J. Michael Moore and Paul E. Sumner
In the mid 1970's the cost of fuel for curing tobacco had a dramatic impact upon the costs of producing flue-cured tobacco. In an effort to reduce curing fuel consumption and costs, many tobacco producers followed the recommendations of the USDA and the cooperative Extension Service to insulate tobacco curing barns. Over a period of time, certain insulation materials applied directly to the interior surfaces of curing barns, due to aging and normal use, have become dislodged and found its way into cured tobacco. At this point it is considered to be foreign matter.
Foreign matter is anything which is not tobacco and should not be in marketed tobacco. Foreign matter includes materials such as stalks, suckers, grass, excessive amounts of dirt, rubber gloves, foil wrappers, string, paper, etc. Barn foam and rubber gloves present a special problem because their color and weight is similar to cured tobacco and may not be detected before processing. Loss of foreign matter weight and increased processing costs increase the costs of useable tobacco delivered to the customer. Therefore it is important to make certain that barn foam and other foreign materials do not get into tobacco in the first place.
As barn foam insulation deteriorates over time, it becomes brittle, small pieces break free and may be co-mingled with sheeted tobacco. Chunks are especially easy to knock loose in rack barns as racks are loaded into and unloaded from the barns. The insulation falls to the ground or barn floor and can be picked up with loose tobacco leaves. Relatively small amounts of contaminants such as barn foam and rubber gloves have the potential to adversely affect the sensory (i.e., taste and smell) enjoyment of cigarettes by customers. When barn foam and rubber gloves are detected in the manufacturing process, the tobacco must be manually cleaned or destroyed and is a very expensive process.
A program conducted in 1997 by the Tobacco Industry Leadership Group in cooperation with the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Cooperation and the Farm Services Agencies was aimed at encouraging barn owners to either cover or remove foam insulation which might be knocked loose and contaminate cured tobacco. Growers were required to certify at the time of warehouse designation that they had taken steps to evaluate the potential for their barns to contribute to this contamination problem and have taken steps to correct the problem. Older rack curing barns were determined to have the greatest potential for contaminating tobacco. The initial efforts of the TILG encouraged growers to remove old insulation in rack barns in order to avoid contamination of tobacco. More recently, growers were encouraged to either remove or cover with wood or metal any uncovered insulation in either rack or box barns. Barn doors of both rack and box barns with uncovered insulation appear to have a high potential of having chunks of the insulation knocked loose and contaminating tobacco.
Growers should understand the importance of this issue and to take immediate steps to insure that barn foam insulation from their barns may not contaminate their tobacco. The effects of this sort of contamination are far reaching and can affect the reputation of U.S. tobacco around the world. A quality product and customer satisfaction are important for future sales of US leaf. This program will be continued in 1998.
An Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Organization Committed to a Diverse Work Force
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 18 and June 30, 1914, The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.
Gale A. Buchanan, Dean and Director