The European Union bans chlorpyrifos: limit of 0.01 mg/kg and no derogations

The European Commission has included chlorpyrifos in the list of substances banned by the Union as a persistent organic pollutant, without specific exemptions and with a limit value of 0.01 mg/kg for traces present as an unintentional contaminant. This is established by delegated regulation (EU) 2026/1423, adopted on June 30, 2026, and signed by President Ursula von der Leyen, published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, 2nd Special Series no. 87 of November 5, 2026, with the code 26CE2533.

The measure amends regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on persistent organic pollutants, intervening in Annex I, Part A. The legal basis is Article 15, paragraph 1, of the same regulation, which implements the commitments undertaken by the Union under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the 1979 Protocol on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution.

Brussels’ Choice

The decision stems from the twelfth meeting of the conference of the parties to the convention, held from April 28 to May 9, 2025, which amended Annex A to include chlorpyrifos with specific exemptions. The Union had supported that line with Council Decision (EU) 2025/868 of April 23, 2025, regarding the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union in that forum.

In Annex I of regulation 2019/1021, however, the substance is included without any exception. Recital 5 justifies the choice: in the Union, chlorpyrifos is not approved as an active substance in plant protection products nor in biocides, respectively pursuant to regulation (EC) no. 1107/2009 and regulation (EU) no. 528/2012. Since there are no authorized uses to protect, Brussels has excluded the exemptions provided for by the convention.

The 0.01 mg/kg Limit

The annex to the delegated regulation adds an entry to Annex I, Part A, with the identification data of the substance:

• Substance: chlorpyrifos
• CAS Number: 2921-88-2
• EC Number: 220-864-4
• Specific exemptions: none

The entry specifies that “for the purposes of this entry, Article 4, paragraph 1, point (b) applies to chlorpyrifos present in substances, mixtures or articles in concentrations equal to or less than 0.01 mg/kg (0.000001% by weight)”. Recital 6 clarifies the rationale: setting a limit value for the unintentional contaminant in traces serves to improve the application and enforcement of Article 3, paragraph 1, of regulation 2019/1021.

Agriculture, Chemistry and Controls

The framework referred to by the measure is that of Annex A of the convention, which requires each party to prohibit the listed substances and to adopt the necessary legislative and administrative measures to cease their production, use, import, and export. The threshold of 0.01 mg/kg thus becomes the technical reference to distinguish technically unavoidable traces from prohibited residues, a step that concerns chemical industry formulations and adjuvants as well as batches of agricultural products and treated articles.

On the food supply chain front, the regulation follows the period in which the maximum residue levels of the substance had already been reduced at the European level by Regulation (EU) 2018/686, which had amended the annexes of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 for chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and triclopyr. With its entry into Annex I, the prohibition is no longer governed solely by residue regulations but by the regime reserved for persistent organic pollutants.

When it applies

The regulation enters into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in each of the Member States. No dedicated transitional period is provided, consistent with the absence of specific derogations in the new entry of the annex.

For operators in the agrochemical chain and for laboratories performing official controls, the operational data is twofold: the substance is off the market as a phytosanitary active ingredient and biocide, and any presence in substances, mixtures, or articles must be measured against the threshold of 0.01 mg/kg. It is on that value, and not on a derogatory regime, that the concrete application of the prohibition will depend in the coming months.

Source: Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, 2nd Special Series no. 87 of November 5, 2026, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1423 of June 30, 2026 (26CE2533), p. 1.