On July 8, 2026, the European Commission adopted Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1546, lowering every maximum residue level (MRL) for carbendazim and thiophanate-methyl to the limit of determination (LOD) across the products where import tolerances still applied. The act was published in the Official Journal on July 9, 2026 (OJ L, 2026/1546) and entered into force on July 29, 2026, so it already applies across the EU. It amends Annexes II, III and V to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, the bloc's pesticide residue framework.
In practice, the change deletes the import-tolerance MRLs that remained for these two substances in citrus fruits, mangoes, papayas and okra, and moves all product-specific limits to the LOD column in Annex V. For EU importers and their residue-testing labs, a residue finding above the LOD on those commodities is now non-compliant, with no tolerance left to rely on.
Which products lost their import tolerances?
The regulation targets the four commodity groups where carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl MRLs based on third-country Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) were still in force. Citrus fruits (grapefruits, oranges, mandarins) lost their tolerances because the GAPs that supported them are no longer authorised, removing the legal basis to maintain the MRLs under Article 14(2)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. Mangoes, papayas and okra were swept in after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identified unacceptable consumer risks in its 2024 combined assessment, which assumed both substances could be applied to the same crop.
| Product | Carbendazim | Thiophanate-methyl |
|---|---|---|
| Grapefruits | Lowered to LOD | Lowered to LOD |
| Oranges | Lowered to LOD | Lowered to LOD |
| Mandarins | Lowered to LOD | Lowered to LOD |
| Mangoes | Lowered to LOD | Lowered to LOD |
| Papayas | Lowered to LOD | Lowered to LOD |
| Okra / lady's fingers | Lowered to LOD | Lowered to LOD |
Why the substances are being closed out
Neither active substance is approved for use in the EU. Carbendazim's approval expired on November 30, 2014 with no renewal application filed, and thiophanate-methyl was not renewed by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1498 after the applicant withdrew. EFSA later concluded both are aneugenic, and because the substances share a common mode of action and similar metabolic patterns, the Commission ran a combined risk assessment rather than treating them separately.
The toxicological picture hardened the case. Carbendazim is classified under the CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 as mutagenic category 1B and toxic for reproduction category 1B, and EFSA concluded thiophanate-methyl meets the endocrine-disrupting criteria for the thyroid modality. Internationally, the Codex Alimentarius Commission revoked all Codex maximum residue limits (CXLs) for the sum of carbendazim, benomyl and thiophanate-methyl on November 14, 2025, so the remaining EU tolerances had no Codex benchmark left to lean on.
What changes for residue definitions?
The act does not only lower numbers; it also splits the residue definitions. EFSA proposed separating carbendazim and benomyl, which were previously combined, and setting distinct MRLs for each. For products of animal origin, the enforcement definition for carbendazim moves to "sum of carbendazim and 5-hydroxy-carbendazim, expressed as carbendazim", and thiophanate-methyl in animal products becomes its own standalone definition. Laboratories should update their analytical scope and reporting to match.
What must compliance teams do now?
Because the regulation has been in force since July 29, 2026, the deadlines are behind us, not ahead. EU food importers of citrus, mangoes, papayas and okra should confirm that their third-country suppliers have stopped relying on these substances, since no import tolerance remains to cover residues. Quality-assurance teams need to align residue-testing panels to the new LODs and the split residue definitions, and verify that the laboratory's limit of determination is documented and defensible. Sourcing and procurement should re-check GAPs in origin countries, because a GAP that once justified a citrus tolerance is no longer recognised.
Continuous, per-jurisdiction real-time monitoring surfaces this kind of MRL change the moment it publishes in the Official Journal, before a shipment fails at the border.
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Next steps: verify which of your SKUs fall under the affected commodities, confirm supplier GAPs no longer include carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl, and brief your testing lab on the new residue definitions before the next sampling round.
