Debarked lumber
Also called: debarked wood, DB, bark-free lumber
Debarked lumber is wood from which the bark has been removed. ISPM 15 requires all treated wood packaging to be made of debarked wood, allowing only small pieces of bark: under 3 cm wide of any length, or wider pieces with a surface area under 50 cm² each.
In depth: ISPM 15: the wood packaging standard for international shipping
Bark can shelter insects after treatment, so ISPM 15 treats debarking as a separate requirement from the treatment itself.
ISPM 15 bark tolerance
| Bark piece | Allowed if |
|---|---|
| Narrow | Less than 3 cm (about 1.2 in) wide, any length |
| Wide | More than 3 cm wide, and the piece's total surface area is less than 50 cm² (about 7.75 in²) |
Any number of visually separate, clearly distinct small pieces within these limits may remain.
When bark must come off
For methyl bromide and sulphuryl fluoride fumigation, bark must be removed before treatment because bark may affect how well the treatment works. For heat treatment, it may be removed before or after. When a heat treatment has a size limit, bark counts in the dimension.
Why it matters for pallet design
Bark usually shows up on wane edges of low-grade boards and stringers. A lumber grade that allows heavy wane raises the chance of non-compliant bark on export pallets. Pallets rejected at a border for bark can be refused, treated or destroyed at the shipper's cost.
On a spec sheet or RFQ
For export pallets, write "debarked per ISPM 15" alongside the treatment, and set a wane limit in the lumber grade.
Common confusions
"DB" was an optional part of older IPPC marks. The 2018 version of the mark does not include it, but debarking is still required.
Related
- GlossaryWhat is ISPM 15?ISPM 15 is the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standard for wood packaging material in international trade. It requires pallets, crates and dunnage made of solid wood to be debarked, treated by an approved method such as heat treatment (56 °C core for 30 minutes), and marked with the IPPC mark.
- GlossaryBark (on pallet lumber)Bark is the outer layer of a tree trunk. ISPM 15 requires wood packaging to be made from debarked wood, allowing only small remnants: pieces under 3 cm wide of any length, or wider pieces with a surface area under 50 cm².
- GlossaryWane (lumber defect)Wane is bark, or the absence of wood, on the edge or corner of a sawn piece, where the cut reached the outside of the log. Pallet lumber grades limit how wide and deep it can be.
- GlossaryIPPC markThe IPPC mark is the stamp that shows wood packaging was treated under ISPM 15. It contains the IPPC symbol, a two-letter ISO country code, a producer or treatment provider code assigned by the national plant protection organization, and a treatment code (HT, DH, MB or SF), inside a border.
- StandardsISPM 15: the wood packaging standard for international shippingISPM 15 is the IPPC standard requiring solid-wood packaging, including pallets and dunnage, to be debarked, treated (HT, DH, MB or SF) and marked before crossing a border. Plywood, OSB, presswood, wood 6 mm thick or less, and plastic, metal and paper pallets are exempt.
More in Standards and compliance
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- GlossaryGMAGMA stands for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (now the Consumer Brands Association), whose name became attached to the standard 48 × 40 in (1219 × 1016 mm) US grocery pallet: a partial four-way wood stringer pallet with three notched stringers, seven top and five bottom deckboards.
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Last reviewed 2026-09-24. 240 words.