Dutch Regulator Pulls Fludioxonil Fungicide Product
11 November 2026, Ede, NL: The Dutch pesticide authority Ctgb has withdrawn approval for a fungicide product called Pitcher, which contains the active ingredient fludioxonil, following a European Court of Justice ruling that required national regulators to weigh updated scientific evidence when deciding whether to maintain a pesticide’s authorization.
Ctgb’s decision means Pitcher can no longer be used in the Netherlands from May 2027, after a transition period. The authority based the withdrawal on the European Food Safety Authority’s 2024 conclusion that fludioxonil meets the European Union’s criteria for an endocrine disruptor, a category of substances that can interfere with hormone systems even at very low concentrations, with particular concern for pregnant women and young children. Ctgb found that Pitcher’s use did not qualify for an exception under closed-system application or negligible exposure, which can otherwise allow continued use of a substance with such properties.
Years-Long Legal Challenge
The case traces back to a 2019 appeal filed by Pesticide Action Network Europe against an earlier Ctgb approval decision. The matter eventually reached the Court of Justice of the European Union as a request for a preliminary ruling. The court held that national authorities are obliged to take into account the latest available scientific evidence on a pesticide active substance’s toxicity when making authorization decisions, rather than relying solely on the assessment in place at the time of original approval. Following that ruling, a Dutch court ordered Ctgb to reconsider its decision, leading to the withdrawal of Pitcher’s authorization.
Fludioxonil remains approved at the European Union level, alongside eleven other active substances that have also been identified as endocrine disruptors but have not yet been withdrawn from the EU market. In the Netherlands, 23 other authorized agricultural and horticultural products containing fludioxonil remain on the market, and PAN Netherlands has asked Ctgb to withdraw roughly 50 products in total, covering fludioxonil and other substances identified as endocrine disruptors.
EU Debate Continues
The European Commission’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed has a discussion on the agenda for its November 12 to 13 meeting covering whether to move forward with restrictions on additional endocrine-disrupting pesticides, including fludioxonil, though the matter has not yet been put to a formal vote among member states.
Hans Muilerman, senior chemicals officer at Pesticide Action Network Europe, said that under EU law, new scientific evidence must be taken into account in decision-making, adding that many more fludioxonil-containing formulations still need to be withdrawn from the market. Angeliki Lyssimachou, the organization’s head of science and policy, said that once a substance is identified as an endocrine disruptor, the law requires that it be banned, citing a 2015 estimate that put the annual health costs associated with endocrine disruptors across the European Union at more than 157 billion euros.
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