Heat Treated

ISPM-15 Compliance for exporting using wood packaging

A new methyl bromide fumigation schedule for ISPM 15 has been approved by the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM). That schedule is as follows.

When a revised schedule is adopted for treatment of WPM, WPM treated under the previous treatment schedule does not need to be retreated, remarked or recertified.

The Enforcement Committee has adopted this 24-hr fumigation schedule in the MB Program. All certified fumigators have been advised to start using the new schedule immediately; the schedule has been mandatory and enforced since September 18, 2006.

ISPM-15 Requirements

Heat Treatment (HT): Wood packaging material should be heated in a schedule that achieves a minimum core temperature of 56ºC for a minimum of 30 minutes. The American Lumber Standards Committee administers the U.S. certification program for heat treatment.

Methyl Bromide (MB) Fumigation: The wood packaging material should be fumigated with methyl bromide. NWPCA has been tasked by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to administer the fumigation program.

NOTE: ISPM 15 requirements apply to all species of coniferous (softwood) and non-coniferous (hardwood) packaging materials.

Heat Treated or Fumigated Pallets Update – Revised 3/1/2006

Please don’t allow this to freeze your supply chain and/or cost your organization significant dollars. Metro Plex Wood Pallets in Houston, Texas can help you with your ISPM-15 compliant pallet needs.

As reported last time this page was updated, the European Union (EU) recently voted to delay the implementation of debark requirement on import wood packaging material through December 31, 2008. Apparantly they’re going to delay this process while technical justification for changing the standards is considered in the IPPC. This will be revisited in September of 2007. The important thing to remember as our customer is:

CUSTOMERS DO NOT NEED BARK-FREE PALLETS AND CONTAINERS FOR SHIPMENT TO EUROPE THROUGH 2008!!!

The debarking requirement is not required internationaly currently, however the EU has lead on that this additional mandate would provide European nations better protection against the introduction of phitosanitary pests and concerns.

Several US Pallet producers have assembled the support of Harold Ford and the United States Congress and what follows is a summary of the NWPCA’s account of the support from Capitol Hill:

On November 23, 2005 Congressman Harold Ford introduced a resolution supporting NWPCA’s efforts to attempt to influence the EU commission to suspend the debarking requirement: “Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to uilateral altering, by the European Union, of the standard for imports of certain wood products.”

Metro Plex Wood requests that anyone reading this helps support the bill by vocalizing your concerns with various members from the Committee on International Relations where the bill currently resides. Just click here: Committee on International Relations.