Emergency treatment method for fermentation of cigar tobacco

Abstract

This patent discloses an emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves, comprising: subjecting the cigar tobacco leaves to flexibly rehydrating them to obtain a flexibly rehydrated product; subjecting the flexibly rehydrated product to a first stack fermentation treatment at a temperature of 28-35℃; and detecting a mold content >10% in the flexibly rehydrated product on days 5-10, 10-15, or 15-20 of the first stack fermentation treatment. 6 At a concentration of CFU / g, a semi-cycle intensive rehydration treatment is performed at a temperature of 75-80℃ for 12-13 min, 13-14 min, 14-15 min, or 15-16 min to obtain an emergency treatment product. This emergency treatment product then undergoes a second stack fermentation treatment at a temperature of 28-35℃ to obtain a stack fermentation product. Finally, the stack fermentation product undergoes intensive rehydration treatment to obtain an intensively rehydrated product for preparing aerosol-generating products. This patent achieves the goal of reducing mold content.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This patent belongs to the field of cigar processing technology, specifically relating to an emergency treatment method for the fermentation of cigar tobacco leaves. Background Technology

[0002] During the fermentation process of cigar tobacco leaves, it is usually necessary to stack the leaves and maintain them under certain temperature and humidity conditions for several weeks. While this activates the endogenous enzymes in the tobacco leaves and promotes microbial activity, it also provides an excellent breeding ground for mold. Secondly, tobacco leaves themselves are rich in organic matter such as sugars and proteins, serving as both a substrate for fermentation and a rich nutrient source for mold. Their porous structure also easily absorbs moisture, leading to uneven moisture distribution within the stack and creating a "microenvironment" conducive to mold growth. If the mold content is high during the stacking fermentation process, it can lead to the scrapping of the entire batch of cigar tobacco or a downgrading of the tobacco quality, resulting in significant losses. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this patent is to provide an emergency treatment method for the fermentation of cigar tobacco leaves, so as to reduce the mold content.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this patent adopts the following technical solution: An emergency treatment method for fermentation of cigar tobacco leaves, comprising the following steps: Step 1: Perform a soft rehydration treatment on the cigar tobacco leaves to obtain a soft rehydration product; Step 2: The rehydrated product undergoes a first-stage stack fermentation treatment at a temperature of 28-35℃. The mold content of the soft, rehydrated product was detected to be >10% on days 5-10, 10-15, or 15-20 of the first stack fermentation treatment. 6 When CFU / g, a half-cycle enhanced rehydration treatment is performed. The temperature of the half-cycle enhanced rehydration treatment is 75-80℃, and the time of the half-cycle enhanced rehydration treatment is 12-13 min, 13-14 min, 14-15 min, or 15-16 min to obtain the emergency treatment product. The emergency treatment product undergoes a second stack fermentation process at a temperature of 28-35℃ to obtain the stack fermentation product. Step 3: The stacked fermentation product is subjected to enhanced rehydration treatment to obtain enhanced rehydrated product for the preparation of aerosol generation products. The mold content of the enhanced rehydrated product is <10 CFU / g.

[0005] Furthermore, the second stack fermentation process takes 5-10 days or 10-15 days.

[0006] Furthermore, in step 1, the flexible rehydration treatment time is 20-25 min, 25-30 min, 30-40 min, 40-50 min, or 50-60 min; The vacuum level for flexible rehumidification treatment is controlled at -0.08 to -0.09 MPa.

[0007] Furthermore, in step 3, the time for enhanced rehydration treatment is 40-50 minutes or 50-60 minutes. The temperature for enhanced rehumidification treatment is 75-76℃, 76-77℃, 77-78℃, 78-79℃, or 79-80℃.

[0008] Furthermore, the vacuum degree of the enhanced rehumidification treatment is controlled at -0.09 to -0.095 MPa.

[0009] Furthermore, the humidity of the first and second stack fermentation treatments was 70-75% RH.

[0010] Furthermore, in step 1, water is input during the flexible rehydration process so that the moisture content of the flexible rehydrated product is 15-16%, 16-18%, or 18-20%.

[0011] This patent further provides an aerosol-generating article comprising the aforementioned enhanced rehydration product.

[0012] Among them, aerosol-generating products are smoking products, with cigar tobacco leaves as the aerosol-forming matrix, which generate aerosols through heating that can be directly inhaled into the user's lungs through the user's mouth.

[0013] This patent provides an emergency treatment method for the fermentation of cigar tobacco leaves. Based on the high mold content during the stacking fermentation process, an emergency intervention of semi-cycle enhanced rehumidification treatment is carried out, so that the final mold content of the treated enhanced rehumidification product is <10 CFU / g, and the downgrade rate of moldy tobacco leaves is only 8%, which reduces the loss by 92% compared with the traditional method of scrapping the whole batch. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The above content of this patent and the following detailed embodiments will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are merely examples of the claimed technical solution.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves in this patent. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The detailed features and advantages of this patent are described below in the specific embodiments. The content is sufficient to enable any person skilled in the art to understand the technical content of this patent and implement it accordingly. Based on the specification, claims and drawings disclosed in this specification, a person skilled in the art can easily understand the related objectives and advantages of this patent.

[0017] This specification also uses several compound terms to describe devices, components, equipment, etc. that include more than one function, or to assign additional functions to a corresponding device, component, equipment, etc. Those skilled in the art will understand that such compound terms can be implemented by a single or multiple devices, components, equipment, etc., as long as they are reasonable under the interpretation rules of this patent terminology.

[0018] It should be noted that in this specification, similar reference numerals and letters in the following figures denote similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and interpreted in subsequent figures. In this specification and claims, several terms will be used, and unless otherwise indicated, these terms will be defined as having the following meanings: The terms “comprising” or “having” have the same meaning as “containing”, and also include other forms of the term, such as the gerund and singular forms in English, meaning including but not limited to, and not intended to exclude, for example, other elements, components, integers or steps. All other terms used herein for special definition are intended to have the general meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in particular, meaning that one of ordinary skill in the art, upon reading the claims, specification and drawings of this patent, can directly and without doubt determine how the technical solution of this patent can be implemented.

[0019] Even if there are incomplete descriptions, omissions, or ambiguities in the grammar, words, punctuation, graphics, symbols, etc. of the claims, specification, and drawings of this patent, a person skilled in the art can still arrive at the only correct understanding by reading the claims, specification, and drawings as a whole without extensive reasoning or experimentation, and effectively exclude various incorrect interpretations that are not aimed at achieving the purpose of this patent.

[0020] Those skilled in the art would first choose to read the claims, specification, and drawings of this patent to reasonably interpret the terms; secondly, they would choose to refer to the relevant definitions in other documents published by the applicant before the filing date to reasonably interpret the terms; thirdly, they would choose the references cited in this patent to reasonably interpret the terms; and finally, they would choose to combine the technical dictionaries, technical manuals, reference books, textbooks, national or industry technical standards, etc., commonly used by those skilled in the art to reasonably interpret the terms.

[0021] All references cited in this application are incorporated herein by way of quotation, to the extent that they do not contradict the disclosure herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that products (apparatus, components, devices, compounds, compositions, materials, etc.) and methods (processes, steps, conditions, parameters, equipment, and test methods, equipment, etc.) not specifically described herein can be applied to the implementation of the inventions fully disclosed herein without the need for excessive experimentation. This patent is intended to cover all functional equivalents known in the art of the methods, apparatus, apparatus components, materials, processes, and techniques specifically described herein. All cited references include: The following publications are included: Marks' Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers (11th edition and other editions prior to this patent application date), published by McGraw-Hill, Inc.; DeGarmo's Materials and Processes in Manufacturing (13th edition and other editions prior to this patent application date), published by Wiley; Machinery's Handbook (32nd edition and other editions prior to this patent application date), published by IndustrialPress Inc.; Mechanical Design Handbook (6th edition and other editions prior to this patent application date), edited by Cheng Daxian, published by Chemical Industry Press; and Modern Mechanical Design Handbook (6th edition and other editions prior to this patent application date), edited by Wen Bangchun, published by Machinery Industry Press.

[0022] This patent will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals denote similar elements. While specific structures and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done merely for illustrative purposes. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other structures and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of this patent. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that this patent can also be used in a variety of other applications.

[0023] Example 1

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a method for processing cigar tobacco leaves, including the following steps: Assessment: The initial mold content of domestically produced eggplant core tobacco leaves (originating from Yunnan) was determined to be 8.2 × 10³ CFU / g using the test piece method, and the moisture content was 14.5%.

[0025] Pre-fermentation flexible rehydration: temperature 62℃, vacuum degree -0.085 MPa, treatment time 22 minutes, during which external water mist is sprayed onto the tobacco leaves. Under a vacuum degree of -0.085 MPa, the boiling point of water drops to approximately 55-60℃. The finished flexible rehydrated tobacco leaves have an outlet temperature of 61℃, a moisture content of 17.2%, a mold content of 9.1×10³ CFU / g, and a tobacco brick looseness rate of 97.1%.

[0026] Stack fermentation: Stack fermentation was carried out in a fermentation chamber (30±2℃, 72%RH). On the 18th day of fermentation, the local mold content reached 1.7×10⁻⁶. 6 CFU / g, white mold spots appeared, moisture content 13.8%.

[0027] Emergency treatment: Immediately carry out a half-cycle intensive rehumidification, adjust the temperature to 78℃, vacuum degree to -0.095 MPa, treat for 15 min to inhibit the spread of mold, and the moisture content to 15.2%.

[0028] Continued fermentation: The treated tobacco leaves were re-piled and fermented in the fermentation chamber (30±2℃, 72%RH) for 7 days until the moisture content was 14.5%.

[0029] Enhanced rehydration after fermentation: temperature 78℃, vacuum degree -0.092 MPa, continuous treatment for 2 cycles (26 min per cycle), the moisture content of the enhanced rehydration product after treatment was 15.6%.

[0030] The emergency intervention was successful. The final mold content of the treated enhanced rehumidified product was <10 CFU / g, and the downgrade rate of moldy tobacco leaves was only 8%, reducing losses by 92% compared to the traditional method of scrapping the entire batch.

[0031] The rehydrated product was prepared into cigarettes using conventional methods and then aged according to the aging method disclosed in Chinese Patent CN103445289A. The rehydrated product was placed in oak barrels and aged at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70% humidity. The cigars were periodically turned to ensure even aging; the interval depended on the ventilation of the oak barrels, and the space inside the barrels was at least twice the space of the cigars. After aging for 90 days, the mold rate of the finished cigarettes was less than 0.0055%.

[0032] In addition, this patent establishes a precise, phased vacuum rehumidification process system that combines bacterial preservation and fermentation promotion with sterilization and mold control. Under this system, in conjunction with a semi-cycle enhanced rehumidification treatment with emergency intervention, the mold content of cigar tobacco leaves can still be controlled to be less than 10 CFU / g, even if the mold content exceeds the standard during the stacking fermentation process. As a result, the downgrade rate of moldy tobacco leaves is only 8%, which reduces the loss by 92% compared to the traditional method of scrapping the entire batch.

[0033] The advantages of the vacuum rehumidification process system of this patent will be illustrated below with Example 2 and Comparative Example 1.

[0034] Example 2

[0035] This embodiment provides a vacuum rehumidification process system, including the following steps: Raw material warehousing: Domestic eggplant core tobacco leaves (originating from Yunnan), the initial mold content was determined to be 8.2×10³ CFU / g using the test strip method, and the moisture content was 14.5%.

[0036] Pre-fermentation flexible rehydration: temperature 62℃, vacuum degree -0.085 MPa, treatment time one cycle (each cycle 22 minutes, i.e., treatment time 22 minutes), during which external water mist is sprayed onto the tobacco leaves. Under a vacuum degree of -0.085 MPa, the boiling point of water drops to approximately 55-60℃. The finished flexible rehydrated tobacco leaves have an outlet temperature of 61℃, a moisture content of 17.2%, a mold content of 9.1×10³ CFU / g, and a tobacco brick looseness rate of 97.1%.

[0037] Stack fermentation: The flexible rehydrated product ZKHC-1 was stacked and fermented in a fermentation chamber (30±2℃, 72%RH) for 28 days, with the stack turned 3 times. The mold content was below 10% during the fermentation period. 6 CFU / g. Mold content at the end of fermentation was 5.6 × 10⁻⁶. 4 CFU / g, Aspergillus spp. accounted for 91.3%, and the content of dihydroactinolone increased by 2.1 times.

[0038] Post-fermentation enhanced rehydration: The stacked fermentation product DDFJ-A-1 was continuously treated for two cycles (20 min per cycle, i.e., a total treatment time of 40 minutes) at a temperature of 78℃ and a vacuum degree of -0.092 MPa. The treated enhanced rehydration product had a mold content of <10 CFU / g, a moisture content of 15.8%, and a loss rate of 8.7% for key aroma substances.

[0039] The rehydrated product was prepared into cigarettes using conventional methods and then aged according to the aging method disclosed in Chinese Patent CN103445289A. The rehydrated product was placed in oak barrels and aged at 70°F and 70% humidity. The cigars were periodically turned to ensure even aging; the interval depended on the ventilation of the oak barrels, and the space inside the barrels was at least twice the space of the cigars. After 90 days of aging, the finished cigarettes had a mold rate of 0.0038%, a viable bacteria kill rate >99.99%, achieving commercial sterility, and a sensory score of 92.5.

[0040] Comparative Example 1

[0041] The difference between this comparative example and Example 2 is that it uses a single high-temperature rehumidification process. Both before and after fermentation, the process is carried out at 78°C, a vacuum of -0.092 MPa, and for 40 minutes, without staged differentiated temperature and time control. Specifically, it includes the following steps: Raw material warehousing: Domestic eggplant core tobacco leaves (originating from Yunnan), the initial mold content was determined to be 8.2×10³ CFU / g using the test strip method, and the moisture content was 14.5%.

[0042] Pre-fermentation rehydration: Temperature 78℃, vacuum degree -0.092 MPa, continuous treatment for 2 cycles (20 min per cycle, i.e., treatment time is 40 minutes) to obtain pre-fermentation rehydrated product.

[0043] Stack fermentation: The pre-fermented product was stacked in a fermentation chamber (30±2℃, 72%RH) for 28 days, and the stack was turned 3 times to obtain the stack fermentation product.

[0044] Rehydration after fermentation: The stacked fermentation product was continuously treated for 2 cycles (20 min per cycle, i.e., 40 minutes of treatment time) at a temperature of 78℃ and a vacuum degree of -0.092 MPa to obtain the rehydrated product after fermentation.

[0045] The rehydrated product after fermentation is processed into cigarettes using conventional methods and then aged according to the aging method disclosed in Chinese Patent CN103445289A. The rehydrated product is placed in an oak barrel and aged at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70% humidity. The cigars are turned periodically to ensure even aging; the interval depends on the ventilation of the oak barrel, and the space inside the barrel is at least twice the space of the cigars.

[0046] To further illustrate the advantages of this patent, the cigarettes prepared in Example 2 and Comparative Example 1 were subjected to the following tests.

[0047] 1. Performance Testing

[0048] The performance test results of the cigarettes prepared in Example 2 and Comparative Example 1 are shown in Table 1.

[0049] Table 1: Performance Comparison of Cigarettes Prepared in Example 2 and Comparative Example 1

[0050] Comparative Example 1 uses a single high-temperature parameter (typically 75-85℃) in a traditional vacuum rehumidification process to completely kill microorganisms. However, this "one-size-fits-all" approach has the following drawbacks: Disruption of beneficial microbial communities: Excessive sterilization before fermentation will destroy essential fermentation microorganisms such as aroma-producing yeasts and cellulose-degrading bacteria on the surface of tobacco leaves, resulting in insufficient synthesis of flavor substances (such as phenylethanol and dihydroactinol) during subsequent fermentation, with an aroma loss rate of 15-25%. Unable to precisely control in stages: Traditional processes do not distinguish the differences in microbial function before and after fermentation, and adopt a "one-size-fits-all" high-temperature treatment, which can neither retain beneficial bacteria before fermentation nor achieve complete mold control after fermentation; It is impossible to precisely regulate based on the succession patterns of microbial communities before and after fermentation.

[0051] As can be seen from Table 1, this patent divides vacuum rehumidification into two stages: "flexible preservation of bacteria before fermentation" and "intensified sterilization after fermentation." This is more effective than the single high-temperature treatment mode of Comparative Example 1. It achieves the advantages of retaining beneficial bacteria and killing harmful bacteria. Furthermore, the flavor substance loss rate of the cigarette in Example 2 is less than or equal to 10% and the beneficial bacteria retention rate is greater than 85% compared to the product with enhanced rehumidification. The sensory evaluation of the cigarette is better, with a rich nutty and milky aroma.

[0052] In this patent, the mold content of the flexible rehydrated product is controlled and maintained at 10³-10. 4 The CFU / g level was maintained, and beneficial bacteria were preserved, with the abundance of Saccharomyces maintained at 10-15%; functional bacteria were activated, and the survival rate of essential fermentation microorganisms such as cellulose-degrading bacteria and aroma-producing yeasts was >85%.

[0053] The proportion of Aspergillus in the stacking fermentation products naturally increased from 65% to over 90%; the content of the key flavor compound dihydroactinol increased by 2.1-3.2 times, and the phenylethanol retention rate was >85%.

[0054] The mold content of the enhanced rehydrated product was reduced to <10 CFU / g (below the detection limit), the viable bacteria kill rate was >99.99%, and the kill rate of Aspergillus montevidensis, a key mold-causing fungus, was >99.9%.

[0055] This patent achieves the technical goal of reducing the mold rate of cigar tobacco leaves by more than 98.5% and increasing the retention rate of key flavor substances by more than 30% through the intelligent linkage between the law of microbial community succession and process parameters.

[0056] Furthermore, during the stacking fermentation process, the proportion of Aspergillus microorganisms naturally evolves from 65% to over 90%. By rapidly increasing the temperature through enhanced rehydration and reducing high-temperature exposure time, the final enhanced rehydration product exhibits a phenylethanol loss rate of <11%. Simultaneously, strict vacuum control at each stage reduces oxidation reactions throughout the process, resulting in a dihydroactinol retention rate of >92% in the enhanced rehydration product. The final moisture content of the enhanced rehydration product is 13-16%, avoiding excessive drying. The mold content is reduced to <10 CFU / g (below the detection limit), achieving a >99.9% kill rate against Aspergillus montmorillonite, the dominant mold-causing fungus in fermented tobacco leaves, and complete inactivation of key mold-causing fungi such as Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus polymorpha, reaching commercial sterility levels and achieving the goal of "sterilization and mold control." The finished cigarettes prepared from the enhanced rehydration product treated with this patent exhibit a mold rate of ≤0.0055%, a flavor loss rate of ≤10%, and a sensory score of ≥90 points.

[0057] This patent proposes a dual-target synergistic mechanism of preserving bacteria and promoting fermentation, and sterilizing and controlling mold. Based on the isolation and identification of 799 mold strains and the study of the mold-causing properties of 40 high-content strains, it clarifies for the first time the functional temporality of the microbial community during the fermentation process of cigar tobacco leaves—beneficial bacteria such as aroma-producing yeasts and cellulose-degrading bacteria need to be retained before fermentation, and mold-causing bacteria such as Aspergillus and Penicillium need to be completely inactivated after fermentation.

[0058] The terms and expressions used in this specification are for illustrative purposes and not for limitation. Their use is not intended to exclude any equivalents of the features or portions thereof shown, but rather to facilitate the understanding that various modifications may be possible within the scope of this patent claim. Therefore, it should be understood that while this patent has been specifically disclosed through preferred embodiments, exemplary embodiments, and optional features, variations or modifications of the concepts disclosed herein may be adopted by those skilled in the art, and such variations and modifications are therefore considered to be within the scope of this patent as defined by the appended claims. The specific embodiments given in this specification are examples of useful embodiments of this patent, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this patent can be implemented using many variations of the devices, device components, and method steps disclosed herein.

[0059] The foregoing description of specific embodiments fully discloses the general features of this patent, enabling others to easily modify and / or adapt such embodiments for various applications by applying knowledge within the scope of the art, without excessive experimentation or deviation from the general concept of this patent. Therefore, based on the teachings and guidance provided herein, it is intended that such modifications and alterations be included within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It should be understood that the wording or terminology used herein is for descriptive purposes and not intended to be limiting; thus, the wording or terminology in this specification will be interpreted by those skilled in the art based on the foregoing teachings and guidance.

[0060] Furthermore, the scope of this patent should not be limited to any of the exemplary embodiments described above, but only to the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An emergency treatment method for the fermentation of cigar tobacco leaves, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: The cigar tobacco leaves are subjected to a flexible rehydration treatment to obtain a flexible rehydrated product; Step 2: The flexible rehydrated product is subjected to a first stack fermentation treatment at a temperature of 28-35℃. The mold content of the flexible rehydrated product was detected to be >10% on days 5-10, 10-15, or 15-20 of the first stack fermentation treatment. 6 When CFU / g, a half-cycle enhanced rehydration treatment is performed. The temperature of the half-cycle enhanced rehydration treatment is 75-80℃, and the time of the half-cycle enhanced rehydration treatment is 12-13 min, 13-14 min, 14-15 min, or 15-16 min to obtain the emergency treatment product. The emergency treatment product is subjected to a second stack fermentation treatment at a temperature of 28-35°C to obtain a stack fermentation product. Step 3: The stacked fermentation product is subjected to enhanced rehydration treatment to obtain an enhanced rehydrated product for preparing aerosol generation products, wherein the mold content of the enhanced rehydrated product is <10 CFU / g.

2. The emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second stacking fermentation process takes 5-10 days or 10-15 days.

3. The emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step 1, the flexible rehydration treatment time is 20-25 min, 25-30 min, 30-40 min, 40-50 min, or 50-60 min; The vacuum degree of the flexible rehumidification treatment is controlled at -0.08 to -0.09 MPa.

4. The emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step 3, the duration of the enhanced rehydration treatment is 40-50 minutes or 50-60 minutes. The temperature for the enhanced rehydration treatment is 75-76℃, 76-77℃, 77-78℃, 78-79℃, or 79-80℃.

5. The emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves according to claim 4, characterized in that, The vacuum degree of the enhanced rehumidification treatment is controlled at -0.09 to -0.095 MPa.

6. The emergency fermentation treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, The humidity of the first stack fermentation treatment and the second stack fermentation treatment is 70-75% RH.

7. The emergency treatment method for fermentation of cigar tobacco leaves according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step 1, water is input during the flexible rehydration process so that the moisture content of the flexible rehydration product is 15-16%, 16-18%, or 18-20%.

8. An aerosol-generating product, characterized in that, The aerosol-generated product comprises an enhanced rehydration product obtained by the fermentation emergency treatment method for cigar tobacco leaves according to any one of claims 1-7.

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