Abamectin アバメクチン
Macrolides and spinosyns: Insecticides based on substances made by soil microorganisms (spinosad, emamectin benzoate and others).
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered February 6, 2013). 4 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- gerbera, citrus, apple, Japanese pear, watermelon, cucumber and others (21 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Poisonous (deleterious at 1.8% or less)Classes of the 4 formulated products (diluted products sold): deleterious substance 4Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- 0.0006 mg per kg of body weight per day
- ARfD (acute reference dose)
- 0.005 mg per kg of body weight
- Evaluation
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, December 22, 2015
ADI: the amount considered to have no effect on health even if eaten every day for a lifetime. ARfD: the amount considered to have no effect on health when eaten at one time (within 24 hours). Both are set by the Food Safety Commission of Japan, mainly from animal studies.
In Japan's national residue testing (fiscal 2024)
| Produce | Detected / tested | Detection rate | Over the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 0 / 445 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Imported | 0 / 133 | 0.0% | 0 |
Tests are counted as pesticide × sample. Any detection counts as “detected” — it does not mean the limit was exceeded. For pesticides outside the top 20, figures are summed from the food-by-food tables of the full report.
Evaluations abroad
- WHO acute toxicity class
- Ib (Highly hazardous), LD50 8.7 mg/kgBased on the toxicity of the undiluted active ingredient given once, mainly to rats by mouth (LD50 = the dose that kills half; the smaller, the stronger the acute toxicity). It is not an assessment of the safety of residues in food.
- EU
- Approved in the EU (approval expires March 2038)EU ADI: 0.0012 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: 0.0012 mg/kg bw
- IARC (carcinogenicity)
- No matching entry in the IARC list (not evaluated or out of scope, including Group 3)
Related explainers
Sources
- FAMIC (Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center), pesticide registration information (as of Sept. 30, 2026) (Japanese)
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, risk assessment report on Abamectin (December 22, 2015) (Japanese)
- MHLW, results of pesticide residue testing in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
- WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
- EU Pesticides Database (Abamectin (aka avermectin))
Last checked 2026-10-01. Registrations and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.