Snus going bad?

[threei]

I ordered some snus about a month ago and put most of it in the freezer. Yesterday I noticed that a can of Skruf Stark portions smelled like amonia. Then today I opened a can of Kardus loose that I took out of the freezer a couple of days ago. Its kind of dry compared to other snus I have tried and very coarse. I'm not sure if this is the way its supposed to be, but its more like american dip than most snus I have seen. It smelled ok and i was able to make a pris witht the prismaster that held together. It tasted fine...

[Craig de Tering]

I thought forum member Gopherbob has a similar "problem".
The difference is he thinks his snus deteriorates in transit *before* it gets to him (because of the warm Florida weather) not after it's been in the fridge a while.

Me personally, I wouldn't know what to tell you. I've had snus that's been in transit for a month and traveled half a globe and it still tastes fine. (It went from Sweden to USA -about 6 days- then to Holland and got stuck in customs for almost a month. Still yummy.)

[gopherbob]

I have got many cans from northerner that was much dryer than they should be. I just spray a little water and its good as new.


Now snus smelling like amonia... thats strange. If I had a can that smelled like that It would be tossed in the trash.


The kardus is dry and course cut instead of ground fine like its snus brothers. And very salty.

[Zero]

Skruf stark does have a rather strong, pungent/acrid smell that, i suppose, one could take for ammonia... but just open a jug of floor-washing ammonia to compare.

[threei]

Skruf stark does have a rather strong, pungent/acrid smell that, i suppose, one could take for ammonia... but just open a jug of floor-washing ammonia to compare.

haha I actually did that and it almost knocked me out.

I also live in Florida. It could be the that the transit during the warm weather cut some of the shelf life off of the snus. I have noticed that some of the cans of loose have been pretty dry. A can of Ettan that I opened recently was very difficult to make a pris that I could actually get in my lip without it falling apart. Also that was my second can of Skruf Stark and I didnt notice that smell in the first one.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[Craig de Tering]

If I were you I'd try an order from another shop for once just to see if their snus is fresher (shorter time in storage there maybe?). Seems to differ for some folks.

[carotevi]

I have had that happen to me more times than I care to remember. I have learned (some) about what causes it and how to avoid it.

I find that it is happening in shipping because of the heat. I live in Alabama and in the summer months getting fresh snus is almost impossible. I can tell you that you might have better luck buying loose over portions in warmer months.

The best solution is to never buy snus when the temp is over 70F in shipping. What I now do is buy loads of snus in the winter months and freeze it for summer. I have a ton of snus ready to carry me through summer. Oh yea, always use UPS for shipping it minimizes the time your snus sits in a hot warehouse or truck. At first you will think it's cheaper to use regular postage but after you throw out $100 worth of snus because it smells and taste like garbage you will learn.

Of course if you live in a colder area you may not have any of these issues to deal with.

Keep in mind if your shipment stops in transit for a day in a city that is 90 F (120 in the warehouse) and you live where it is very cold your snus is still gonna cook.

Well in a nutshell that my two cents worth ;-)

[anweis]

Alabama and in the summer months getting fresh snus is almost impossible. ;-)

Missouri is not any better in July and August. I just use UPS, the snus gets here in two or three days and they ring the bell so i can get it instead of leaving it in the mail box in the sun.

[carotevi]

Alabama and in the summer months getting fresh snus is almost impossible. ;-)

Missouri is not any better in July and August. I just use UPS, the snus gets here in two or three days and they ring the bell so i can get it instead of leaving it in the mail box in the sun.

I think it has to do with how much one tries to order at once because of storage times. I have ordered a few rolls before, it come in fine. Then after a couple weeks even in the freezer it changes and goes bad. The first few times it happened to me i thought i was imagining it. What I had in my refrigerator would go bad so I would go get a can out of the freezer and that can would be ok for about eight hours and it would go bad. I almost went nuts until I figured out what was going on and just quit ordering in the summer. I always order 4-6 rolls at a time and it just wont keep if i order in the summer.

Also different brands and types seem to keep better than others. I have one portion brand that I like and it is impossible to get and use in the summer.

Like "threei" once I ordered a roll of Skruf Stark portions in the summer time and when I opened the first can and tried a portion the smell of ammonia was bad. I tried my best to use the roll because I was out and man oh man was it bad. I ended up throwing it away and buying cope local until that summer was over. cope was better than the snus i could get and i think cope taste like the stuff you would get out of dead AA batteries busted open :shock:

[Zero]

Are you putting them in freezer bags in the freezer? That helps. Get as much air as you can out of the bag and zip it up tight.

[carotevi]

Are you putting them in freezer bags in the freezer? That helps. Get as much air as you can out of the bag and zip it up tight.

Yea i am. I wrap the rolls in cling wrap and then put that in freezer bags. No air and no lack of plastic haha

[threei]

The best solution is to never buy snus when the temp is over 70F in shipping. What I now do is buy loads of snus in the winter months and freeze it for summer.

70F? ouch

I live in Miami and it never averages below 70, even in the winter. I wish I would have ordered some on Sunday since we have a "cold" spell right now. But its still 84F today even though the low last night was around 60. Probably pushing close to 100F in the back of one of those UPS trucks. I guess I'll have to time my purchases in the winter when a front moves down. At least I can get General locally, not my favorite but I'll have to make due.

[carotevi]

I should have been more clear about the 70 temp. As a rule of thumb I go by a predicted high of 70 F. I have ordered and the high go up to pushing 80 local and loose snus would be ok. You have to remember that even though it may be real hot in FL if you get the snus early in the AM it may have not been in FL for more than a few hours. So your mileage may vary on the high temp rule. Order like one roll from http://www.swedishsnus.com and see if you can use the whole roll before it goes bad. Maybe your luck will be better than mine has been. I have noticed N&J and general loose does better in the heat than some do. Also those mini portions do ok although I don't care for them. Side note, sometimes I wonder if the high humedity here or the way my local UPS handles it's packages (like maybe real hot warehouse) adds to the problem.

[nzkiwi]

Here in the U.S tocacco is not refridgerated, some of the dip tobacco(skoal,timberwolf,etc) sits on the shelf for weeks.

My question is, why does u.s snuff not get refridgerated but still tastes fresh when opened. What's the difference between snus and spit tobacco besides pasteurization versus fermentation?

[Zero]

fermented means it's already done what you don't want snus to do... dip is probably loaded with preservative too