EPA Allows Fragrant Pesticides Near Your Food Without Limits
Published Date: 11/17/2025
Rule
Summary
The EPA just made it easier for companies like Clorox to use certain fragrance ingredients in pesticides that clean food-related surfaces without worrying about strict residue limits, as long as they keep it under 5 parts per million. This change affects farmers, food makers, and pesticide producers and kicks in on November 17, 2025. It saves time and money by cutting red tape while keeping food safe and smelling fresh!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
5 ppm Tolerance Exemption for Fragrances
The EPA exempted residues of the listed fragrance ingredients from the requirement of a tolerance when they are used as inert ingredients in antimicrobial (food-contact surface) formulations for public eating places, dairy-processing equipment, and food-processing equipment and utensils, as long as the end-use concentration does not exceed 5 parts per million (ppm). This rule is effective November 17, 2025 and eliminates the need to establish a separate maximum permissible residue level for those listed fragrances when used under these conditions.
EPA Safety Finding and Exposure Numbers
EPA concluded there is a reasonable certainty of no harm to the general population, including infants and children, from aggregate exposure to the listed fragrance components used under the rule. EPA used the Threshold of Toxicological Concern approach, reduced the FQPA safety factor to 1X, and found chronic exposure uses 0.20% of the chronic population-adjusted dose (cPAD) for the U.S. population and 0.34% of the cPAD for children 1 to 2 years old.
Enforcement Through Pesticide Registration
EPA will not require an analytical enforcement method for these fragrance residues and will instead enforce the 5 ppm limit through the pesticide registration process under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA will not register any pesticide formulation for food use that contains these fragrance components in excess of 5 ppm.
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