Difenoconazole ジフェノコナゾール
Azoles (DMI): Stop fungi from making a component of their cell membranes (ergosterol).
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered April 28, 1993). 9 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- tomato, eggplant, cucumber, strawberry, rose, chrysanthemum and others (38 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Ordinary substanceClasses of the 9 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 9Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- 0.0096 mg per kg of body weight per day
- ARfD (acute reference dose)
- 0.25 mg per kg of body weight
- Evaluation
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, December 14, 2022
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 | 31 / 4,014 | 0.8% | 0 |
| Imported | 113 / 4,154 | 2.7% | 2 |
Found in domestic foods: strawberry, ume (Japanese apricot), cherry (including cherries), persimmon, celery, parsley, Japanese pear (max. 1.6 ppm)
Found in imported foods: strawberry, cherry (including cherries), other citrus fruits, other nightshade (Solanaceae) vegetables, other Liliaceae vegetables, other herbs, other berries, other vegetables, carrot, Welsh onion (including leek), grape, artichoke and others (max. 0.26 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 0.007–0.156% of the ADI.
Evaluations abroad
- WHO acute toxicity class
- II (Moderately hazardous), LD50 1453 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 January 2028)Designated a “candidate for substitution” (to be replaced if safer alternatives exist).EU ADI: 0.01 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: 0.16 mg/kg bw
- 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 Difenoconazole (December 14, 2022) (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 (Difenoconazole)
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.