Campaigners call on European Commission to ban two pesticides as new evidence warns of “adverse effects”

EDC-Free Europe, a coalition of 70 public interest groups, is urging the European Commission to ban two pesticides following their identification as endocrine disruptors by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The group draws attention to fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and fludioxonil, which were initially allowed until 2018 and later extended until 2025, for “serious” public health risks.

According to the University of Hertfordshire, UK, fludioxonil is used as a broad-spectrum fungicide to control diseases in fruits, including apples, soft fruit, cranberries, pear, quince, grapes, strawberries, and currants, vegetables like peas and beans, and grain crops like wheat and oats.

Applications for fenoxaprop-P-ethyl include rice and cereal crops such as rye and barley.

EDC-Free notes that the EC’s conclusions on the peer review of fludioxonil, published in November 2024, show that it disrupts the normal functioning of the hormonal system in humans and wild mammals.

The disruption causes delays in sexual maturation, reduced anogenital distance in males, and increased oestrus cycle in females.

Additionally, EFSA found that fenoxaprop-P-ethyl causes changes in the weights of the prostate, epididymis, and testes, alongside alterations in testicular weight.

Cracking down on harmful plant protection products

The coalition calls on the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety to ban the two pesticides before the upcoming EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) meeting on March 11-12.

It emphasizes that keeping these on the market, despite evidence of their harmful properties, directly violates regulations that aim to ensure the safety of human health and the environment from the commercial use of plant protection products, which may have adverse effects on humans or non-target organisms.

Earlier this year, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe released a similar call to propose the swift non-renewal of the pesticides.

“The approvals of these two dangerous substances were initially set to expire in 2018 but have been extended to 2025 due to several delays in risk assessment. As a result, farmers, residents of agricultural areas, bystanders, and European consumers are exposed to unnecessary health risks that EU law is intended to prevent,” reads the letter.

Civil society organizations have been at odds with the EC regarding its Vision for Agriculture and Food policy roadmap, which they believe has failed to deliver on previous commitments to crack down on crops grown with harmful or banned chemicals.

“The EU still allows the production and export of pesticides banned in the EU. In 2022, approximately 130 000 tons of pesticides containing banned pesticides were exported from EU factories to outside the EU,” Kristine De Schamphelaere, policy officer at PAN, recently told Food Ingredients First.