Cancer council sunscreen recalled over manufacturing, SPF issue
Several batches of a cancer council sunscreen for kids have been recalled, with the regulator urging consumers not to use the product.
Three batches of a Cancer Council sunscreen for kids have been recalled due to the risk of the cream separating, which can impact its SPF coverage.
The recall, announced on Thursday morning, applies to specific batches of the council’s Clear Zinc Kids SPF50+ product and covers batches 1143730, 1141313 and 1146857.
The product was one of the 16 products called out by consumer group CHOICE earlier this year, for failing to reach its advertised SPF of 50 in independent tests.
But this recall is not connected to the regulator’s investigation into those results and only concerns three specific batches, as opposed to the entire formula.
The CHOICE report — which sparked nationwide scrutiny of the sunscreen industry earlier this year — alleged that the product had an SPF of 33, instead of its claimed 50.
Cancer Council, whose products are developed by skincare company Vitality Brands Worldwide, has disputed those results and maintained they have their own independent tests that support a claim of SPF50+.
The regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, said on Thursday Vitality was recalling three batches of the Clear Zinc product because of its “potential to become separated”.
“This product may appear to have an uneven texture and visible water separating out of the product,” the alert said.
“If this happens, the ingredients are no longer properly mixed.
“If the product is separated, it will be more difficult to spread evenly on skin, and could reduce the overall performance of the product.
“This could affect the SPF of the sunscreen and may cause inadequate sun protection.
“If you have purchased one of the above batches of the product, do not use it.”
Consumers can return the sunscreen to the place of purchase, or contact Vitality via info@vitalitybrands.com for a refund or replacement.
Vitality Brands said in a statement on their website that “Australians rely on Cancer Council to uphold the highest standards of product quality and integrity — and we take this extremely seriously”.
“No other Cancer Council products have been affected.
“We hope that this action, taken as a precaution, instils confidence in our commitment to delivering high quality and effective sunscreen.”
The recall is the latest sunscreen issue to make headlines since CHOICE released their report in June, and the TGA’s investigation into those claims are still ongoing.
The TGA, in an update on the investigation in September, confirmed they have concerns about the “reliability” of some SPF testing laboratories that brands use to justify their SPF50+ label.
They singled out the US-owned Princeton Consumer Research, which has laboratories in several countries including the United Kingdom, where several local brands tested their formula.
All bar one of the products — Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen — alleged by CHOICE to have a lower than advertised SPF remain on the market, with their SPF50+ claim fiercely defended by their brands.
The Herald Sun revealed in late October that some of these brands still refuse to reveal where they test their products SPFs, or if they have even had it retested at all.
Lean Screen, which returned an SPF of 4 in CHOICE’s testing, was recalled in August after further testing post-CHOICE report.
In October, the TGA named 21 sunscreens — all of which have now been either recalled or paused from sale — which use the same base formula as Lean Screen and were made at the same manufacturer Wild Child.
Wild Child has defended their work and said a recent TGA inspection “confirmed that no manufacturing issues were identified at our facility that could explain variability in SPF testing results”.
But they hit headlines recently after it emerged they had repeatedly failed to follow manufacturing standards during inspections by US authorities.
Experts, while emphasising the importance of ensuring SPF labelling is correct, fear the ongoing saga will turn consumers away from sunscreen.
Several, including the TGA, have urged consumers to continue to wear to sunscreen, pointing out that bar Lean Screen — all the products tested by CHOICE offer protection.
Correctly applied SPF 50 filters 98 per cent of UVB rays, while SPF 20 filters 95 per cent.
Originally published as Cancer council sunscreen recalled over manufacturing, SPF issue
