Letter from GN Tobacco
Got an email today from someone at GN tobacco, makers of the Olde Viking snus. I’m not sure what to make of it, so I’ll let you decide:
I send you a few lines. I think it is some missunderstanding about GN Tobaccos process.
Fermentation in the US are made at room temperature and it is a misconception that GN Tobaccos snus is made in such manner.
All production of Swedish snus use heat treatment (pasteurization), That is also what GN Tobacco use. GN Tobacco use heat treatment in heating rooms instead of tanks. The result of the process is the same, except that laboratory analysis from eurofins shows that we have the lowest TSNA levels in our snus. GN Tobacco can provide you with analysis reports from the laboratory.
We are convinced that the use of heat rooms provide a better quality of snus. The only negative is that it requires more staff.
May 1st, 2010 at 12:25 pm
I got the same letter. They’re supposed to be releasing some TSNA reports to us soon as well.
May 19th, 2010 at 8:35 am
I’m still not convinced. A customized steam pasteurization costs about 1.2 to 1.4MM USD. Seems to me a lot of the smaller snus manufacturers like Gotlandssnus could have employed extra staff for decades instead of laying out that kind of cash.
If heat room pasteurization is so great, why is GNT the only one in Sweden using it? Why was Snus AB; the now bankrupt owners of the GNT factory, constantly harassed my the Swedish version of FDA?
Lennart; GNT’s VP of Operations, called me a while back. I’m still waiting for the lab reports he promised me which he already had plus the one he agreed to have performed analyzing the TSNA levels of a 3 month old can of Olde Viking.
I never received any snus in the mail from him like you, Doctor. He never asked to see my credentials either. I remain unconvinced but grateful he didn’t send snus….I have a can of the first Olde’ Viking offering I couldn’t bear to open lying like a frozen hockey puck in the back of my freezer.