Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ordered on September 4, 2012 to the food process companies that all the edamame from China shall be examined the difenoconazole residual level.

According to China Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture(ICAMA), the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ordered on September 4, 2012 to the food process companies that all the edamame from China shall be examined the difenoconazole residual level.

The Ministry explained that excessive level of difenoconazole has been detected in the edamame from China. The quarantine offices in Osaka and Yokohama respectively checked the cargo from China and both found that the difenoconazole content s 0.02ppm, which was twice as much as the Japan MRL standard. The ministry said the MRL violating goods were sourced from Zhejiang and Fuzhou.

Japan authority determines the ADI (acceptable daily intake) for difenoconazole is 0.0096mg daily per kilo, and the MRL on edamame is 0.001ppm. While the MRL for beans in China was 0.005, and China has just established its ADI formation rules recently.

Difenoconazole is a relative safe triazole fungicide, it was widely use on fruit and vegetables for scab control. Irritation on animal skin and eyes have been proved.