Foreign objects.

that's one of the reasons C&D introduced organically grown tobacco - no pesticides. The bugs don't bug me, but the poisons do.

We're all supposed to consume at least a kilo of dirt and stuff over the course of a year. How it gets into our system is not that big of a mystery. If all production plants set out to clean all the "foreign objects" out of the base materials, we'd be looking at obscene prices for even the simplest of things. So they simply don't worry about it. The production cycle of sugar for instance involves boiling, drying, sifting and so on before it even gets close to the packing line.

I could tell you all about what goes into many of the things we consume in large amounts every day including, dairy products, fruit, vegetables, bread .. you name it. I have a lot of knowledge with that part of industry. Most of it would gross you out, so I'll spare you the grief :)

There is no doubt that we have all consumed half a pound of various plastics alone in our lifetime. Then there's the unwanted proteins (bugs et al) and just plain crazy stuff. Again, don't worry about it, or you'll instantly be 10 years closer to meeting your maker due to stress.

You'd just end up like those paranoids who grow everything themselves and clinically clean everything before consumption. In the end they all die of deficiencies because all the crap they get rid of is a large part of what keeps us alive and believe it or not: healthy. Without the dirt, rotting bugs and whatnot our immune system would go on vacation and we'd croak from the common cold after a few generations. I'd rather go out with a bang - like trying to defuse a bomb that would save the entire city, but just as I cut the blue wire I realize I have no clue what I'm doing.

The above is part of why I don't shell out the extra cash for eco-safe products - even the saving the city thing. We need the toxins and all that stuff. Besides, there's no such thing as Organic Produce unless they're grown in bio domes. Seen any of those lately? Didn't think so :)

Another rant from yours truly, but I hope I got my point across in a non-offensive way :)

given all the garbage that ends up in my food and drink, I have little concern for what junk may be mixed with the tobacco.

Well at least I'm not eating one. But smoking tobacco with bird poop on it is a strange thought too.

No offence taken.

I'm not too concerned about smoking the odd piece of grass or a couple of pulverized insects. It might actually even add to the taste of the blend :-). I'm alo well aware of the toxicity and "impurity" of products we all use on a daily basis not to mention the amount of anti biotics and growth hormones we consume in our daily meat or milk supply. What really bothered me was the camouflaged piece of plastic in the Latakia. Perhaps it was all in the mind, but after I discovered it the whole batch tasted like burning plastic. The odd piece that one might consume with food should be pretty harmless but inhaling the smoke from burning plastic will definitely not go by unnoticed.

A good friend of mine is of opinion that Latakia is made of burnt clutch linings and dirty panties so I would rather be expecting hair in Latakia than plastic ;)

But Lars covered it pretty well.

It is true, and an economic reality, that if you want food to be perfectly sterile and 100% free of any contamination, we'd all starve to death as no one could afford food anymore.

Obviously there has to be some sort of a modicum of reason involved as well, as we don't want our nutrition to be any more hazardous as it is (diabetes or obesity or cholesterol, anyone).

Some bugs and impurities are also perfectly acceptable within a certain margin, as they will be processed along with such quantities of pure product that they become neglectible.

What these margins are depends on where you are, as each country has its own measures, and something tells me that you're likely to find more imperfections in the dark continent than you do in health-obsessed Europe.

When you find bugs or something like that in your on-the-shelf end product I suspect you can complain, as this would mean there has been a problem with packaging or storing. The weakest link here is logistics. I know here in Western Europe, most of the tobacco (to stay on topic), most -- if not all -- logistics are taken care of by Tabaknatie (based in Antwerp/Hamburg). They do take great care of keeping their product clean meaning they heavily invest in mouse- and moth traps, along with quite a few other measures to keep their stored product in tip-top condition. So it's not very likely to find any problem with your tobacco here.

Still, no system is perfect, and even then every so often (every few months) some company makes the news here when they have some of their products pulled off the shelves because of some problem, be that sand in jam, glass in water bottles, or algae in mussels.

There are quite a few companies who specialize in quality control of these things (I work as an assayer, and some of our competitors have extensive branches specialized in bulk sampling of wheat, flower, sugar, wine or whatever). And most larger corporation have an internal division for quality control as well.

Does this mean that anyone can guarantee 100% clean products? Obviously not, and you're bound ending up having digested everything Lars has mentioned in pretty much those quantities.

I think it's wrong to fret over that as it would conflict with my enjoyment of life in general. But that is just me, of course.

When young I worked a lot of different jobs in the summer

What goes in candy and food you dont want to know

But I do know that the bugs and things of the like are shaken out of tobacco at the redryers before it is packed in barrels
You might find plastic and sticks but nothing really bad

As far as bird doo you can count on that and then some while it hangs in the barn lol

In those cases I would take your blend back to the supplier/shop/whatever and see if they can have it replaced with something else that actually is on par with customer expectations -- too much plastic in your tobacco can be considered intolerable ;-)

Mr. O'Toole bounded up and down in wrath. "And the bugs!" he shouted. "What about the bugs? Exclude them from the ale I know you would when it was brewing. All nasty sanitary. To make October ale, bugs you must have falling into it and all other matters of great uncleanliness or the flavor you will miss."

The O'Toole was beside himself with anger, his face a flaming purple. "Understand you do not," he screamed at them. "Bugs you do not go dumping into it. Bugs fall into it with wondrous selectivity and-"

from Goblin Reservation by Clifford Simak. Read it long time ago and remember (not literally, of course) only this passage.

Regarding the bugs. In mid-80s American Tobacco (I think) was sued on the basis that their anti-bug treatment caused cancer. I read the big chunk of testimonials (funny thing, I don't know what was the verdict) on different related matters and was surprised to know that the short life time of a cigarette pack is, in big part, due to bugs.

Made of dirty panties and smells like farts... You guys sure know how to sell a product!

the finger that appeared when dumping a can of Campbell's soup. Ouch, that must've hurt.

...tobacco depending on what she looks like!