Are these more prone to mold? I opened my Santo Domingo (a favourite of mine) to discover mold had taken hold, so I opened the Princes special to discover it also had gone moldy to a lesser degree (maybe as i use it less). i dont pinch from these by hand, i use a spoon as the tins are awkward for my stubby fingers. First time i have encountered snuff mold…? Are there any ways to prevent mold? i dont want to come back to a bigger tub to discover i have to throw it all away.
I have never seen that before! I am using a 5 year old tin of F&T Old Paris and its still good. Do you store them somewhere warm and moist? I keep mine in airtight jars if not in rotation.
Same places as all my other tubs. less opened too. they are quite moist snuffs, and dark. My oldest dark moist snuffs i suppose… because i seem to prefer drier. i have airtight jars now im picking up momentum in the snuff hobby/use, and im storing some i dont have jars for yet in old sam gawith 25g tins wrapped with PVC tape. though the poschl red bull (that seems to never go down!) that i take everywhere in my pocket(i do get warm, and have a slight sweat issue on bad days…) is fine too. we have a moisture problem and for a few weeks the radiator broke on high, but as i hardly open them, i figured it would be ok.
tobaccos grow mold sometimes even in the best storage. Molds everywhere.
yeah, i thought as much, just found it strange/interesting that it was two of the same brand, and wondering if theres any tricks beyond storing in jars to prevent it. how about fridge/freezer? though ill have to get mini fridge, my (shared with fellow student housemates) fridge and freezer already have a load of snus in them. im not sure theyll be best pleased if i start filling a whole shelf with my own tobacco products.
The common feature here is not so much the brand, as it is that they are both moist snuffs. Moist snuffs are more prone to mold.
Make sure and look under the lid of your tin. I’ve had a few of the large Santo Domingo corrode on the tin’s lid and drop down which give the appearance of mold in the snuff…
Your spoon must had the mold spores , all ways pour your snuff into a snuff box.sorry for your loss!
i did pour with the princes. havent used it really since i got a spoon. gonna have to buy more of the SD, but ill take a closer look when i get back to it regarding @bart 's post.
My Princes special tin, bought three months ago, made the mold but not the snuff, the tin! Exteriorly began to deteriorate despite is stored very well as I do for all my snuffs. Only the Princes S. had this mold problem, the other F&T no… I think it depends on some ingredient that they use to scent it.
I agree with @Bart. It may not be mold. Actually those are unlikely to mold due to their high salt content. Two things I’ve seen happen to these snuffs: One, since they are very moist (and salty) they act like seawater does to any metal, they corrode it. These tins can corrode from the inside. The steel tins that Wilsons use make an obvious rust from their moist varieties. The F&T ones use aluminum which does not rust, but will oxidize. Some of the oxidation may fall into the snuff. Carefully scrape the top layer off and decant the rest to a glass container. Second possibility: If the tins were not stored airtight, they can dry out. When salty snuff dries, it will leave behind salt crystals which are visible as white specks (but will look like crystals under a magnifying lens. This is still safe enough to use, but would improve with rehydration.
oh wow, i think its salt ( the bits stuck to the rim seem to scrape off as dried salt would, and look slightly crystalline under my lens. this is a huge relief, and i have just found snuff to be one of the most interesting things to magnify haha. watch out the rest of my collection, here i come!
Even more of a mystery to me are what look like little hairs I find in different tins from time to time. I can’t say for certain it isn’t from me since I do have a full beard or it could be falling from my nose since I generally snuff over my tins. The three types of snuff/tin/corrosion problems I’ve had are FT Santo Domingo, Old Paris, and WoS Brunswick. Since they put ground up license plates in Copenhagen tins, (or was that glass? 
), the corrosion in the snuff doesn’t bother me much. Just switch containers.
Came across a tin (original F&T container) of Old Paris about 6-7 years old. Wonderful stuff with no signs of mold, degradation of any kind. (yes, it had been opened and sampled) Found it had aged quite nicely and in fact seemed to be better than when “fresh”. Prompted the purchase of more that will hopefully age as gracefully. Like wine, brandy, whisky…
In this old thread says something about this : snuffhouse.org/discussion/6533/is-this-tin-of-ft-princess-salvageable">
Rust will have a distinct scent and will be physically unpleasant in the nose. Enough so that you will not want to snuff it and you should not because it will eventually damage your nose. I have experience with an ancient can of Bruton that led me to this information. Mold will also have a distinct scent and will cause spongelike clumps to form that will hold together when picked up. Minor mold growth can be stopped by dehydration. I have thrown out a few snuffs due to mold but I do have a few that I have kept and have deemed snuffable. Mold scents will fade over time once mold growth is stopped. Although there are molds that can be harmful and constant long term exposure to mold can have consequences, I have chosen to keep these snuffs as they are simply too good to throw out. I do not use them too often and do pay close attention to any effects that may be detected (none so far). I am thinking that I am exposed to mold on a daily bases anyway and that this occasional intentional exposure will be negligible.