Tebuconazole テブコナゾール
Azoles (DMI): Stop fungi from making a component of their cell membranes (ergosterol).
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered November 28, 1995). 14 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- Western lawn grass, wheat, onion, Japanese lawn grass, peach, persimmon and others (41 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Ordinary substanceClasses of the 14 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 14Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- 0.029 mg per kg of body weight per day
- ARfD (acute reference dose)
- 0.3 mg per kg of body weight
- Evaluation
- Food Safety Commission of Japan, October 1, 2019
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. 19 by detection rate | 97 / 5,060 | 1.9% | 0 |
| Imported | 83 / 5,030 | 1.6% | 5 |
Found in domestic foods: ume (Japanese apricot), cherry (including cherries), persimmon, plum (including prune), other citrus fruits, natsumikan (summer orange), grape, mikan (mandarin orange), peach, apple, orange (including navel orange), pineapple and others (max. 0.46 ppm)
Found in imported foods: cherry (including cherries), other citrus fruits, other Apiaceae vegetables, other nightshade (Solanaceae) vegetables, other Liliaceae vegetables, other berries, other fruits, other vegetables, carrot, Welsh onion (including leek), grape, okra and others (max. 0.93 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 1700 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 July 2028)Designated a “candidate for substitution” (to be replaced if safer alternatives exist).EU ADI: 0.03 mg/kg bw/day; ARfD: 0.03 mg/kg bw
- IARC (carcinogenicity)
- No matching entry in the IARC list (not evaluated or out of scope, including Group 3)
Good to know
- Cases of imported frozen strawberries (from China) exceeding the maximum residue limit have been found (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, fiscal 2023: 0.07 ppm against an MRL of 0.01 ppm).
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 Tebuconazole (October 1, 2019) (Japanese)
- MHLW, results of pesticide residue testing in foods, fiscal 2024 (Japanese)
- WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
- EU Pesticides Database (Tebuconazole)
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.