Food additive databasefungicideChecked 2026-10-02
Diphenyl (Biphenyl) ジフェニル（別名ビフェニル）
Designated additiveNot on the EU additive list
- Purpose
- fungicide
- On the label
- “防かび剤（ジフェニル）” (antifungal agent (diphenyl)), “防かび剤（DP）” (antifungal agent (DP)), “防ばい剤（DP）” (antifungal agent (DP))
- Name in the List of Designated Additives
- ジフェニル（別名ビフェニル） (No. 190)
In Japan
- Used to prevent mold on citrus fruits during storage and transport. Rather than being applied directly to the fruit, it is soaked into paper strips placed in the container.
- Antifungal agents are one of the 8 purposes for which the purpose name is written alongside, and the short name is “DP”.
- It is among the additives that must be labeled even when the food is sold loose (CAA, Food Labeling Standards explanatory notice, Annex, Additives 1-6).
Japan's standards for use
- Grapefruit, lemons, oranges: residue less than 0.070 g/kg
- Only when soaked into paper strips placed in containers for storage or transport
This is a summary of the standards for use. See the source list for the exact conditions.
In the EU
- It is not on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II), so it cannot be used as a food additive in the EU.
When it is labeled under a shared name
Diphenyl (Biphenyl) may be declared on the label in the same way as “防かび剤（OPP・TBZ・イマザリルなど）”. See Post-harvest fungicides (OPP, TBZ, imazalil etc.) for details.
Sources
- List of Designated Additives — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- Standards for use and storage of each additive — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- EU food additive database (Japanese translation) — MAFF (Japanese)
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives — EUR-Lex
- 東京都保健医療局「食品表示の手引き」第4章 添加物（消費者庁「食品表示基準について」別添 添加物1-1〜1-6 を収録） (Japanese)
Checked 2026-10-02. Rules and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.
This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it is not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. The ADI is a guide to the amount that is considered safe to take every day over a lifetime.