496 



B. Blended Leaf Facility 



Stems, dust, and leaf parts of less than 1/16 inch primarily from Burley tobacco, are used in 

 this process. The two components are first treated separately, the stems being ground and the 

 dusts being wetted and screened. The crushed stems and dust paste are then combined with 

 flavors in de-ionized water. The mixture is aged and then fed onto a stainless-steel sheet 

 conveyor belt. The paste solution is cast onto a conveyor belt that passes through dryers 

 which dry the paste into a sheet. The sheet is cut into 4-inch chevrons and packed in large 

 wooden containers for use in cigarette production. 



The facility does not control for nicotine levels in the incoming raw material or the finished 

 product. The primary in-process production control is the moisture level. The facility does 

 not account for nicotine levels in the incoming raw material or the finished product. 

 Approximately 40 percent of the nicotine contained in the tobacco entering the process is lost 

 and not returned or replaced. 



C. Reconstituted Leaf Facility 



Reconstituted leaf is manufactured from the stems and small leaf parts from threshing and 

 processed in an separation and recombination paper-making process. 



The stems and small leaf parts are first crushed and mixed in a large solution tank. The 

 mixture of fiber is pressed and divided into two parts: the semi-solid cellulose fibers and 

 tobacco solubles. 



The cellulose fibers are transferred to a wire screen where water is removed, the remaining 

 fibers form a tobacco sheet, and the sheet is partially dried. Potassium nitrate is removed 

 from the liquor containing tobacco solubles. The tobacco solubles are flavored with 

 ingredients, and recombined with the tobacco sheet. The tobacco sheet is then dried, cut into 

 chevrons, and packed in wooden hogsheads for storage until used in cigarette production. 



There are process controls for the quality of the product; in-process and final process samples 

 are tested for water soluble content. Equipment settings are adjusted to ensure target soluble 

 content is achieved in the final product. The raw materials, liquor, and finished product are 

 not controlled for nicotine levels. There is a 20 to 25 percent loss of nicotine contained in the 

 tobacco entering the process and the lost nicotine is not replaced or returned to the tobacco. 



