Azoxystrobin アゾキシストロビン
Strobilurins (QoI): Stop the respiration of fungi (the mitochondrial electron transport chain). Developed from a component of mushrooms.
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered April 24, 1998). 21 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- rice (paddy), bell pepper, Welsh onion, daikon radish, lisianthus, chrysanthemum and others (121 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Deleterious (ordinary at 80% or less)Classes of the 21 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 21Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- 0.18 mg per kg of body weight per day
- ARfD (acute reference dose)
- 1.5 mg per kg of body weight
- Evaluation
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, March 10, 2020
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DomesticNo. 13 by detection rate | 111 / 4,212 | 2.6% | 0 |
| ImportedNo. 5 by detection rate | 467 / 4,000 | 11.7% | 0 |
Found in domestic foods: strawberry, cherry (including cherries), persimmon, kabocha pumpkin (including squash), cucumber (including gherkin), komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), burdock root, taro-type crops (including yatsugashira taro), shungiku (garland chrysanthemum), plum (including prune), other fruits, daikon-type roots (including radish) and others (max. 28 ppm)
Found in imported foods: strawberry, cherry (including cherries), other citrus fruits, other nightshade (Solanaceae) vegetables, other Liliaceae vegetables, other herbs, other fruits, other vegetables, nira (garlic chives), carrot, Welsh onion (including leek), grape and others (max. 3.5 ppm)
Tests are counted as pesticide × sample. Any detection counts as “detected” — it does not mean the limit was exceeded.
Evaluations abroad
- WHO acute toxicity class
- U (Unlikely to present acute hazard in normal use), LD50 >5000 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 May 2027)EU ADI: 0.2 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: —
- IARC (carcinogenicity)
- No matching entry in the IARC list (not evaluated or out of scope, including Group 3)
Good to know
- In Japan, it is also designated as a food additive used as a postharvest fungicide.
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 Azoxystrobin (March 10, 2020) (Japanese)
- MHLW, results of pesticide residue testing in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
- WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
- EU Pesticides Database (Azoxystrobin)
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.