Ingredient Index

Is Diphenylamine (DPA) banned in Europe?

Banned in EU

Yes: the EU effectively banned diphenylamine on apples and pears in 2012 and cut allowed residues to the detection floor. In the US, it is still the standard post-harvest treatment that keeps stored apples from browning.

CAS: 122-39-4 Also seen as: Diphenylamine, DPA, N-phenylaniline

What the EU does

Effectively banned. Diphenylamine is sprayed on apples and pears after harvest to prevent "storage scald," the brown blotching that develops during months in cold storage. In 2012 EU regulators concluded that the makers had not proven the treatment safe, in part over concern that DPA can be associated with nitrosamine formation, and did not renew its approval. In March 2014 the EU cut the maximum residue limit on apples and pears to 0.1 mg/kg, the default detection floor.

That residue limit is the real teeth of the ban. At 0.1 mg/kg, treated fruit cannot realistically clear EU entry, so DPA-treated apples are shut out of the European market even as imports.

Citation EU non-renewal of diphenylamine approval (2012); Commission Regulation (EU) No 772/2013 (MRLs cut to 0.1 mg/kg, applied 2014)

What the US does

Standard practice. In the US, DPA has been registered since the 1960s and remains the main post-harvest tool for controlling scald on stored apples. The EPA tolerance on apples is 10 parts per million, roughly a hundred times the EU's post-ban limit, and surveys have found detectable DPA on a large share of conventional US apples.

The EPA has not moved to match the European ban, and it did not share EFSA's reading of the nitrosamine question. So a conventional US apple bought in winter has very likely been treated with a chemical that the same apple, headed for Europe, would not be allowed to carry.

Citation US EPA tolerance for diphenylamine on apples (10 ppm, 40 CFR 180.190); EPA reregistration record

Products that commonly contain it

DPA is a post-harvest treatment on pome fruit, so it is a residue on:

Conventional stored apples, especially outside the harvest season
Some pears
Processed products made from treated apples (juice, sauce) at lower levels

What to look for on a label

No label names it, so lean on sourcing and season:

US organic apples prohibit DPA
EU-market apples are held to the near-zero DPA residue limit
Peeling removes much of the surface residue, since DPA sits on the skin

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Frequently asked questions

Is diphenylamine banned in Europe?

Effectively yes. The EU did not renew its approval in 2012 and cut the residue limit on apples and pears to the detection floor in 2014, which keeps treated fruit out.

Is DPA used on US apples?

Yes, widely. It is the standard post-harvest treatment to prevent storage scald, with an EPA tolerance of 10 ppm, far above the EU limit.

How do I avoid it?

Choose organic apples, buy in-season local fruit that has not been long-stored, or peel conventional apples, since the residue sits mainly on the skin.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed July 27, 2026 · How we assign statuses