Carbendazim / Thiophanate-methyl / Benomyl カルベンダジム・チオファネートメチル

In Japan

Registration

Registered as a pesticide (first registered April 21, 1971). 45 formulated products contain it.

Main registered crops

cucumber, tomato, peach, apple, soybean, lettuce and others (170 crop names in the registered uses)

Toxicity class

Active ingredient: Thiophanate-methyl: Ordinary / Benomyl: Ordinary

Classes of the 45 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 45

Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.

ADI (acceptable daily intake)

0.025 mg per kg of body weight per day

ARfD (acute reference dose)

0.14（一般の集団） ／ 0.1（妊婦又は妊娠している可能性のある女性） mg per kg of body weight

Evaluation

Food Safety Commission of Japan, July 10, 2025

Note

Not listed in the DB (as of March 31, 2025). The values are from the summary on the evaluation report detail page.

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)

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 >10000 mg/kg

Carbendazim=>10000 / Thiophanate-methyl=>5000 / Benomyl=>10000

Based 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

Not approved in the EU

In the EU, none of carbendazim, thiophanate-methyl and benomyl is approved.

Designated a “candidate for substitution” (to be replaced if safer alternatives exist).

EU ADI: Carbendazim=0.02 mg/kg bw/day / Thiophanate-methyl=0.02 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: Carbendazim=0.02 mg/kg bw / Thiophanate-methyl=0.02 mg/kg bw

IARC (carcinogenicity)

No matching entry in the IARC list (not evaluated or out of scope, including Group 3)

Good to know

• Because thiophanate-methyl and benomyl change into carbendazim in the body and in the environment, their maximum residue limits are set together (national inspections also count them as one, “carbendazims”). In Japan, thiophanate-methyl and benomyl are registered; carbendazim itself is not registered.
• In 2025, the Food Safety Commission set a group ADI covering the three active ingredients.

Related explainers

• Most and least toxic pesticides, ranked (acute toxicity, ADI, carcinogenicity)
• Does washing, peeling or boiling remove pesticide residues? Measured results
• How are maximum residue limits set? Japan’s positive list system and how much we actually eat

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 Carbendazim / Thiophanate-methyl / Benomyl (July 10, 2025) (Japanese)
• MHLW, results of pesticide residue testing in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
• WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
• EU Pesticides Database (Carbendazim / Thiophanate-methyl / Benomyl)

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.

Other Benzimidazoles

• Benomyl