Register a company for the treatment of wood

Source: BUS Rheinland-Pfalz

Operators who wish to treat wood for packaging in accordance with ISPM 15 within the meaning of International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) are required to register in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 (Plant Health Regulation).

The registration obligation generally applies to the following companies

Establishments that mark wood packaging material with an ISPM 15 mark,
Companies that repair or refurbish wood packaging material in accordance with ISPM 15,
Companies that treat wood for packaging in accordance with ISPM 15 and place it on the market with a reference to the treatment.

Operators can only be entered once in the register of a competent authority. If an operator has several businesses or branches, reference is made to the branches in the official register.

Notes on ISPM 15:

The IPPC standard ISPM No. 15 for wood packaging material specifies phytosanitary treatment and monitoring measures to reduce the risk of spreading harmful organisms through wood packaging material in international trade.

The standard applies to all types of wood packaging material that can represent a transmission pathway for harmful organisms and thus a risk mainly to living trees. This includes wood packaging material such as crates, boxes, packing cases, dunnage, pallets, cable drums and bobbins.

The following items are exempt from the requirements of the standard due to low risk:

Wooden packaging material made entirely of thin wood (with a thickness of 6 mm or less)
Wooden packaging made entirely of wood-based materials, such as plywood, compressed wood, OSB fiberboard or veneer, manufactured using glue, heat or pressure or a combination thereof
Barrels for wine and spirits that have been heated during manufacture
Gift boxes for wine, cigars and other types of goods made from wood that has been treated or manufactured in such a way that they are free from harmful organisms
Sawdust, wood shavings and wood wool
Wooden components that are permanently attached to means of transportation and containers.

The prerequisite for registration is the existence of the registration obligation and complete application documents.
The suitability test for new companies to be registered must show that the person responsible is able to implement the IPCC Standard ISPM No. 15 and that the company's facilities enable this.
The contact persons named in the registration application must have appropriate knowledge of plant health in accordance with the activity carried out by the operator and be personally available to the staff of the competent authority if required.

The following information is required:

Contact details: Name, address in the member state of registration and contact details of the trader.
Declaration by the operator stating his intention to carry out one or more activities in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/2031
Site plan: This is required for all companies that have other buildings/areas in addition to their office that are relevant to phytosanitary activities (e.g. nursery quarters, greenhouses).
Information on other business premises: Information is required for all companies that have other operating sites (with their own address) in addition to their head office. Pure production areas (e.g. nursery quarters) are not counted as business premises, but must be indicated on the site plan.

Every year by 30 April, any changes to the information on the intended exercise of activities in accordance with Art. 65 para. 1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, on the product groups, plant species, genera or families that are produced or traded, as well as on the location of the cultivation areas and business premises must be updated. If there are no changes, there is no need to submit an application for an update.

Registered operators have the following obligations, among others:

The occurrence or suspected occurrence of Union quarantine pests and pests regulated by EU emergency measures within the meaning of Art. 30 Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 must be reported immediately to the competent authority. The operator must take precautionary measures to prevent the establishment and spread of these pests.

In addition, the following obligations apply to registered wood treatment operators in accordance with ISPM 15:

The registered operator must have the necessary knowledge regarding a treatment in accordance with Annex 1 of ISPM 15 and operate or use suitable facilities and equipment to carry out the relevant treatment.
If the registered company uses heat treatment using a conventional heat or drying kiln (treatment code for marking: HT), the wood to be treated must be treated in accordance with IPPC Standard ISPM No. 15 in such a way that a continuous minimum temperature of 56 °C is reached for at least 30 minutes through the entire cross-section of the wood (including its core).
If the registered company uses heat treatment by means of dielectric heating (treatment code for marking: DH), the wood to be treated must be treated in accordance with IPPC Standard ISPM No. 15 in accordance with a treatment plan specified or recognized by the Plant Protection Service. It must be ensured that a minimum temperature of 60 °C is reached for one uninterrupted minute over the entire diameter of the wood (including its surface).
Wood treatment in accordance with IPPC standard ISPM No. 15 may only be carried out in a treatment facility of the company for which a valid protocol of a technical inspection is available. The technical inspection of the treatment facility is carried out annually by the competent authority or the authority delegates the task to a natural person. The company is obliged to notify the competent authority immediately of any changes to the treatment process or the technical facilities.

Register a company for the treatment of wood

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