Hi, I just have a question.
I am looking to buy an organic latex mattress. The company I am buying from says they have to fumigates the latex upon entry into the county…“cant be helped” they say. Is this normal? They say it is wrapped in plastic but I worry this could be unsafe. The whole point of organic was to stay away from chemicals. Any thoughts on this would be great.
Hi pennies,
Latex only needs to be fumigated if it is imported on untreated wooden pallets that are subject to import fumigation requirements (see here) but this type of shipment method (using untreated wood pallets) wouldn’t be the norm because fumigation is more costly than using treated wood pallets (fumigated or heat treated) in the first place.
Phoenix
Hi, yeah, I did read that link before I asked. Im not sure why they would choose to use untreated pallets but I guess they must. I am just wondering if the chemicals they use would lech into the mattress making the whole organic void. Im not even sure what chemicals they use for this but I doubt it is good…The mattress is for my child so its a big concern.
My options are a bit limited here in Canada. I found a place called Natures Embrace. They say they are organic…the fumigation is throwing me off a bit though.
Hi pennies,
I don’t know why a manufacturer would import natural latex on untreated wooden pallets either unless their supplier doesn’t provide any other options but it certainly wouldn’t be the norm.
The chemical that is used is methyl bromide which is also used to treat food products. It is toxic in higher concentrations and the workers who do the fumigation or that are at risk of exposure would need to take protective measures but it also dissipates quickly after fumigation.
According to the article I linked latex can apparently develop a permanent odor if it is exposed to methyl bromide so it would be important to cover it and I would doubt that the methyl bromide would penetrate the plastic but of course I can’t know that for certain.
Phoenix