What does the acronym stand for?
ISPM 15 is the abbreviation for the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15. This regulation and accompanied guidelines were established by the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO). This specific standard, common within the global wood packaging industry, originated out of the need for environmental safeguarding throughout international transit.
Why were these regulations created, and how can wood affect international ecosystems?
In short, native wooden materials can carry species of insects across international borders, introducing non-native species to ecosystems without the regulations established.
One of the most renown instances, as well as catastrophic, was the introduction of the Emerald Ash Borer to North America. Native to eastern Asia, this beetle was thought to be introduced to the United States through wood packaging material sent over in crates. Believed to be embedded within the material of which export crates were constructed, the first detection of the Emerald Ash Borer was near Detroit, Michigan in 2002. However, it’s possible that its official introduction was as early as the 1990’s in Canada.
Without ISPM 15 measures in place, the beetle larvae were able to survive the milling process, final wood packaging assembly, as well as through the packing and transit process to enter North America from Asia.
The results proved devastating to forests across North America. Today, the impact has resulted in the death of tens to hundreds of million Ash trees. Infested Ash trees effectively receive a death sentence, as less than 1 out of 1,000 survive infestation. Aside from the ecological impact, it’s estimated that the monetary impact (of removing and replanting these dead Ash trees) is between 10-30 Billion dollars. However, the ecological impact to other species that rely on the Ash tree and the secondary impacts from their decline is additional unquantifiable ecological and economic impacts from this species introduction to North America.
Adherence to regulation within packaging material can avoid similar impacts across the global ecosystem and worldwide economies.
What does ISPM 15 require for treating wood packaging materials?
For a user of wood packaging material: such as pallets, crates, and dunnage must be ISPM 15 compliant. Heat Treatment (HT) is the primary method of treatment. Fumigating through Methyl Bromide is an option but given that it can take days or weeks, as well as the added cost, heat treating has become the most common treatment method. Wood packaging used for international shipment is to be heat treated to the following:
- Temperature of wood packaging to be brought to minimum of 56 degrees Celsius through the utilization of a Kiln by the manufacturer
- ISPM 15 not only has minimum temperature requirements, but the temperature is required to be maintained at this threshold for a minimum duration of 30 continuous minutes
These regulations ensure that any embedded biological species living within the wood packaging are terminated. Visual inspection of pallets or crates is unreliable (often unseeable) and non-compliant as it does not meet the standards for certification.
How does Franke’s meet these regulations?
Franke’s has a container sized kiln that is utilized to heat wood packaging material to the necessary temperature and duration.
Our material handling team follows procedures set out by management in conjunction with the IPCC (International Plant Protection Convention) on a 5 phase process.
During Phase 1, our team loads the kiln and sets up the temperature probes to monitor during treatment. Wood blocks are made to match the equivalent thickest board in the finished wood packaging being treated. The wood blocks are then drilled in the center to snugly fit the temperature probes. Finally, the wood blocks with the temperature probes are placed around the internal perimeter of the kiln to ensure accurate readings are being collected across the entire kiln during treatment. Lastly, the kiln is sealed and begins the process to heat to the necessary temperature.
Phase 2 begins when the kiln’s temperature sensors have reached the necessary threshold for regulations. Phase 2 continues for a 30-minute duration while maintaining the necessary temperature level.
Phase 3 continues treatment for another 30 minutes while continuing to log temperature readings.
Phase 4 completes the final 30 minutes of treatment (for an hour and a half total, 3 times the minimum duration for standards) and a 15 minute cool down.
Lastly, Phase 5 is the stamping process covered in the sections below.
How do I know if my crates or pallets comply?
Simply, pallets and packaging material for international export that are constructed of wood materials (not including manufactured wood such as plywood or OSB) must have the ISPM 15 stamp.
As a shipper, and buyer of wood packaging material, your only requirement is to ensure the stamp is present to ensure your end of compliance for export shipping requirements.
Customs agents are trained to inspect for this specific stamp, and each is unique to the country of origin and individual manufacturer certified to give the designation to compliant wood packaging.
What if my wooden pallets don’t have a stamp?
Domestic destinations do not require heat treatment and the associated stamping. However, if you specifically ordered ISPM 15 standards and your finished product will be shipped internationally and there is no stamp present, then this is a major issue.
The pallet your product is being shipped on will not make it across the border, and you likely paid extra for this certified product. At this point, a mistake was likely made by your supplier and the stamping was missed. Alternatively, your supplier may be misrepresenting their certification (much more likely they missed the stamping process). You will need to contact your supplier for them to make it right (either taking product back for stamping, sending new product, or sending a representative to your location to perform the required stamping). If they send a representative to stamp at your location, make sure you’ve confirmed that the pallet order was heat treated and this process wasn’t missed as well.
Can I reuse a pallet for international shipping that we received from another supplier (it has a stamp on it)?
Frequently, pallets are reused from inbound supplies and raw material. As long as the ISPM 15 stamp is present, that pallet has been certified for international shipment and can be used for exporting. We’d recommend ensuring there is a process to inspect reused pallets for stamps and mapping final destinations.
How does Franke’s manage the stamping process?
All softwoods (such as southern yellow pine) come directly from the mill and have already gone through heat treatment. There is an associated mill certification stamp showing compliance. For softwood pallets and crates, Franke’s does not need to heat treat again, but will put the stamps on the finished packaging material as necessary.
If Franke’s is providing a customer cut down softwood lumber for dunnage or in-house construction.
For hardwood finished products, Franke’s performs heat treatment and stamping for all material that is designated for export.
How are Franke’s operating standards held accountable to international packaging requirements?
We are carefully overseen by the regulatory agency in charge of our certification. Our certification requires:
- Random monthly audits, in which a representative shows up to review bark content, stamping on finished product, and overall stamp quality.
- Reviews reports of treatment cycles (the temperature data we collect on each treatment cycle).
- Monthly report delivered to agency including our treated product sales, and inbound lumber that comes in already certified as ISPM 15 compliant
What penalties can Franke’s be held to if compliance is breached?
The agency is able to leverage fines, more frequent auditing schedules, as well as the ability to revoke certification entirely.