Ingredient Index
Are Chlorpyrifos banned in Europe?
Yes: the EU withdrew chlorpyrifos in 2020 over concerns about the developing brain and cut residue limits to the lowest measurable level. In the US, the story has whipsawed, but as of 2026 it remains registered for a shrinking list of crops.
What the EU does
Withdrawn. In January 2020 the EU declined to renew the approval of chlorpyrifos and its close cousin chlorpyrifos-methyl, and both came off the market during 2020. EFSA had concluded that a safe exposure level could not be established, pointing to possible genotoxicity and, in particular, developmental neurotoxicity: evidence that exposure could harm the developing nervous systems of children.
Following the ban, the EU cut the maximum residue limits for chlorpyrifos on food down to the default detection floor, so treated imports are effectively shut out too. This is the EU precautionary approach in its purest form: an unresolved question about children's brains was treated as reason enough to stop.
Citation Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/18 (chlorpyrifos non-renewal); Reg (EU) 2020/1085 (MRLs lowered to LOD); EFSA statement on developmental neurotoxicity, 2019
What the US does
Still registered, but narrowing, after years of legal ping-pong. The EPA revoked all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos in 2021, but in late 2023 the Eighth Circuit vacated that revocation, and in February 2024 the EPA formally reinstated every tolerance. So the blanket US ban that briefly existed was undone by a court.
The direction of travel is still downward. In December 2024 the EPA proposed to revoke tolerances for all but eleven crops (including apples, citrus, and cherries), and use on the cancelled crops became illegal as of July 2025. The net result in 2026 is a patchwork: chlorpyrifos is legal on a defined set of US crops, where the EU allows it on none.
Citation US EPA chlorpyrifos tolerance reinstatement (Federal Register, Feb 5 2024); EPA proposed tolerance revocation (Dec 2024); 40 CFR 180.342
Products that commonly contain it
As a field insecticide, chlorpyrifos shows up as a residue, not an ingredient. Historically it has been used on:
- Apples, cherries, and other tree fruit
- Citrus
- Soybeans, sugar beet, and wheat
- Various vegetables (many uses now cancelled in the US)
What to look for on a label
Residues are not labeled, so sourcing is the lever:
- EU-grown produce is held to a near-zero chlorpyrifos residue limit
- US organic produce prohibits chlorpyrifos use
- Washing and peeling reduce surface residues but do not remove all
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Frequently asked questions
Is chlorpyrifos banned in Europe?
Yes. The EU did not renew its approval in 2020, citing developmental neurotoxicity, and cut residue limits on food to the lowest measurable level.
Is chlorpyrifos banned in the US?
Not fully. The EPA revoked food tolerances in 2021, a court reinstated them in 2023-24, and the EPA is now moving to revoke all but eleven registered crops. As of 2026 it is legal on that shrinking list.
Why is it controversial?
The main concern is evidence linking prenatal and early-life exposure to effects on the developing brain. Europe treated that uncertainty as a reason to stop; US regulation has moved more slowly and unevenly.
Related ingredients
Related reading
Primary sources
- EU Pesticides Database: chlorpyrifos (non-renewal)
- US EPA: Chlorpyrifos
- Federal Register: Chlorpyrifos; Reinstatement of Tolerances (2024)
Last reviewed July 27, 2026 · How we assign statuses