Imidacloprid イミダクロプリド
Neonicotinoids: Bind to the receptors in insect nerves (nicotinic acetylcholine receptors). Many are taken up through roots or leaves and spread through the whole crop (systemic).
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered November 4, 1992). 36 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- rice (paddy), cucumber, eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, watermelon and others (119 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Deleterious (ordinary at 2% or less)Classes of the 36 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 24, deleterious substance 12Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- 0.057 mg per kg of body weight per day
- ARfD (acute reference dose)
- 0.077 mg per kg of body weight
- Evaluation
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, July 16, 2025
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DomesticNo. 16 by detection rate | 70 / 3,463 | 2.0% | 0 |
| ImportedNo. 12 by detection rate | 262 / 5,293 | 5.0% | 2 |
Found in domestic foods: strawberry, edamame, persimmon, cucumber (including gherkin), kyona (mizuna), komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), taro-type crops (including yatsugashira taro), plum (including prune), other cucurbit (Cucurbitaceae) vegetables, other citrus fruits, fava bean (broad bean), daikon-type roots (including radish) and others (max. 3.3 ppm)
Found in imported foods: strawberry, cherry (including cherries), kabocha pumpkin (including squash), komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), sesame seeds, other Asteraceae vegetables, other nightshade (Solanaceae) vegetables, other herbs, carrot, Welsh onion (including leek), potato, grape and others (max. 0.22 ppm)
Tests are counted as pesticide × sample. Any detection counts as “detected” — it does not mean the limit was exceeded.
In the Consumer Affairs Agency's market basket survey (fiscal 2024; the amount actually taken in from everyday meals), intake was 0.011–0.066% of the ADI.
Evaluations abroad
- WHO acute toxicity class
- II (Moderately hazardous), LD50 450 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
- Not approved in the EU (approval ended December 2020)EU ADI: 0.06 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: 0.08 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 2018, the EU banned outdoor use of three active ingredients: clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam (because of their effects on honeybees; use is allowed only inside greenhouses).
- In 2013, EFSA issued a scientific opinion that it may have developmental neurotoxicity.
- In the MAFF survey of honeybee poisoning incidents (fiscal 2013–2015), among the insecticides found in honeybees that died during the rice stink bug control season, this active ingredient accounted for 2 (38 in total, with overlaps).
- An observational study in the Netherlands found that the higher the concentration in the water, the fewer aquatic insects and insect-eating birds there were (Van Dijk et al. 2013, Hallmann et al. 2014). Japan's Ministry of the Environment has set registration criteria for aquatic organisms, birds and wild bees (January 2026).
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 Imidacloprid (July 16, 2025) (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 (Imidacloprid)
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.