Pesticide databasePostharvest fungicidesChecked 2026-10-01

Imazalil イマザリル

Postharvest fungicides (food additives in Japan)A food additive in JapanWHO IIApproved in the EUAlso used after harvest

Postharvest fungicides (food additives in Japan): Imazalil, thiabendazole (TBZ), ortho-phenylphenol (OPP) and others. Labeling is required at the point of sale.

In Japan

Registration: Not registered as a pesticide (it is designated as a food additive, a fungicide).
ADI (acceptable daily intake): Under evaluation by the Food Safety Commission of Japan
Note: No Food Safety Commission risk assessment report could be found (Chemical Toxicity Evaluation DB, list of evaluation reports in Japanese syllabary order; checked 2026-10-01). The syllabary-order list says “under evaluation by the Expert Committee on Pesticides.” Only the hazard overview sheet (2011-03-17), https://www.fsc.go.jp/sonota/hazard/noyaku_19.pdf, exists.

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	0 / 2,192	0.0%	0
ImportedNo. 1 by detection rate	240 / 1,224	19.6%	0

Found in imported foods: other citrus fruits, other fruits, orange (including navel orange), grapefruit, lime, lemon (max. 12 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.

Evaluations abroad

WHO acute toxicity class: II (Moderately hazardous), LD50 227 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: Approved in the EU (approval expires May 2027)
EU ADI: 0.025 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: 0.05 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 designated as a “food additive” used as a postharvest fungicide for citrus fruits (except mikan) and bananas (it has no registration as a pesticide). Even for unpackaged produce sold loose, a national notice requires labeling, such as a notice posted near the sales area.
In national inspections, it is found at the highest rate in imported produce (MHLW, fiscal 2024: 240 of 1,224 samples, 19.6%).
Evaluation is continuing at the Food Safety Commission (received in fiscal 2010).

Related explainers

Post-harvest pesticides and imported foods

Sources

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.

Pesticides registered in Japan are approved by the government with set crops, amounts, numbers of applications and days before harvest. This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it does not judge whether anything is good or bad.