Are Presswood Pallets allowed in the food industry?
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.
We are a dry goods manufacturer and I am concerned about pest control.
I would ask about moisture RESISTANCE
also ask for lab analysis to back up the claims they're making---if what they say holds up, and these pallets can take a beating, everyone would be using them already
I've no direct experience of SQF, but I have started encountering more of these pallets. The design sounds like a terrible idea - "particles" of wood just sounds like it is a million foreign body hazards waiting to happen - but in practice I've found them to be pretty good. They seem significantly less prone to splitting and splintering than standard wood pallets, the shape seems to provide fewer potential hideaways for general detritus etc.
I have encountered these pallets and we have used them at facility before. They are traditionally used in pharmaceutical facilities. I too have found them to hold up well and have seen no real issues with them. An SQF auditor would only be concerned if they were busted and they saw fragments and such around, if you ware controlling any breakage, you should be good. As far as your concern on pests, i don't see really any elevated risk compared to a regular pallet, plus they say that the pallets are more resistant to wood boring insects. Get documentation from them to keep on file. Risk assess it. Maybe trial some. And then make a sound judgement on what works best for you and your facility.
Everyone thank you for your input.