ISPM15
Following widespread incidents due to the spread of plant pests and diseases, ISPM15 implementation and import regulations for wood packaging materials began to be adopted by individual countries, from 2002. Rosewood recognised that ISPM15 would have a significant impact on the international movement of timber packaging. In preparation for this, we became one of the first 100 companies in the UK to become licensed to supply heat-treated timber packaging.
By summer 2006, 20 countries, in addition to EU member states, had introduced the standard. Now, towards the end of 2007, over 40 countries outside the EU have implemented ISPM15. This is conclusive evidence that the international trade community is committed to protecting plant health.
Timber Treatment
In order for timber to be ISPM15 compliant, it must either be heat-treated or fumigated. The heat-treatment process (including kiln-drying) must take the minimum core temperature of the wood to 56º Celsius for a minimum of 30 minutes. Fumigation is undertaken with methyl bromide. ISPM15 also recommends that wood should be debarked before treatment. Following treatment, wood must be marked with an ISPM15 identification stamp to demonstrate that it has been treated with one of these 2 processes.
ISPM15 treatment is not required for:
- Raw wood that is 6mm or less in thickness.
- Processed wood including plywood and orientated strand-board.
- Timber packaging that moves between EU states.
For further information, we recommend that timber packaging exporters visit the National Plant Protection Convention (NPPC) website where they can find details of countries’ landing requirements (http://www.ippc.int/). The Timber Packaging & Pallet Confederation (Timcon) website maintains a list of countries who have either implemented or who intend to adopt ISPM15 (http://www.timcon.org/).
