What ISMP15 is ? Regulation & Heat Treatment (HT) for Wooden Packaging

What does ISPM15 mean ?

ISPM15 stands for International Phytosanitary Measurement Standard N°15. This Standard is mandatory for all signatory countries and is an "IPPC" (International Plant Protection Convention) attached to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).

Each country is free to sign this treaty. However, in the context of international trade, any country has an interest in adopting it to protect its own plant resources and also to export its products to signatory countries.

What is the ISPM15 Standard used for ?

As with the protections taken to prevent and contain the spread of pandemics and epidemics throughout the world, the ISPM15 Standard has been put in place to prevent contamination of plants (plants, trees, etc.) when importing products by "pests" that can spread and spread in plant biodiversity.

There are no preventive measures such as vaccines for plants, so precautions are taken at the beginning of the risk.

Therefore, for all packaging exchanges, such as wooden crates and wooden pallets, are subject to ISPM 15 prior to export.

The ISPM15 standard aims to destroy all types of pests, bacteria, insects (even microscopic), etc. that may be present in wood.

How do you know if your wooden pallet or crate complies with the ISPM15 standard ?

Your wooden packaging, crate or pallet must bear the IPPC mark, normally on 2 of the 4 sides. It must be indelible, that is why generally the mark is inscribed by burning the wood (fire mark). Other types of marking may be permitted such as ink jet marking.
a treatment certificate must be provided by your packaging supplier.
To recognize the ISPM15 marking and its composition:

ISPM15 Wood Pallet Marking

The "IPPC" logo (left frame with the ears) is a registered trademark, its use is exclusively reserved for holders of a treatment authorization according to the ISPM15 Standard (in France by the Draaf).

EN : country of origin of the person who treated

RH : region of origin, in our example : Rhône-Alpes

12345 : Approval number of the company or secondary establishment that carried out the treatment. The same company can have several numbers.

HT : Heat Treatment, Traitement thermique

DB: means that the wood has been debarked beforehand. Note that the presence of bark on the wood normally prohibits the conformity of the treatment.

Note: To date, there is no practical way for you to check that packaging, crates or pallets have actually been processed.

On the other hand, You can already check that your supplier has the ISPM15 approval by connecting you on the site of the DRAAF of your region whose lists are public.

What are the technical processes ?

There are 3 treatment modes validated by the FAO, two are thermal and one by fumigation.

1) Traditional Heat Treatment: Wood pallets and packaging must remain in a suitable oven, so as to reach 56° in the centre (in the heart of the wood) for 30 consecutive minutes. To reach these "target" values, the treatment takes several hours (on average 3 to 4 hours).

2) Microwave Heat Treatment: Wood pallets and packages must be heated to a temperature of 60° in the centre (in the heart of the wood) for a minimum of 60 seconds.

3) Methyl bromide fumigation treatment. This practice is no longer permitted in most countries for wooden packaging, crates and pallets.

Heat treatment in its traditional version poses an important problem for users.

Indeed, if this method has proved its worth in eliminating most plant pests, it generates a very high risk of mould and fungi appearing directly on pallets or wooden crates after treatment.

On arrival of the containers in the importing country in this case:

- products can be blocked in customs, quarantined for packaging replacement or even destroyed.

- your customers may refuse acceptance for non-compliance.

The heat treatment (HT-INSMP15) is not made to dry wood, and the method is more like a pressure cooker effect, whose water vapour remains confined in the oven and on wood packaging.

To avoid any risk during your exports, it is strongly advised, in addition to the ISPM15 treatment, the drying in an oven of packaging, crates and wooden pallets.

FOCUS and Special Cases

1) The European Union

Within the framework of free trade agreements for goods and people, wooden packaging, crates and pallets circulate without the need for ISPM15 compliance throughout Europe (27 countries).

Portugal an exception to the rule

After significant contamination of its northern and central forests by PWN (a microscopic parasite that feeds on the inside of trees until the trees dieback), all wood exits from Portugal are under-treated in accordance with the ISPM15.

In addition, all contaminated areas including a security perimeter of several square kilometres (entire forests) were cleared and burned to contain the spread. Pine wood nematode takes advantage of free lodging for beetles to travel... !

Exporting PWN to other European countries would have been an ecological and economic disaster for the timber sector.

.... And England, the dice are not thrown, but some already predict that leaving the EU could require ISPM15 treatment for all exports and imports of wooden packaging, crates and pallets.

[Update - 01 / 01 / 2021]

As announced, the exit of the UK from the EU has automatically implemented the ISPM15 treatment obligation for all packaging to and from the UK.

2) second-hand crates and pallets

What the standard says.

If at least three (3) wooden elements are replaced during a repair or re-manufacturing, then the wooden box or pallet must be successively demarked, treated again according to the ISPM15 standard and marked with the identifier of the approved body.

It is left to each country to apply this rule as a minimum. Some set more stringent conditions than the minimum of 3 elements.

3) Alternative to ISPM15 Treatment

Fully exempt pallets and crates

- moulded wooden pallets are totally exempt as well as:

- plastic pallets and plastic crates

- cardboard pallets and cardboard boxes, whether reinforced or honeycombed

MyPalletsOnline Team