Five sunscreens fail watchdog test
Half of 10 sunscreens tested by Consumer NZ in its annual pre-summer investigation failed to live up to their sun-protection claims.
Natural Instinct Invisible Natural Sunscreen SPF30 and Sukin Suncare Sheer Touch Facial Sunscreen Untinted SPF30 were found to provide only moderate protection (SPF15-25), not the high protection (SPF30) claimed.
Banana Boat Daily Protect Sunscreen Lotion SPF50+ got an SPF of 40.4 in Consumer NZ’S test, rather than the 50+ claimed on the label.
Le Tan Coconut Lotion SPF50+ and Ecosolwater Shield Sunscreen SPF50+ failed to meet their very high protection claims. They also failed to meet the requirements for making a broad-spectrum claim.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said Natural Instinct, Sukin, and Ecosol all relied on historic results from AMA Laboratories. The United States sunscreen-testing facility fell foul of the US Food and Drug Administration in 2019. AMA’S owner was charged with, and some staff pleaded guilty to, falsifying test results from 1987 to April 2017. Natural Instinct’s AMA tests dated back to 2012 and 2015, while Sukin’s tests were from 2011, and Ecosol’s were from 2015. Le Tan, which has failed to meet its SPF label claim in Consumer NZ’S testing for two years running, provided a lab report of a batch tested in Australia over 2013 and 2014.
Duffy said Consumer NZ’S testing of the products was conducted in independent labs and wasmore up to date and reputable. ‘‘How the companies respond to our test results is up to them now. We can’t require them to do anything. But we would be concerned if they did not amend their label or retest the product.’’
As a result of Consumer NZ’S test results, Le Tan is retesting its product and Ecosol will relabel its product as SPF30. Sukin advised Consumer NZ the sunscreen was sent for retesting earlier this year and it is awaiting the results.
Duffy pointed to the Cancer Society as an example of an organisation which had responded appropriately to previous testing failures.
In 2018 and 2019, the Cancer Society Everyday SPF50+ product failed Consumer NZ’S test and last year it voluntarily withdrew a batch of sunscreen from sale as a result.
Duffy said the Cancer Society had now addressed its past issues and this year its Everyday SPF50+ sunscreen product was one of the five products that did meet its SPF and broadspectrum label claims. The other four products to meet the claims on their labels were Cetaphil Sun Kids Liposomal Lotion SPF50+, Mecca Cosmetica To Save Face Superscreen SPF50+, Skinnies Conquer with Manuka Oil Sports Sunscreen SPF50+, and Nivea Sun Sensitive Protect SPF50.
New Zealand has a high rate of skin cancer and melanoma but there is no requirement for sunscreen manufacturers to regularly test their products or even test them at all. Consumer NZ last year called for regulations specifying how often sunscreens must be tested and supported amandatory sunscreen standard.