The Dutch pesticide authority Ctgb has withdrawn approval for Pitcher, a fungicide containing fludioxonil, which can no longer be used in the Netherlands from May 2027 after a transition period, Global Agriculture reports.
Ctgb based its decision on the European Food Safety Authority's 2024 finding that fludioxonil meets the EU criteria for an endocrine disruptor, a substance that can interfere with hormone systems even at very low doses, with particular concern for pregnant women and young children. It found that Pitcher's use did not qualify for the exceptions for closed-system application or negligible exposure.
The case goes back to a 2019 appeal by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe against an earlier Ctgb approval. It reached the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ruled that national authorities must take into account the latest scientific evidence on an active substance's toxicity when deciding on authorisations, not only the assessment in place when it was first approved. A Dutch court then ordered Ctgb to reconsider.
Fludioxonil remains approved at EU level, as do eleven other active substances identified as endocrine disruptors. In the Netherlands, 23 other farm and horticulture products containing fludioxonil are still on the market, and PAN Netherlands has asked Ctgb to withdraw about 50 products in all. The European Commission's Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed has restrictions on more endocrine-disrupting pesticides, including fludioxonil, on the agenda for its 12-13 November meeting, though no vote has been called.
Hans Muilerman of PAN Europe said EU law requires new science to be taken into account and that many more fludioxonil products must go. Angeliki Lyssimachou, its head of science and policy, said the law requires a ban once a substance is identified as an endocrine disruptor, citing a 2015 estimate of more than 157 billion euros a year in EU health costs linked to such chemicals.
Photo: FaceMePLS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Global Agriculture
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