Characteristics of the heat treated wood packaging materials according to international standards for phytosanitary measures and verifiability of heat treatment

We aimed to develop a control method to assess compliance with International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No.15 (ISPM 15) heat treatment wood packaging materials by physico-chemical properties and chemo-metrical approach. Larix leptolepis (Siebold & Zucc.) (Gordon larch), Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir) and Picea jezoensis (spruce) as wood samples were used in this study. The ISPM 15 processing of wood did not alter the physico-chemical characteristics. By the ISPM 15 processing of wood, the core moisture content of timber was approximately 6%, regardless of the wood species, whereas that before heat treatment was 10-12%. Among the different parameters of wood, the moisture content can be classified by the PCA according to the ISPM 15 processing, which can be easily changed by mild heat treatment. Furthermore, the changes in chemical properties occurring after the ISPM 15 processing were clearly distinguished by using the ATR-PCA system.