The highest Dutch administrative court has ruled that the pesticide formulation Pitcher containing the endocrine-disrupting substance fludioxonil needs to be banned as soon as possible. The verdict follows a landmark ruling from the EU Court of Justice in a case started by PAN Europe. The Dutch court is very clear in its press release: “Pitcher contains an active substance (fludioxonil) that has endocrine-disrupting properties. Under European regulations, this active substance may only be used in closed systems or under other conditions that preclude contact with humans. As Pitcher is not used in this way, the Ctgb should not have authorised the product. The Ctgb must therefore ensure that Pitcher is withdrawn from the market as soon as possible.”
So far, the European Commission did not ban the active substance Fludioxonil, although the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has identified it as an endocrine disruptor to humans in 2024. According to the EU pesticide law, this should lead to a direct ban since it can be toxic to pregnant women and children in very small quantities. However, Member States have their own responsibility in the authorisation of pesticide products containing the substance.
Fludioxonil is widely used in pesticide formulations on fruit, vegetables and flowers. In recent residue testing, PAN Europe found it on almost 40% of the conventional strawberries from 11 EU countries [1] and the same percentage on tested apples in 13 EU countries. [2] In the Netherlands, it is an ingredient of 23 other pesticide formulations that should now all be withdrawn. Many of these or similar fludioxonil products are used in other EU countries.
Martin Dermine, executive director of PAN Europe, says: "The highest EU court has explained that member states must take the latest scientific findings into account when authorising pesticide formulations. This verdict is a strong signal to every EU country that they have to revise their pesticide authorisation practice. Products with endocrine disruptors cannot be allowed. All national authorities have to take action to ban products containing fludioxonil and other recognised endocrine disruptors."
In 2024, the EU Court of Justice declared the assessment of pesticides by EU Member States unlawful. [3] The ruling should have put an end to the common practice of disregarding recent scientific knowledge and giving priority to decades-old industry studies. The Court reminded that safety criteria for pesticide-active substances also apply to commercial pesticide formulations authorised in EU Member States.
Hans Muilerman, a chemical officer at PAN Europe, said: "The Pitcher verdict confirms that the Dutch pesticides authorities do not respect the EU law on pesticides. They have favoured industrial agriculture, instead of protecting people's health and the environment. An administration has to implement EU law and an EU Court judgement; this is a foundation of our democracy."
The case started in 2019, when PAN Europe objected to the authorisation of the products Dagonis and Pitcher in the Netherlands. The Dutch court CBb (College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven) asked questions for preliminary rulings to the EU Court to clarify if pesticide authorities have to base decisions on recent scientific findings. The Dutch authority Ctgb used to copy-paste EU decisions and did not assess scientific findings itself. The EU Court ruled in 2024 that national authorities have to base their decisions on recent scientific findings, as is clearly written in Article 4 of EU Regulation 1107/2009. Subsequently, the Ctgb decisions on the two products were annulled, and they had to be revised.
Ctgb presented new decisions in September 2025, but referred to ongoing EU evaluations of the active substances and allowed prolonged use of Dagonis and Pitcher. PAN Europe objected again and argued that Dutch Ctgb limited its revision to endocrine disruption, ignoring other harmful effects and limiting the assessment to humans, not animals. Ctgb also adopted a ranking, qualifying industry studies of the highest reliability, with a lower ranking for academic studies that allows them to be dismissed. [4]
Ctgb also claimed that the assessment of active substances should be done at European level and that they should not have to do this when authorising a product. They ignored that fludioxonil was in the meantime assessed by EFSA as a proven endocrine disruptor [5], an exclusion criterion for approval. Ctgb did not ban the products containing this substance, claiming that a safe level was available. In the May 2026 court hearing in The Hague, the judge asked Ctgb if they actually had read the 2024 EU Court of Justice verdict. Ctgb stated that they have their own procedures, agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture, and have no intention to change this.
Now Ctgb will have to take a new decision, banning the use of the fludioxonil-containing product Pitcher. National pesticide authorities should take action on fludioxonil products and cannot wait on the delayed EU decision to ban the active substance.
In another verdict, the Dutch court did not annul the authorisation of Dagonis, containing Difenoconazole in the product. This fungicide has not (yet) been officially identified as a human endocrine disruptor. The court did not take other problematic properties into account, like the relation to cancer and the risk of developing resistance to medicines using similar active substances.
More information: The ruling of the Dutch court CBb (in Dutch)
Contact:
- Hans Muilerman, hans [at] pan-europe.info, +31 6 55 80 72 55
- Tjerk Dalhuisen, tjerk [at] pan-europe.info, +31 6 146 99 126
Background on the pesticide products:
Pitcher is a mix of fludioxonil and folpet, produced by the company Adama and used especially in the bulb growing industry. Many other fludioxonil-containing products are used on fruit and vegetables.
Dagonis is a BASF product, a mix of the active substances difenoconazole and fluxapyroxad. It is widely used as a herbicide in the production of flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Notes:
[1] European strawberries extensively contaminated with PFAS or endocrine disrupting pesticide residues - PAN Europe July 2026
[2] European apples contaminated with cocktails of pesticides (PFAS, neurotoxins and other highly toxic substances) - PAN Europe January 2026
[3] EU Court: member states do not properly carry out pesticide assessments (April 2024)
[4] Klimisch ranking by three BASF employees
[5] EFSA conclusion on fludioxonil: endocrine disruptor: “Regarding the assessment of the endocrine disruption (ED) properties, based on the available data and assessments, it can be concluded that fludioxonil meets the ED criteria for the oestrogen, androgen and steroidogenesis (EAS)-modalities for humans and non-target organisms...”
