18 sunscreen were withdrawn from stores in Australia because of safety fears – says the BBC.
According to an analysis carried out in June by a consumer organization, one of the products was to offer a skin protection factor (SPF) 50+, but instead obtained the SPF 4 result. The product was voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer in August.
After the investigation, the market regulator warned against 20 subsequent sun creams other brands that have the same base formula.
“Preliminary tests indicate that this base formula will probably not have a SPF factor higher than 21” – said the agency for therapeutic products (TGA) in the update, adding that in the case of some products the SPF coefficient can be only 4.
Cosmetic scandal in Australia
Of the 21 products mentioned, eight were withdrawn from the market or production was completely suspended. The sale of another 10 products has been suspended, and two more are currently verified. One product mentioned by TGA is produced in Australia, but is not sold in this country.
Australia has the highest skin cancer in the world and has one of the most severe recipes for sunscreen.
The manufacturer explains. “Problem in the entire industry”
The manufacturer of the base formula, Wild Child Laboratories Pty LTD, stopped its production, TGA informed.
In a statement, the head of Wild Child Laboratories, Tom Curnow, stated: “Disgusions reported in recent tests are part of a wider problem that applies to the entire industry.”
TGA has previously informed that he is considering “an overview of existing requirements for SPF testing”, which may be “very subjective”, but in a message on Tuesday informed about serious fears of tests carried out by the American Laboratory Princeton Consumer Research Corp (PCR Corp).
In a statement sent by e-mail to the BBC, PCR Corp suggested that external factors may cause discrepancy in the SPF assessment between their tests and tests later carried out by others.
“The effectiveness of sunscreen measured in the laboratory reflects the exact party and condition of the sample supplied at the moment,” we read in a statement.
“Many factors from outside the laboratory – such as the variability of production between parts, raw materials, packaging, storage conditions, product age and way of dealing with the market – can affect SPF products sold later” – we read.
Source: BBC
