R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Cheryl Cooper Scott

Frank Kelley St Charles

Daniel Verdin Cantrell

Gong Chen

Michael Francis Dube

Anthony Richard Gerardi

Darrell Eugene Holton, Jr

John-Paul Mua

Barry Smith Fagg

Jerry Wayne Marshall

Huamin Gan

A method is provided for curing tobacco. The method includes steps of wilting, bruising, aerating, and drying tobacco, where each of the steps is measured in hours or days rather than months. In some aspects, aeration may take two to twelve hours or less. In some aspects, the entire curing method may be completed in 24 hours or less.

Cured tobacco and method therefor

A method of thermally processing a tobacco material is provided, the method including the steps of (i) mixing a tobacco material, water, and an additive selected from the group consisting of lysine, glycine, histidine, alanine, methionine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, proline, phenylalanine, valine, arginine, di- and trivalent cations, asparaginase, saccharides, phenolic compounds, reducing agents, compounds having a free thiol group, oxidizing agents, oxidation catalysts, plant extracts, and combinations thereof, to form a moist tobacco mixture; (ii) heating the moist tobacco mixture at a temperature of at least about 60&#xb0; C. to form a heat-treated tobacco mixture; and (iii) incorporating the heat-treated tobacco mixture into a tobacco product. Heat-treated tobacco composition prepared according to the method are also provided, such as heat-treated smokeless tobacco composition comprising a tobacco material, water, flavorant, binder, and filler, the heat-treated smokeless tobacco composition having an acrylamide content of less than about 2000 ppb.

Thermal treatment process for tobacco materials

Growing community of inventors

Lewisville, NC, United States of America

Cheryl Cooper Scott