Ingredient Index

Is Dimethoate banned in Europe?

Banned in EU

Yes: the EU refused to renew dimethoate in 2019 because its breakdown product is a likely mutagen. France went further and blocked cherry imports from countries that still use it. The US EPA still allows it on cherries, pears, and apples.

CAS: 60-51-5 Also seen as: Dimethoate, Cygon, omethoate (metabolite)

What the EU does

Not renewed. In June 2019 the European Commission declined to renew dimethoate, an organophosphate insecticide. EFSA had concluded that a risk from residues could not be excluded, that dimethoate's genotoxic potential could not be ruled out, and that its main breakdown product, omethoate, is an in vivo mutagen.

France pushed even harder. Worried about cherries specifically, it issued repeated emergency decrees blocking fresh cherry imports from any country where dimethoate is still used in cherry production. It is one of the clearest cases of a single EU country using an import ban to enforce a chemical standard at its border.

Citation Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1090 (non-renewal of dimethoate); grace period on cherries to 17 Oct 2019; France emergency decrees on cherry imports, 2016-2021; EFSA conclusion on omethoate mutagenicity

What the US does

Still registered. The US EPA continues to allow dimethoate on a range of crops, including cherries, pears, and apples grown in states like Washington, California, and Michigan. That is exactly the use France singled out when it shut its border to treated cherries.

The result is a vivid transatlantic split over one fruit: a chemical the EU dropped and France actively blocks at import is still a legal treatment on the American cherry crop.

Citation US EPA registration and residue tolerances for dimethoate (40 CFR 180.204); permitted uses include cherries, pears, and apples

Products that commonly contain it

As an insecticide spray, dimethoate connects to:

Conventionally grown cherries
Pears and apples
Some other fruit and vegetable crops
Imported produce grown where it is still permitted

What to look for on a label

You will not see it on a label, so the signals are indirect:

Certified-organic fruit prohibits dimethoate
EU-market cherries face strict residue limits, and France blocks treated imports outright
The metabolite omethoate is what drives the genotoxicity concern

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Frequently asked questions

Is dimethoate banned in Europe?

Yes. The EU did not renew its approval in 2019 because its breakdown product, omethoate, is a likely mutagen and a residue risk could not be excluded.

What is the cherry connection?

France repeatedly banned fresh cherry imports from countries that still use dimethoate on cherries, making it one of the sharpest EU-versus-US produce disputes.

Is it still used in the US?

Yes. The US EPA still allows dimethoate on cherries, pears, apples, and other crops.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed August 13, 2026 · How we assign statuses