FDA, FSMA, and food-grade pallets — what food industry businesses need to know about pallet compliance.
Food safety regulations are strict — and they extend to the pallets your products sit on. The FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires food businesses to implement preventive controls, which includes ensuring that packaging materials (including pallets) don't contaminate food products.
For wood pallets, the key concerns are: chemical contamination (from previous loads), biological contamination (mold, bacteria), and physical contamination (splinters, loose nails). Grade A or "food-grade" pallets address all three by being clean, structurally sound, and free of chemical residues.
Plastic pallets are inherently food-safe for most applications — their non-porous surface doesn't harbor bacteria and can be washed/sanitized between uses. For cold storage, pharmaceutical, or clean-room environments, plastic is usually the preferred choice.
If you're shipping food internationally, ISPM-15 heat-treated pallets are required. The heat treatment process has the added benefit of killing mold and bacteria, making HT-stamped pallets a good choice even for domestic food shipments.
At Oakland Pallets, we maintain a dedicated inventory of food-grade wood pallets (Grade A, clean, inspected for contamination) and food-safe plastic pallets. Contact us to discuss your specific food safety requirements.