APPENDIX 4

Pesticide lists

Appendix 4.A Lists of strategic / recorded active substances for use in cocoa

These AI conform to the criteria described in section 9.2 (updated: 23/06/2025)

(i) black pod diseases

Active ingredients	MoA group	EU status	EU MRL	JP MRL
benalaxyl M (only isomer)	A1	Y	0.05	(0.01)
metalaxyl (unresolved)	A1	Y µ *	0.05	0.2§
metalaxyl-M (mefenoxam)	A1	Y µ	0.05	0.2§
Permitted strobilurins including:
- azoxystrobin	C3	Y	0.05	(0.01)
- pyraclostrobin	C3	Y	0.1
ametoctradin (Ω)	C8	Y	0.05
pyrimethanil	D1	Y	0.05
dimethomorph (DMM)	F5	N	0.05	(0.01)
mandipropamid	F5	Y	0.06	0.06

(ii) insects

Active ingredients	MoA group	EU status	EU MRL	JP MRL
As sprays (against Mirids, CPB)
Permitted OPs & pyrethroids incl.:
- malathion	1B	Y	0.02
- pirimiphos methyl	1B	Y **ε	0.05	0.05
- cypermethrin – isomers (not α, β or Z)	3	Y *	0.1
- deltamethrin β	3	Y	0.05	0.05 δ
- lambda-cyhalothrin β	3	Y *	0.01	0.01
Permitted nAChR mods. including:
- acetamiprid	4A ξ	Y	0.05	(0.01)
- sulfoxaflor	4C	Y	0.05	0.05
emamectin benzoate	6	Y	0.01
spirotetramat	23	N	0.1	0.08§
chlorantraniliprole (CTPR)	28	Y	0.05

(iii) weeds and stump treatments

Active ingredients	MoA group	EU status	EU MRL	JP MRL
triclopyr δ	O	Y	0.05	0.03
glyphosate salts	G	Y	0.1	0.2

(iv) stored produce etc.

Active ingredients	MoA group	EU status	EU MRL	JP MRL
aluminium phosphide ***	24	Y	0.02	(0.01)
magnesium phosphide ***	24	Y	0.02	(as PH3 : phosphine)
sulfuryl fluoride	8	Y	0.03	(as fluoride ion)
pyrethrins (pyrethrum) for fogging	3	Y	0.05	(0.01)
pyrethroids (treating sacks, etc.)	3	if Y as above and registered for purpose	if Y as above and registered for purpose	if Y as above and registered for purpose
Registered rodenticides ***	(anti-coagulants – see list B and text)	(anti-coagulants – see list B and text)	(anti-coagulants – see list B and text)	(anti-coagulants – see list B and text)

Key
*	High residue levels have been found in imported produce to the EU and/or Japan (**: >10 cases since 2008)
***	High mammalian toxicity: to be used only by qualified personnel
§	Now to be tested in Japan after removal of shell (testa); Japan MRLs in brackets assumed to be at default.
M	Current moratorium on use in the EU due to suspected bee toxicity
α	No MRL given in Japan and copper is exempt in the USA
µ	Metalaxyl includes mixtures of all constituent isomers including metalaxyl-M (sum of isomers)
β	Registered (widely used) for cocoa pod borer control in Indonesia
ξ	Cyano-substituted neo-nicotinoid
δ	Includes deltamethrin and tralomethrin (as total)
π	Usually sold as a mixture (co-formulated with a pyrethroid)
σ	Mostly for stump treatments in CSSVD eradication

β	Chlorpyrifos is banned in Europe and persistent enough to present significant residue risk. Registered for cocoa pod borer control in C. d’Ivoire and Indonesia.
T	Toxicity of AI in class 1b, but still registered in some jurisdictions
Y	Fipronil (sum fipronil + metabolites). Five degradation products are known, depending on the mode of break-down: fipronilsulfone, fipronil-sulfide, fipronil-desulfinyl, fipronil-amide, and fipronil-detrifluo-romethyl-sulfinyl. Fipronil is not permitted for use as spraying in the EU or USA and has generally permitted only for targeted applications such as baiting, in-furrow and seed treatments; however, it has been registered for spraying CPB (above) and mirids in 2 African countries.
ε	Use of pirimiphos methyl in cocoa is no longer defended by Syngenta; zero tolerance (i.e. LOD) for this AI in Australia.
δ	US MRL of 0.05
χ	Clothianidin appears to have had little use in cocoa to date, but for residue analysis note: Naeun et al (2003) [1]
μ	Restricted under the Montreal Protocol; to be phased out by EPA (mostly by 2017)
π	Usually sold as a mixture (co-formulated with a pyrethroid)
ø	P pesticides are used outside the EU but for which no toxicological data and no MRLs have been notified for inclusion in 396/2005/EC Annex III (neither by the member states, in the form of import tolerances, nor by third countries). Such compounds may have a clear purpose outside Europe (e.g. fenobucarb: which is widely used for control of hemipteran pests of rice in Asia, and has also been applied to cocoa in certain countries).