Dutch Regulator Withdraws Fludioxonil Fungicide Pitcher
12 November 2026, Ede, NL: The Netherlands’ pesticide authority, the Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb), has withdrawn the market authorisation of the fungicide Pitcher after concluding that its active ingredient, fludioxonil, is an endocrine disruptor, the advocacy group PAN Europe said on November 4. Ctgb has set a transition period running until May 2027, after which the product can no longer be sold or used in the Netherlands.
Fludioxonil was identified as an endocrine disruptor in 2024, under scientific criteria for that classification that the European Commission adopted in 2018. Under EU pesticide rules, an active substance identified as an endocrine disruptor cannot remain approved unless exposure to it is negligible, for instance because it is used only in closed systems. PAN Europe says Pitcher does not qualify for that exception.
A legal challenge dating to 2019
The withdrawal follows a case PAN Europe brought against Ctgb’s authorisation of the product in 2019. That case produced a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which found that national regulators must weigh newly available scientific evidence on a substance’s toxicity rather than rely only on the data available when a product was first approved.
“The EU law is clear: new scientific evidence must be taken into account in the decision making but the Dutch pesticide authority refused to implement the law,” said Hans Muilerman, senior chemicals officer at PAN Europe.
Fludioxonil remains authorised in 23 other plant protection products in the Netherlands. PAN Europe says use of fludioxonil-containing products in the country has roughly tripled since 2010, and that residue testing on fruit and vegetables frequently detects the compound.
A wider EU review is pending
The Dutch decision lands just ahead of a meeting of the EU’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) on November 12 and 13, where member states are due to discuss a proposal to withdraw EU-wide approval for fludioxonil and several other substances identified as endocrine disruptors. PAN Europe says the proposal has not yet been put to a vote.
“There should be no room for debate: once a substance is identified as an endocrine disruptor, the law mandates its ban,” said Dr. Angeliki Lyssimachou, head of science and policy at PAN Europe.
PAN Europe says roughly 30 pesticide products authorised in the Netherlands contain substances identified as endocrine disruptors, and its Dutch affiliate has separately petitioned Ctgb to withdraw around 50 products in total. Ctgb has said the transition period for Pitcher is intended to protect the interests of industry and agriculture to the extent possible while the market adjusts.
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