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  Safety Issues

ISPM 15 Phytosanitary

The UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) produced ISPM (International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures) No 15 - Guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade, it was published in March 2002 and has been implemented by an increasing number of countries since then.

IPPC international ISPM 15 Logo

On 5th October 2004 the European Union Directive 2004/102/EC Protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community – was published, it relates to phytosanitary control for incoming wood pallets and packaging (not traffic between EU countries). If wood pallets and packaging is destined for other EU countries (download 85i below) the only phytosanitary requirement is the absence of bark, wane and visible pests. Implementation of ISPM 15 is not planned between EU countries. 

PalletLink receive frequent questions that arise from wood pallet and case makers. The following is an example from a PalletLink member and our answer-

Q. Can I supply ISPM 15 heat treated timber to a non NPPO registered pallet or case maker and how many pieces need to be marked in each batch?

A. You would need to be wary of this request in case your customer is under the impression that he would be able to produce ISPM 15 compliant packaging using your mark. Even if you do supply heat treated (HT) timber he cannot make use of it. Only an NPPO registered pallet or case maker who is registered to apply the ISPM 15 HT mark can produce ISPM 15 heat treated pallets or cases using your HT timber. In the UK the NPPO is the Forestry Commission and the scheme is their "Wood Marking Programme". If you supply to a pallet or case maker who is registered to apply the ISPM 15 HT mark, either one or two pieces can be marked, otherwise the supplier's mark (yours) can be stamped on a label on the bundle which should not be loose, it must be banded or otherwise packed. It is good practice for the ISPM 15 heat treating company’s delivery note to record the bundle reference number and the fact that it is "heat treated to ISPM 15" for subsequent auditing purposes.

If you are involved with treating wood packing material (wpm) the Forestry Commission website is a useful source of information, if you require a list of  companies accredited to carry out ISPM 15 treatment visit http://www.timcon.org/ISPM15/ISMP15List.asp

Datasheet 85i lists countries that have adopted ISPM 15 and also includes information on countries which require treatment that differs from ISPM 15 or do not require ISPM 15 treatment. That information was correct at the date of the index. Note that official translations of ISPM 15 exist in Portuguese and French and many countries eg. Brazil will use those so they will not be called ISPM 15, if you need confirmation of the validity of unusual lettering, enter the letters used eg. NIMP 15 into QUICK SEARCH at the top of this page.

We have listed below a number of other PalletLink Datasheets on ISPM 15 related issues for member viewing, together with the full ISPM 15 Standard. We can research phytosanitary questions for members, though it can take some time to receive a response from a country and sometimes even after repeated requests neither we nor the Forestry Commission get a response.

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