Best practice takes the place of insecticides in dried tobacco handling

Abstract

Tobacco remains one of the most valuable, dried, processed, almost-food commodities in the world. As a result manufacturing and storage, including transport, are important elements where serious infestations can occur. By agreement throughout the tobacco industry, and often as a result of national legislation, the “magic bullet” commonly used in the dried food industry against insect infestations – fumigation – is not available after the first processing stages. [Cereal processing is similar – grain and flour can be fumigated, but biscuits and cakes cannot.]
The still unfinished “cut rag” dried chopped tobacco leaves – a very infestible commodity – is widely shipped around the world and frequently subjected to heavy infestation pressures, yet is already beyond the simplest curative method of fumigation.
This paper describes the development, over several years, of effective insect detection systems, allowing hygiene and physical options to chemical control to be tested. The end result was a practical manual of logical systems and options - a fully independently audited system - which has implications for storage, transport and handling of all dried foods, where currently pesticides are used and relied upon.