Smart Money: Why Buying Fresh Snus Matters
My mailbox is often filled with questions from those new to Swedish snus. One of the most common questions asked is why does snus have expiration or Best Before dates on the cans.
Swedish snus, like milk or meat, has a limited time before it will turn bad. Fortunately, whisky has no such problem but I digress.
The Best By or Bäst Före date indicates when the snus in the sealed can will be past its prime. Different manufacturers and product made for specific foreign markets may use different words to describe the expiration dates. As a rule of thumb, be there one or two dates on the can, the latest one will be the Bäst Före date.
When checking expiration dates, remember that Americans and Europeans express dates differently so don't panic if the Swedish Snus you just received expired 6 months ago: you are probably just reading the date incorrectly.
In Europe, the date is represented as DD/MM/YYYY while in Americans use MM/DD/YYYY. The Swedish use a few other variations as well. Here are a few examples of how the expiration dates can be written:
23 May 2017 = May 23rd of course! This is an easy one. Others are not so easy.
16 09 2016 = 16th of September 2016
20091227 = 27th of December 2009
040217= 4th of February 2017
070108 = 7th of January 2008
American manufactured snus expiration dates should be expressed in the common MM/DD/YYYY format.
When buying snus, either at a convenience store or over the internet, be sure and check the Bäst Före date. Make sure the sealed can is not expired or soon to be expired. You are paying for fresh snus; you should receive fresh snus!
Extending the life of Swedish Snus
Making sure your fresh snus lives up to it's promise can be helped by how it is stored. Snus should be stored in a cool dry place. In Sweden, all snus is sold in stores sits in refrigerators.
At our legendary SnusCentral.com Snus Shop, we have a very large chiller room where the snus is stored to keep it cold and fresh. The chiller room at the Swedish Match factory in Gothenburg is so large it can hold over 4 million cans of snus at a time! I, Moe Unz, call that chiller room "heaven".
Ideally, you snus should be stored in your refrigerator or wine cellar (if you have wine cellar). This will keep your snus fresh and happy.
Freezing Snus
If you find yourself with more snus than you can consume prior to Best By date, rejoice as there is a solution! Like meat, Swedish snus can be frozen for up to a year without losing taste or nicotine. The best way to freeze snus is to vacumm seal it in bags. At a minimum, put the snus in freezer bags, squeezing out as much of the air as possible first.
However you do it, make sure you write the date you froze the snus on the bag and use it within a year for the best experience.
After about 14 months, the nicotine will start breaking down. Soon after, the taste will begin to deteriorate. Depending on the snus, it may still be usable (although not great) as time continues to march on.
I, Moe Unz, have used frozen snus up to 3 years old. The nicotine was much decreased or gone. In some cases the flavor was still good but it didn't last long; generally for 15-20 minutes maximum.
Enjoy your snus the may it was intended: FRESH
We at SnusCentral.com are committed to ensuring the snus we deliver is always fresh. Our entire inventory turn process is based on it and we receive multiple shipments of fresh snus each week to replenish it. Old snus does not sit on our shelves, of that I, Moe Unz, can promise you!
Vänliga hälsningar/Best regards/Med venlig hilsen,
MOE UNZ
