mildew/mold on air curing tobacco

[Nik Vee]

So I recently put a post up with some pictures of my air curing tobacco in my basement. There has been some mildew spotted on probably 25% of my first harvest. I have a rotating fan on most of the time in the basement and humidity is around 65-70% and it’s about 70-78 degree down there depending on the time of the day. I have recently put a dehumidifier on for a couple hours a day and it’s keeping the humidity at around 66%. I feel like several more leaves have recently acquired some mildew. I was wondering if there is anything else I could do to prevent this from happening any further.

Should I separated the infected leaves from the others?

Should I try to lower the humidity even further? Maybe down to 50-60%?

My girlfriend has been complaining about the smell downstairs from it so she’s the one that’s making me put the dehumidifier on in the first place.

Also, I’m just trying to make dip not cigars so when I get to making it I’m going to put the shredded leaves in the oven for about 30 minutes at 200 degrees like all the recipes I have found recommend. Do you think this will kill off any of the harmful effect that the mold could have on the final product.



Any help is appreciated!

 

[deluxestogie]

http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/6088-Tobacco-Mold-!?p=112381&viewfull=1#post112381

If your girlfriend is complaining about a moldy smell, then that's a problem. If she is complaining about it smelling like tobacco, then that is an entirely different sort of problem.

Bob

 

[Nik Vee]

To me it smells like tobacco but I’m may be being optimistic. I’ll keep the dehumidfier on as long as the room stays above 60ish%. If the molding persist. Should I wait until the tobacco is completely cured before using hydrogen peroxide (as discribe by the llink you shared) or can I spray some now as it is still in the curing process?

And do you think the cooking at 200 degrees for 30 min when making the dip will kill off anything bad?


Thanks for response

 

[deluxestogie]

...aflatoxin B1 was almost completely degraded at heating temperatures of 160 °C and above.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23604747

So, if your temperature is °C, then you're good. If it's °F, then that won't help.

Bob

 

[Nik Vee]

I was talking Fahrenheit maybe I’ll boost it up to something higher. I just did a little research and found that most mold can’t survive over 140F. Maybe I’ll keep it at 200F and just go for longer then 30 min.

 

[deluxestogie]

Health risk is not from the mold itself. It is from the aflatoxin that some produce. Aflatoxin is sometimes present on dry beans, for example, but cooking them (212°F) fails to denature the toxin.

320°F will denature aflatoxin. Burning of tobacco occurs at much higher temperature.

Bob

 

[Nik Vee]

So you’re saying getting it up to 320f would do the trick. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt the tobacco too much for just making dip. 30 minutes you think still do the trick? That’s if this is even mold. From what I’m reading it doesn’t appear to be fully developed mold. It’s not purtruding and doesn’t have fur or anything like that.

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm afraid I can't help any further.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I went back and looked at the photos, and I don't think it's mold from what I see. I can't explain the spots. I've had them too, and if they're the same as what I had, it's something to do with the leaves themselves, and nothing to worry about. So, if you don't smell it taste mold, and it's not spreading or three dimensional, I wouldn't do anything drastic.

If all that spotting is mold, it's garbage, in my opinion and not worth trying to remove.

 

[Nik Vee]

I went back and looked at the photos, and I don't think it's mold from what I see. I can't explain the spots. I've had them too, and if they're the same as what I had, it's something to do with the leaves themselves, and nothing to worry about. So, if you don't smell it taste mold, and it's not spreading or three dimensional, I wouldn't do anything drastic.

If all that spotting is mold, it's garbage, in my opinion and not worth trying to remove.

Thanks China. It really doesn’t smell moldy to me. It smells like a basement but not thy bad at all. I’m still keeping the dehumidfier on and it’s still well over 60% humidity.

They sre havana leaves and it could have been that I pick them prematurely possibly.

 

[Smokin Harley]

you /your gf could be just smelling the ammonia coming off the curing tobacco. that is a smell that kind of hits you at the door. OR is it a grassy /hay smell?