Consumer New Zealand wants an investigation into seven sunscreens that the watchdog organisation says fail to meet their sun protection claims.
It’s calling on the Commerce Commission to investigate the claims made by the likes of Banana Boat, Le Tan and Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena, after tests the watchdog commissioned last year found the brands had lower actual SPF protection than what was on their labels.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said Kiwis should be able to trust the sun protection claims on the sunscreens they buy.
“We believe consumers are being misled that these sunscreens provide higher protection than they do,” he said.
“There needs to be a mandatory standard for sunscreens. The Australian and New Zealand sunscreen standard is voluntary, and manufacturers don’t have to regularly test their products. Given the number of failures we’ve seen, it’s clear they should be required to do so.”
In 2017, Johnson & Johnson signed court enforceable undertakings with the Commerce Commission that products sold in New Zealand would meet the voluntary sunscreen standard.
Half the products failed to meet their SPF claims, the watchdog organisation found. (Source: Other)
Consumer NZ is alleging Johnson & Johnson has failed to fulfil the obligation.
Consumer NZ’s testing of Neutrogena Beach Defence Water + Sun Barrier Lotion Sunscreen SPF50 found it failed to meet its SPF claim. Tests at two different labs revealed it had an SPF protection level of 36.5.
Duffy said sunscreens from Ecosol, Natural Instinct and Sukin used test reports from US lab AMA Laboratories.
In 2019, the company was charged with fraud for reporting false test results from 1987 to April 2017. Consumer NZ said companies who continue to rely on results from the lab don’t have adequate grounds to substantiate their claims.
In 2020, Consumer NZ commissioned testing of the SPF and broad-spectrum protection of 12 sunscreens. Blind tests were completed at an accredited lab in Germany.
Consumer New Zealand testing has repeatedly shown the public’s being misled over the strength of some products. (Source: Other)
National MP Todd Muller's proposal to regulate sunscreen passed its first hurdle in Parliament earlier this month, with support from across the House.
Muller's Sunscreen (Product Safety Standard) Bill calls for mandatory regulation of the products under the Fair Trading Act.
Consumer NZ says the brands that failed to meet their claims are:
Full test results and commentary is available at the Consumer NZ website .
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