Consumer NZ has revealed five sunscreens they say aren't living up to their SPF factor ratings under the hot New Zealand sun.
All the sunscreen companies named by Consumer NZ dispute the claims and point to their own independent testing that backs up SPF ratings on their products.
Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp today: "We've tested five sunscreens and rather disappointingly all of them have failed to meet the claims that they make regarding SPF claims.
"That's not good enough, if they're making a claim of SPF50 they have to reach SPF50."
In no particular order the sunscreens Consumer NZ say don't meet their SPF claims are:
Eco Tan Natural Coconut Sunscreen SPF 30
We Are Feel Food Inc Signature Sunscreen Lotion SPF50+
Le Tan SPF50+ Lotion Coconut
Skinnies Kids Barefoot Babe SPF50
Cancer Society Kids Pure SPF50
Reaction from sunscreen makers:
Eco Tan says their SPF30 sunscreen has been tested in accordance with Australian and NZ standards and meet the Therapeutic Goods Administration's test for SPF rating.
The company believes that Consumer NZ used under the recommended quantity of their sunscreen in its lab test, meaning they have no confidence in the results.
We Are Feel Good Inc says they strongly dispute the claims made by Consumer NZ and that their sunscreen has consistently received SPF60+ ratings using independent and TGA approved lab testing, the most recent in 2018.
This company says their testing was on a 14 panel test and was more rigorous then Consumer NZ tests.
Le Tan says that all four of its SPF50+ Lotion Coconut sunscreens clearly pass SP50+ after testing that meets Australia and NZ standards.
The company says the results obtained by Dermatest for Consumer NZ is not consistent with what they would expect given the test data is after four hours water immersion.
Skinnies says its sunscreens are tested at the same facility Consumer NZ use for testing and their kids products passed the SPF rating test twice.
The company says that Consumer NZ decanted the sunscreen out of its packaging for lab tests which may result in compromised product integrity.
The Cancer Society says it independently tested its SPF 50+ Kids Pure sunscreen in 2016 and in 2018, and the tests came back with results of SPF 60 and SPF 67.6 respectively - well above the SPF 50+ label claim.
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