Biphenyl ジフェニル（DP）

In Japan

Registration

Not registered as a pesticide (it is designated as a food additive, a fungicide).

ADI (acceptable daily intake)

No risk assessment report by the Food Safety Commission of Japan was found

Evaluation

Food Safety Commission of Japan, February 25, 2026

Note

The latest evaluation falls under Article 11, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Food Safety Basic Act (no ADI or ARfD stated). The ADI has not been confirmed.

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. 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

III (Slightly hazardous), LD50 3280 mg/kg

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

EU ADI: 0.038 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 designated as a “food additive” used as a postharvest fungicide for grapefruit, lemons and oranges (soaked into paper sheets placed in storage and shipping containers).

Related explainers

• Most and least toxic pesticides, ranked (acute toxicity, ADI, carcinogenicity)

• Post-harvest pesticides and imported foods

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 Biphenyl (February 25, 2026) (Japanese)
• MHLW, results of pesticide residue testing in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
• WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
• EU Pesticides Database (Biphenyl)

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 Postharvest fungicides (food additives in Japan)

• Imazalil
• Thiabendazole
• 2-Phenylphenol
• Prochloraz