickening agent is disclosed. A method for manufacturing said composition is also disclosed. A gelling step is however not used in said method, whereby only the thickening characteristics of thickening agents are used. The product obtainable from said method is further essentially water soluble. Further, WO 2004/056219 comprises a non-chewable smokeless tobacco and a gum base.

Moist snuff, "snus", manufactured according to GothiaTek^® Standard is also known. There is however a problem when forming a pinch of moist snuff as this pinch when applied into a human mouth will deteriorate in the mouth, which gives the person using said pinch an unpleasant appearance and the used pinch is also difficult to dispose of. A personal mobile moist snuff can for use of keeping used pinches (a disposal unit), may not be useful when disposing of said used pinches.

Thus it is desirable to be able to provide a moist tobacco product, and a method for its manufacture, which product is elastic, pleasant for the mouth, whereby avoiding use of a paper material, and which is cohesive and thus difficult to become deteriorated in the mouth, i.e. keeps essentially its form after use in the mouth. It would additionally be desirable to have a product which is essentially non-water soluble. Further it would be desirable that said product does not leave tobacco particles in the mouth after use. Additionally it would be desirable that said moist tobacco product is cohesive and may be put in a disposal unit after use.

The present invention solves one or more of the above problems by providing according to a first aspect a method (whereby gelling characteristics of gelling agents are utilized) for manufacturing a tobacco product for oral use comprising the following steps:

1. a) mixing and/or applying, and subsequently forming of portions of tobacco product for oral use, a tobacco raw material, water if not present in said tobacco raw material, optionally one or more additives, and either before the forming of portions of tobacco product for oral use, by using mixing, or after the forming of portions of tobacco product for oral use, by using applying, or also at both said occasions, a gelling agent, and
2. b) gelling said tobacco product of step a) wherein the gelling of step b) is performed by heating or the gelling is performed by using microwave radiation, thereby providing a hardened end product.

According to a second aspect of the present invention a moist snuff composition obtainable by a method according to the first aspect is provided.

It is intended throughout the present description that the expression "tobacco raw material "or "tobacco" (used interchangeably in the present description) embrace any tobacco type available or mixtures thereof. Examples of tobacco types are: Rustica, Virginia, Burley, Oriental and Kentucky. The tobacco raw material may be dry, e.g. as a powder, or it may also comprise water, when using the method according to the first aspect. If said tobacco raw material is a moist tobacco raw material, such as moist snuff, then the addition of water may be omitted if the water already present is sufficient for the method according to the first aspect. Preferably the tobacco raw material is moist snuff, which already comprises water. Most preferred the tobacco raw material is "snus" or moist snuff produced in accordance with GothiaTek® (trademark owned by Swedish Match) standard.

It is intended throughout the present description that the expression "portion" or "pinch", which are used interchangeably, embraces a portion (amount) suitable for use in the oral cavity of a human being.

It is intended throughout the present description that the expression "gelling agent" embraces any gelling agent, and which also may be a gelling thickening agent, or mixtures thereof for use in food products which enables the characteristics and consistency of the moist snuff composition according to the second aspect of the present invention. The gelling agent is preferably selected from the group of compounds consisting of agar (E406), xanthan gum (E415), locust bean gum (Carob) (E410), gelatin, carrageenan (E407), 1-carrageenan, K-carrageenan, starch (which may be modified),gellan, methyl cellulose, carboxy methyl cellulose(CMC), alginates, konjac or derivatives of said compounds or mixtures comprising said compounds, preferably said compound is 1-carrageenan, K-carrageenan or agar.

The gelling agent is preferably added in the form of an essentially dry powder, or also in the form of a water solution, giving 0.00001-30 % (weight/weight) of gelling agent in the end product. The gelling agent is added, preferably by dusting, into the tobacco raw material, which preferably already comprises water. The gelling agent may instead be added by immersing the formed tobacco raw material (with water and optionally additives added) into a solution of the gelling agent. Said solution with gelling agent may preferably be hot. If applying the gelling agent as a solution the end product becomes more flexible (bendable). The desired characteristics of the end product may also be amplified by adding compounds comprising potassium and/or calcium ions, especially if r carrageenan, K-carrageenan or alginates are used as gelling agents.

Moist snuff, i.e. one preferred example of a tobacco raw material, produced in accordance with GothiaTek® standard (snus) is manufactured using essentially the following method set out below:

• The moist snuff is made from selected tobaccos, salts, humectants and flavour additives. The moist snuff is made from mainly air cured tobaccos. Tobacco may be purchased from North and South America, Asia and also from a few countries in Africa and Europe. Tobacco samples are taken already in the farmers' barns and sent to laboratories for analysis. When making snus the main ingredients except for tobacco are normally water, salt (table salt; NaC!) and sodium carbonate. Flavour additives and humectants may also be used. Salt is added mainly for its effect on taste but also has a preservative action which contributes to improved shelf life of the products. Sodium carbonate is used to give the products their characteristic flavour profile but also brings the pH value to the slightly alkaline side. Sodium carbonate will convert to baking soda immediately after it is added. Flavour additives in general are natural or artificial flavour compounds that comply with food regulations. Flavours are usually dissolved in alcohol when added. Most of the alcohol evaporates during production. Only trace quantities remain. Humectants may also be added to protect the products from drying out. Two types may be used: glycerol and propylene glycol. Both of them also have a preservative effect since they lower the water activity of the product, thus preventing microorganisms from growing.

The moist snuff is manufactured in two major steps, a) grinding (cutting) and b) processing.

The tobacco bale is broken up, dried and fed into a grinder. The ground tobacco is sieved into three particle size fractions, coarse, medium and fine. Pre-set quantities of the three fractions are fed into a mixer silo where the tobacco flour is mixed. After blending, the tobacco flour is fed into a storage silo, from which flour is automatically taken to the processing operation. Each type of tobacco mixture is kept in a separate silo.

Manufacturing of moist snuff is preferably done in a batch operation. The whole process may be computer controlled and can be run day and night, all week around. To start the process, tobacco flour is automatically weighed and fed into the process blender. Water and salt is added to the batch under stirring. The batch is then heated and kept heated up for a specified time, which varies with brands. Temperature and stirring is preferably controlled by a process computer program. This part of the process is traditionally named "sweating" but is more close to a pasteurisation process. After pasteurisation the moist snuff batch is cooled down and the rest of the ingredients are added.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein step a) comprises the following steps:

1. i) a tobacco raw material, water if not present in said tobacco raw material, and optionally one or more additives, is mixed with a gelling agent, which preferably is essentially dry,
2. ii) mixing said material of step i) into an essentially homogenous mixture;
3. iii) forming, preferably by rolling, said mixture of step ii) into a plate; and
4. iv) punching out a tobacco product in a form and size suitable for use in a human mouth, from the plate in step iii).

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein step a) comprises the following steps:

1. i) a tobacco raw material, water if not present in said tobacco raw material, and optionally one or more additives is mixed;
2. ii) mixing said material of step i) into an essentially homogenous mixture;
3. iii) forming, preferably by rolling, said mixture of step ii) into a plate; and
4. iv) punching out a tobacco product in a form and size suitable for use in a human mouth, from the plate in step iii); and
5. v) applying a gelling agent in a liquid form, preferably by immersing said tobacco product of step iv).

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein step a) comprises the following steps:

1. i) a tobacco raw material, water if not present in said tobacco raw material, and optionally one or more additives, is mixed with a gelling agent, which preferably is essentially dry,
2. ii) mixing said material of step i) into an essentially homogenous mixture;
3. iii)forming, preferably by rolling, said mixture of step ii) into a plate;
4. iv) punching out a tobacco product in a form and size suitable for use in a human mouth, from the plate in step iii); and
5. v) applying a gelling agent in a liquid form, preferably by immersing said tobacco product of step iv).

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein said tobacco raw material is snus or moist snuff, preferably a snus manufactured according to GothiaTek® standard.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein said gelling agent is a compound selected from the group agar, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, gelatin, carrageenan, 1-carrageenan, K-carrageenan, starch, gellan, methyl cellulose, carboxy methyl cellulose, alginates, konjac or derivatives of said compounds or mixtures comprising said compounds, preferably said compound is I-carrageenan, K-carrageenan or agar.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein said gelling agent is added whereby ending up in a content of said agent ranging from about 0.00001 to about 30 % weight/weight in the end product, preferably said content is from about 2 to about 5% weight/weight, most preferred about 3% weight/weight.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein the end product comprises water in a range spanning from about 30 to about 90 % weight/weight in the end product, preferably said range is from about 40 to about 70 % weight/weight, most preferred about 50 % weight/weight.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein one or more adjuvants (helping and supporting agents) are added (said adjuvants are additives) during step a) wherein said adjuvant is glycerol, propylene glycol, Ca and/or K ions. When using I-carrageenan or a mixture comprising said compound as gelling agent in the method according to the first aspect, it is essential that the concentration of Ca ions is high enough. If using snus as tobacco raw material then this concentration is normally at the right level. If this level is too low an addition of Ca ions is accordingly preferred. Glycerol may also help reduce dehydration especially in the case if agar is used as gelling agent. Accordingly the use of glycerol is preferred when agar is used as gelling agent.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein the plate of step iii) has a thickness of from about 1 mm to about 15 mm, preferably from about 4 to about 8 mm, most preferred about 5 mm. The pinches (portions) of tobacco product, for oral use, according to the second aspect of the present invention, are as set out earlier in a form suitable for having said product in the oral cavity of a human, preferably between lip/cheek and gums, most preferred essentially elliptic pieces. Also essentially circular pieces are plausible. The pieces are further preferably in size for use in the mouth, most preferably under the upper lip of a human being. If the portions are essentially circular they may preferred have a diameter of approximately 12 mm. Obviously, the product according to the second aspect of the present invention can be presented in any form and size which is suitable for use in a human mouth.

After the mixing of step ii) the mixture may preferably be leaved to rest for a time period. The resting period of step ii) may be from about 1 h to about 48 h, preferably about 24 h.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein a text, picture, pattern, brand or trade mark is formed under the plate during the forming of step iii).

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein the gelling of step b) is performed by heating preferably at a temperature of about 95 °C, most preferred by using saturated water vapour (e.g. by using an oven); or the gelling is performed by using micro wave radiation.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein the gelling of step b) is performed during a time period of about 15 minutes if heating is used. A micro wave oven may also be used in which case the time period for gelling may much shorter than 15 minutes.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein in step iv) the punching also comprises embossing a text, picture, pattern, colour, brand or trade mark on the punched product.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein sweetening agents, flavouring agents, colour agents and/or dyes additionally are added in step a). Thus said compounds are other additives which may be used in the method according to the first aspect of the invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method wherein the applying of a gelling agent in a liquid form of step v) involves using a hot agar solution.

Further the moist snuff composition, according to the second aspect of the present invention may be contained in a container for storage. The container may be for storing each pinch of moist snuff composition separately and said container may e.g. a blister-sealed pack (blister pack or bubble pack). The container may also be a dispenser apparatus, e.g. an apparatus enabling the presenting of each pinch of moist snuff composition separately. The apparatus may e.g. be a PEZ® dispenser apparatus or a similar dispenser apparatus. The container may e.g. be a can, which may be equipped with a lid. The container may be constituted of a packaging material, e.g. a plastic material or a metal material, or a combination thereof, which may be a packaging material adapted to house a bundle of pinches of the moist snuff composition, i.e. bundles of the end product. The container may be adapted to fit a bundle of pinches of moist snuff composition for use in a dispenser apparatus, e.g. an apparatus enabling the presenting of each pinch of moist snuff composition separately. The apparatus may e.g. be a PEZ® dispenser apparatus or a similar dispenser apparatus.

Preferred features of each aspect of the invention are as for each of the other aspects mutatis mutandis. The prior art documents mentioned herein are incorporated to the fullest extent permitted by law. The invention is further described in the following examples in conjunction with the appended figures, which do not limit the scope of the invention in any way. Embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail with the aid of examples of embodiments and figures, the only purpose of which is to illustrate the invention and are in no way intended to limit its extent.

• Fig. 1 shows one way of manufacturing the moist snuff composition according to the second aspect of the invention.
• Fig. 2 shows a photo containing, from the left, normal moist snuff, moist snuff in a portion package and a tobacco composition according to the second aspect of the present invention. The items appearing in the upper level are said products before use in the oral cavity, and the below appearing products are said products after use in the oral cavity.
• Fig. 3 shows a diagram whereby different tobacco compositions have been compared.
• Fig. 4 describes a laboratory set of components for use in determining nicotine release.
• Fig. 5 describes a laboratory mouth for use in determining nicotine release.

In the following the method as set out above and in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention is described by use of the following two examples:

Portion pieces ("pinches") comprising a tobacco raw material, preferably snus, intended for use between cheek and gum of a human were manufactured as set out below. The raw material was formed to soft and elastic portion pieces, which do not deteriorate in the mouth during use, through a process as set out below which combines addition of a gelling agent with a heat treatment step at a relatively high humidity. The portion pieces may obviously be formed into almost any shape during said process.

1. 1. Dry gelling agent, preferably agar and/or I-carrageenan, was added slowly through dusting into the tobacco raw material, snus manufactured in accordance with GothiaTek® standard, under continuous mixing. The mixing apparatus was a Kitchen Aid KSM 901 which had been set on level 4 regarding the number of revolutions. The mixing device in said apparatus was a "Wire Whip".
2. 2. The content of gelling agent in the end product was about 3 % (weight/weight).
3. 3. The process was performed as a batch method. It may be performed either in a closed mixing vessel or in an open mixing vessel.
4. 4. Potentially other additives may be added in connection with or directly after the addition of gelling agent. When all additions had been done the dough was kneaded/homogenized. In this specific process the dough was kneaded by hand. The material was left to rest during 24 hours.
5. 5. The mixture was formed into plates with a thickness of about 5 mm. This was done by using rulers and a cutting-board, a rolling-pin and oven paper. In this process step a pattern may be imprinted on the other side, i.e. the side not facing the rolling pin, of the tobacco plate.
6. 6. A punch apparatus was used to punch out pinches (portions) from the plate and deforms at the same time the portion into the desired form. In this process step the portion may be provided with a sign e.g. a logotype on the upper side of the portion.
7. 7. The portions were then heat treated at 95°C and 100 % RH for 15 minutes on a metal grid. The portions were placed on said metal grid above a water reservoir in a glass vessel. The glass vessel had only a small opening thus giving a RH of nearly 100 % around the portions. In this way the portions were hardened. This hardening step may be followed by a tumbling step whereby beard may be removed from the end products. The portions were left to cool to room temperature and they may be packaged thereafter.

Portion pieces ("pinches") comprising a tobacco raw material, preferably snus, intended for use between cheek and gum of a human were manufactured as set out below. The raw material was formed to soft and elastic portion pieces, which do not deteriorate in the mouth during use, through a process as set out below. The portion pieces may obviously be formed into almost any shape during said process.

1. 1. Snus, manufactured in accordance with GothiaTek® standard, was formed into plates with a thickness of about 5 mm. This was done by using rulers and a cutting-board, a rolling-pin and oven paper. In this process step a pattern may be imprinted on the other side, i.e. the side not facing the rolling pin, of the tobacco plate.
2. 2. A punch apparatus was used to punch out pinches (portions) from the plate and deforms at the same time the portion into the desired form. In this process step the portion may be provided with a sign e.g. a logotype on the upper side of the portion.
3. 3. The portions were then dipped for a few seconds in a hot (-90 °C) Agar solution (2 % in water). In this way a skin was applied on the pinches. The portions were placed on a metal grid to cool and may be packaged thereafter.

When scaling up the method according to the first aspect of the invention, the kneading may be performed in e.g. a "Buss"-kneading apparatus. It would also be possible to use a rolling oven to heat portions continuously, and thus end up in a more continuous process (see Figure 1).

This experiment was done to measure the nicotine release (amount and speed) from the tobacco composition according to the second aspect of the present invention and shows that the release is comparable with that from moist snuff i.e. snus, manufactured in accordance with GothiaTek® standard, when used in the same way. The release is calculated as the percentage of the initial nicotine content in the product. To compare different oral tobacco products, equipment which imitates human oral snuffing and measures nicotine release on-line, was used as set out in figures 4 and 5.

The products were placed in a synthetic mouth consisting of a 15 cm long tubing of regenerated Cellulose dialysis membrane (SPECTRUM, Spectra/Por®6, 1 000 MWCO), which was folded in two and a short measuring cylinder containing 2 ml of phosphate buffer (pH 6.7). The products were placed between the folded membrane tubing, which was placed in the measuring cylinder. The synthetic mouth is shown in Figure 5. The mouth was connected to a peristaltic pump, recycling 100 ml of phosphate buffer inside the membrane tube to a beaker with the speed of 30 ml/min (Figure 4). Connected to the same beaker was another pump system consisting of a liquid chromatography pump and a diode array detector. A water bath kept the temperature in the system at about 37 °C. During analysis only small molecules as nicotine penetrate the membrane and are transported to the detector. The measuring cycle was 30 minutes. Absorbance was measured simultaneously at 244.4, 259.4 and 274.4 nm with 0.32 seconds interval. The nicotine absorbent curve was calculated as: A_nicotine = A_259.4- (A_274.4 + A_244.4)/2. The measuring equipment is shown in Figure 4.

Three different products were analyzed - a moist snuff (snus, manufactured in accordance with GothiaTek® standard), a product obtained as set out in example 1 above and a product obtained as set out in example 2 above. All products had the same shape and the same surface. Further the amount of tobacco was the same in all three products. They also had the same weight.

Figure 3 shows the results of the analyses. The curves are expressed as released nicotine in percentage of total amount of nicotine in the product. The curve appearing most below is the product according to example 2, the one further above represents a product according to example 1 and the curve appearing at the top is moist snuff as set out above (snus, manufactured in accordance with GothiaTek® standard). As can be seen the release of nicotine is measured during 30 minutes.

The result of this experiment shows that the nicotine release of the product according to the second aspect of the present invention is comparable with the nicotine release of normal moist snuff.

Various embodiments of the present invention have been described above but a person skilled in the art realizes further minor alterations, which would fall into the scope of the present invention. The breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. For example, any of the above-noted methods can be combined with other known methods. Other aspects, advantages and modifications within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.