On April 30, 2024, the European Commission (EC) issued a formal resolution that, based on the EU Pesticide Regulation (REGULATION (EC) No 1107/2009), the active substance dimethomorph will no longer be approved and will soon be banned in the EU.
Dimethomorph is an endothermic fungicide developed by Shell (now BASF) that has good protective and inhibitory activity against spore germination. It works by inhibiting the formation of the cell wall of oomycetes.
As of April 2024, there are a total of 22 Technical registrations and 416 formulation registrations for dimethomorph in China. The formulation products are mainly used for the prevention and control of cucumber downy mildew. In addition, dimethomorph has been registered in countries and regions such as the European Union, the United States, Brazil, and Japan.
In 2007, dimethomorph was first approved by the European Union under the old pesticide regulations (Directive 91/414/EEC) and was valid until September 30, 2017. Due to the delayed completion of the re evaluation process, the approval validity period of dimethomorph has been repeatedly extended, with the most recent extension until February 15, 2025.
Until June 23 last year, the EU Food Safety Agency reported to the European Commission the latest review results on dimethomorph, which mainly included the following risk points:
Dimethomorph is classified as a Class 1B reproductive toxicity substance.
Due to the endocrine disrupting effects mediated by estrogen, androgens, and steroid hormones (EAS), dimethomorph is considered to meet the definition of human and non target biological endocrine disruptors, and it cannot be proven that its exposure during use is negligible.
Based on the above evaluation conclusions, the EU believes that dimethomorph no longer meets the approval criteria of EU pesticide regulations, and ultimately decides not to approve the active substance.
According to Article 46 of the EU Pesticide Regulation, member states should be given sufficient time to revoke authorizations for relevant plant protection products and a sufficient sales buffer period for plant protection products after the resolution is issued. Therefore, this resolution points out that EU member states should revoke the authorization of plant protection products containing dimethomorph before November 20, 2024, and the sales buffer period set by member states should not exceed May 20, 2025.
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