Maltodextrin renewed as a low-risk insecticidal and acaricidal active substance from 3 March 2026 to 3 March 2041: ≥ 853 g/kg maltodextrin with chain lengths of 3–20 units and a dextrose equivalent of 18–20; EFSA — no residue methods, and 0.1 µg/L may be exceeded in most groundwater scenarios simulated for winter cereals at the highest rate
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/312, published on 11 February 2026, renews the approval of maltodextrin and moves it from Part B to Part D of the list — low-risk active substances; Member States must pay particular attention to the protection of bees. The rapporteur was Ireland, the co-rapporteur France, the applicant Certis Belchim B.V., and the EFSA conclusions date from 18 February 2025. A corrigendum of 30 April 2026 changes the date of application of the act from 1 April to 3 March 2026 — the approval date in the annex.
- Annex: maltodextrin, CAS No 9050-36-6, CIPAC No 801, no IUPAC name; purity ≥ 853 g/kg maltodextrin with chain lengths of 3–20 monomer units and a dextrose equivalent (DE) of 18–20. According to EFSA this is a new, more precise reference specification based on batches from industrial production; there are no toxicologically relevant impurities, but information on the purity of the starting materials is missing. Maltodextrin is a glucose polymer of varying chain length with α-1,4 glycosidic bonds.
- Methods (EFSA): methods exist for the determination of the active substance in the technical material and in the formulation; methods for residues in food, feed, body fluids and tissues and in the environment were not required because no residue definitions for monitoring were proposed. Toxicological data were not required either — maltodextrin is rapidly broken down to glucose and is used in food, cosmetics and medicines; no reference values were set. Of the five criteria for inclusion in Annex IV to Regulation 396/2005, two are met (III and IV) and three are not (I, II and V).
- Environment: no guideline degradation studies were submitted; a conservative soil DT50 of 5 days and a surface water DT50 of 7.1 days at 20 °C were assumed (from the default 15 days at 12 °C for readily biodegradable substances); a Koc of 93.6 mL/g was estimated with a QSAR model. At the most critical rate (winter cereals) 0.1 µg/L may be exceeded, even largely, in most FOCUS scenarios, and for apples, cabbage, tomatoes and strawberries in a minority or none of them. EFSA notes that in soil and water maltodextrin no longer acts as a pesticide.
- Representative uses: foliar sprays against spider mites, whiteflies and aphids in the field and under protection, the product ‘Eradicoat’ (598 g/L), rates of up to 5 × 22.4 kg/ha in the field and 20 × 44.9 kg/ha in non-permanent structures. The assessment was not finalised for honey bees at single rates above 7.5 kg/ha (except in permanent greenhouses), for non-target arthropods at 20 × 44.9 kg/ha, for aquatic organisms in 4 of 9 autumn scenarios for winter cereals (uses in non-permanent structures at 20 × 44.9 kg/ha) and for soil macroorganisms other than earthworms. Maltodextrin is unlikely to be an endocrine disruptor.