Food safe plastic pallets: what to ask for

1. The resin: HDPE, polypropylene or another, named on paper.
2. Whether the pallet uses virgin resin or recycled content, and how much.
3. The colourant, and whether a food-regulation statement exists for that exact colour.
4. The model sheet: footprint, static load, dynamic load, racking load, entry.
5. A statement from the maker about intended use, because a pallet listed as pharma and food safe may still not be approved for direct food contact.

One example: a used Nelson 48 x 40 pallet is listed as pharma and food safe but not approved for direct food contact. Read that wording as it is. "Safe" in a listing is not a government approval.

Nelson Company says recycled-material plastic pallets often meet general FDA requirements for food and pharmaceuticals, but a product that touches the pallet directly may need non-blended virgin HDPE. Unblended HDPE or LDPE is a starting point for deep-freezer use. Some makers offer FDA-approved colours on certain models. That is a statement about the colourant, not about the pallet.

FDA's sanitary transportation rule covers shippers, loaders, carriers and receivers moving human or animal food by motor or rail in the US. It requires transport equipment to be suitable and adequately cleanable. It exempts operations under $500,000 average annual revenue and food fully enclosed in a container unless it needs temperature control. A plastic deck that wipes down helps meet that, but the pallet is one part of a larger practice.

FDA's Food Traceability Rule, under section 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act, requires businesses that make, process, pack or hold foods on the Food Traceability List to keep key data elements for critical tracking events and to share them within 24 hours of a request. FDA says Congress directed it not to enforce the rule before July 20, 2028. The rule is about food records, not pallets, but a pallet identified by an RFID tag or a mark can make the records easier to keep.

The sanitary transportation rule is the one that touches equipment: it requires transport equipment to be suitable and adequately cleanable. It exempts operations under $500,000 in average annual revenue, and food fully enclosed in a container unless it needs temperature control. A used Nelson 48 x 40 x 6.3 in HDPE pallet is a useful reminder of how listings read: 49 lb, 30,000 lb static, 5,000 lb dynamic, pharma and food safe, not approved for direct food contact.