We are looking into purchasing presswood pallets and am finding limited information on their acceptance in the food industry. The manufacturer's process is stated below. Will these be acceptable under the guidelines of SQF..
The molded wood pallets are essentially “processed wood,” the same as particleboard, fiberboard or chipboard technology. Fine wood particles are first dried in a hot gas stream to approximately 3% moisture content with a decreasing temperature from 1200° to 280° F (648° C to 138° C) at a time period that exceeds 30 minutes. They are then mixed with a thermo set synthetic resin, deposited in a heat compression mold or extruder, with 420° F (220° C) temperature and pressed under 1400 PSI or 98 bar pressure. During this process, the products will receive an internal temperature of 220° F (105° C) and will maintain an internal temperature in excess of 133° F (56° C) for more than 30 minutes. The finished products will have a moisture content of not more than 9%. This manufacturing process will destroy any contaminates such as listeria, resident pests, molds and fungi. Due to the high density of wood product produced, the finished product is resistant to wood boring insects and future infestation.
Your thoughts please.