Glossary
IPPC
Also called: International Plant Protection Convention, IPPC logo
Reviewed
The IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) is the international plant-health treaty whose standards include ISPM 15, the rule for treating and marking wood packaging such as pallets in international trade. Its wheat symbol appears on every ISPM 15 mark.
On this page
What the IPPC does for pallets
The IPPC sets International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs). The one that matters to the pallet industry is ISPM 15, which requires wood packaging material to be debarked, treated by an approved method, and marked.
The IPPC symbol in the mark
The ISPM 15 mark starts with the IPPC wheat symbol, followed by the country code, the producer number and the treatment code. Pallet buyers often call the whole stamp the "IPPC stamp" for this reason.
How it works nationally
Each country's national plant protection organization runs the program that authorizes treatment facilities and producer numbers. In the US, producers are certified through agencies accredited by the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC), under its wood packaging material program for heat treatment and a separate fumigation program.
Approved treatments
| Code | Treatment |
|---|---|
| HT | heat treatment |
| DH | dielectric heating |
| MB | methyl bromide |
| SF | sulfuryl fluoride |
See the ISPM 15 standard page for requirements and exemptions.
Questions
- Is IPPC the same as ISPM 15?
- No. The IPPC is the convention; ISPM 15 is one of its standards, the one covering wood packaging.
Sources
- ISPM 15 overview (Wikipedia)
- ISPM 15 stamp explained (Acadon)
- Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets (NWPCA, now Woodpack Global), 2012 edition