Where it is
Last element of the ISPM 15 mark.
What it proves
That the wood was fumigated with methyl bromide to the concentration-time product in ISPM 15 Table 1. EPAL prohibits this treatment on EPAL pallets.
In detail
ISPM 15 Annex 1 keeps MB as an approved treatment with a 24-hour minimum exposure and a required concentration-time product that rises as temperature falls: 650 g·h/m³ at 21 °C or above, 800 at 16–20.9 °C and 900 at 10–15.9 °C. Wood more than 20 cm across at its smallest dimension must not be fumigated with it. The standard's environmental statement explains why it is still there and asks NPPOs to promote alternatives.
For euro pallets the more useful rule is EPAL's: every EPAL product page says it is prohibited to treat EPAL pallets with methyl bromide, and that the rule also applies to repaired pallets. So an EPAL-branded pallet stamped MB is either very old, not genuine, or wrongly repaired. Our identifier flags it rather than calling it compliant.
MB-marked wood packaging is still legal to import into the US and Canada when the mark is correct: 7 CFR 319.40-3 names MB in its example format and D-98-08 lists methyl bromide fumigation. Whether a particular buyer accepts it is a separate question.
Common misreadings
- MB is not banned by ISPM 15 itself; the prohibition discussed here is EPAL's rule for EPAL pallets.