Buprofezin ブプロフェジン
Insect growth regulators (IGRs): Disrupt the way insects grow, such as molting and metamorphosis.
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered December 16, 1983). 14 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- rice (paddy), mikan (mandarin orange), citrus, Japanese pear, peach, ume (Japanese apricot) and others (44 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Ordinary substanceClasses of the 14 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 12, deleterious substance 2Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- 0.009 mg per kg of body weight per day
- ARfD (acute reference dose)
- 0.5 mg per kg of body weight
- Evaluation
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, June 18, 2019
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 | 29 / 4,790 | 0.6% | 0 |
| Imported | 99 / 4,092 | 2.4% | 0 |
Found in domestic foods: ume (Japanese apricot), other citrus fruits, eggplant, peach, tomato, Japanese pear, tea (max. 0.3 ppm)
Found in imported foods: other nightshade (Solanaceae) vegetables, other vegetables, grape, okra, orange (including navel orange), grapefruit, tomato, banana, bell pepper, lemon, tea (max. 0.2 ppm)
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.
In the Consumer Affairs Agency's market basket survey (fiscal 2024; the amount actually taken in from everyday meals), intake was 0.013–0.163% of the ADI.
Evaluations abroad
- WHO acute toxicity class
- III (Slightly hazardous), LD50 2200 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 December 2026)EU ADI: 0.01 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: 0.5 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 Buprofezin (June 18, 2019) (Japanese)
- MHLW, results of pesticide residue testing in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
- Consumer Affairs Agency, daily intake survey of pesticide residues in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
- WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
- EU Pesticides Database (Buprofezin)
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.