Coppertone, Banana Boat and Neutrogena brands are among those flagged
By Anna Edney / San Diego Union-Tribune / August 12, 2021
Researchers asked U.S. regulators to pull some sunscreens from the market, including brands such as Coppertone, Banana Boat and Neutrogena, saying they’ve found evidence of a potential carcinogen.
Scientists petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to remove from sale all sunscreens with the active ingredient octocrylene.
Products made with the chemical may contain benzophenone, a suspected carcinogen that also can interfere with key hormones and reproductive organs, according to a group led by Craig Downs, executive director of the nonprofit Haereticus Environmental Laboratory’, which studies risks to health and the environment.
A trade group called the report misleading.
Some 2,400 sun-protection products are made with octocrylene and “we don’t know what their safety’ is,” said Downs, who filed the petition last week. “The FDA doesn’t know what their safety’ is and it’s unconscionable that the FDA would allow something that we don’t know if it’s safe or not.”
Concerns about sunscreens began growing in 2019 when the FDA asked manufacturers for safety’ data on chemical ingredients, including octocryiene. In May’, an independent testing lab found levels of another probable carcinogen, benzene, in several products, leading to some recalls.
FDA research shows that the body absorbs enough of sunscreens’ chemical ingredients to warrant further testing. Yet there’s no indication companies have provided the safety’ data the FDA requested two y’ears ago, said David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization.
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