GothiaTek® standards
Product requirements
GothiaTek® limits for undesired components
Basis for the standard is requirements on maximum allowable limits of certain undesired components in Swedish Snus. These components can be found in nature and therefore exist in various plant species, e.g. tobacco. Some of these components have by scientists been pointed out as potential health risks if they occur in too high concentrations. The GothiaTek® standard stipulates that the following limits must never be exceeded.
The concentrations of the undesired components are regularly analysed in all products in quality control programs. The average content of each undesired component in snus, manufactured by Swedish Match in 2007, is presented in the table below. The confidence intervals of 95 % are presented within the brackets
In the table below, the limits and the average contents are based on moist snus. Because of variations of water content between products a standardized water content of 50 % has been used. In scientific papers concentrations are often based on dry matter. Conversion to dry base is easily done by multiplying the limits in the table by two.
| Component |
Limit |
Content 2007 |
Component |
Limit |
Content 2007 |
| Nitrite (mg/kg) |
3.5 |
0.9
(<0.5 - 1.7) |
Cadmium (mg/kg) |
0.5 |
0.3
(0.2 - 0.4) |
| TSNA (mg/kg) |
5 |
0.7
(0.5 - 1.0) |
Lead (mg/kg) |
1.0 |
0.1
(0.08 - 0.2) |
| NDMA (µg/kg) |
5 |
0.6
(<0.5 - 0.8) |
Arsenic (mg/kg) |
0.25 |
0.05
(<0.03 -0.11) |
| BaP (µg/kg) |
10 |
0.8
(<0.5 - 1.5) |
Nickel (mg/kg) |
2.25 |
0.8
(<0.5 - 1.5) |
| Pesticides |
According to the
Swedish Match
pesticide policy |
|
Chromium (mg/kg) |
1.5 |
0.5
(0.2 - 0.9) |
Legends:
mg/kg = thousandth gram per kilogram product (based on Snus with 50% water content)
µg/kg = millionth gram per kilogram product (based on Snus with 50% water content)
Declaration of contents
A declaration of contents in accordance with food labelling shall be publicly available for all GothiaTek® products. Substances that are used in the manufacturing of each product shall be listed in declining order of weight. Flavor additives shall be listed as a common group. A list of flavor additives used in Swedish snus by GothiaTec can be found on the page Ingredients in snuff.
Declaration of certain components
The GothiaTek® standard requires that concentrations of the following components in each specific product shall be publicly available:
The concentrations shall be based on the finished product.
Manufacturing requirements
According to GothiaTek®, the requirements stipulate that the manufacturing process must comply with Swedish law concerning food production and fulfill the requirements of the ISO 9001:2000 quality standard and environmental standard 1401:1996. This entails the following requirements for raw materials, process and hygiene.
Raw material requirements
- Leaf tobacco for Svenskt Snus by the GothiaTek® standard shall be selected so that the limits for undesired components in each specific product are satisfied.Leaf tobacco for Swedish Snus by GothiaTek® must not contain gene modified tobacco.
- According to GothiaTek®, all additives in Swedish snus shall comply with the requirements specified in Swedish Match’s ingredients policy. This includes all additives being approved in accordance with the rules and regulations that apply in the countries in which the products are actively marketed. The policy also comprises more stringent internal demands, based on scientific toxicological assessments. Material which is used in packaging of Swedish Snus by GothiaTek® shall be approved for food packaging.
Process requirements
- Swedish Snus by GothiaTek® shall be heat treated, in a way which is effective enough to kill the natural microbial flora of the tobacco to specified residual bacteria limits ("snus pasteurisation").
- The manufacturing process shall be performed in a closed system to prevent the product from being contaminated by foreign objects.
- The tobacco shall be comminuted in a controlled process. The process must be able to identify and separate any foreign object.
- Finished Swedish Snus by GothiaTek® shall directly after packaging be brought into a cold storage (max. 8 ºC).
Requirements for sanitation in manufacturing
- All exposure of product to an open environment such as filling of product into consumer packages shall be performed in premises which satisfy the sanitation requirements of food manufacturing. These premises shall be controlled with established procedures.
- Process equipment shall be cleaned and disinfected at least once in every production cycle.
- Packaging machinery shall be cleaned and disinfected at least once every 24 hours during production days. Sanitation control shall be made in accordance with specified procedures.
- Control of water activity, bacteria content and shelf life stability shall be performed on finished products according to specified schedules and procedures.
- Purchased packaging material which will have contact with product shall be produced and shipped according to specifications so that contamination of the materials is prevented. Cleanness and sanitation standard of this packaging material shall be controlled according to a specified schedule.
- Results of all controls must meet the tolerance limits that are specified for Swedish Snus by GothiaTek®.