Manufacturing and Production

Manufacturing and production of Swedish snus

Snus consists basically of three things - tobacco, salt and water - and the production of snus can be divided into three main stages. The manufacturing of snus follows the Swedish food act i.e. the rules governing food production also applies to the production of snus.

Stage 1: Grinding

All Swedish snus is ground. The various sorts of tobacco to be used are weighed, blended and dried. After that, tobacco is ground to a powder which is then sieved and split into fine, medium and coarse powder.

Stage 2: Preparing

Depending on which type of Swedish snus is to be produced, a selection between different types of powder of various kinds and coarseness is made. The selected powder mixture is then poured into a mixer together with water and salt. The water gives the snus its moistness, and the salt does exactly what it does when preparing food i.e. it enhances the flavour.

The snus is then pasteurised, which means that the mixture is heated in order to kill off any potential bacteria. By this stage, the contents in the mixer are beginning to look like snus, but the mixture is sour and therefore soda in added to increase the Ph value of the snus. Secondly, if flavoured snus is to be produced, it is at this stage that flavourings and aromatic substances are added. These may be, for instance, natural oils of lemon, bergamot, aniseed or liquorice. It is important to note that only flavours approved for food can be used in Swedish snus.

Stage 3: Packaging

Once the snus is ready, it is cooled to 8°C and put in temporary storage while awaiting packaging. The snus is then packaged in mini portion sachets, in standard portion sachets or in loose form and put into in plastic or metal containers – the snus cans. Once the containers have been filled with snus, the labels are added and the cans are sealed with wrappers. They are then stacked in rolls which are packed in boxes and delivered to shops.

Manufacturing and production of chewing tobacco

The production of chewing tobacco is fundamentally based on old craftsmanship - using modern technology in combination with hand-made traditions. The hand-made tradition of the product is reflected by the various functions in the production process such as twisters, tobacco-leaf strippers and even master saucers.

Chewing tobacco is made of tobacco leaves in varying sizes and only the very best quality tobacco is used in making this product. Every single tobacco piece consists of a few square centimetres of a single tobacco leaf. If you unroll a piece, you can see that it is made up of a single piece of a tobacco leaf.

Natural flavorings are primarily used in chewing tobacco and help to add character. Examples of such flavouring are eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil and liquorice. Except for the tobacco itself, all the ingredients used are approved for use in the manufacture of foodstuffs.