The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recommended sunscreen brands avoid using high amounts of two ingredients following a review of their risks.
The medicine regulator’s review focused on “prolonged and frequent” use of some products that could impact hormones, although the link isn’t yet confirmed.
It follows laboratory testing by consumer advice brand Choice, which found some sunscreens fell short of their labelled SPF claims.
The TGA maintains that “all sunscreens available in Australia are safe.”
Review
The TGA undertook a review of seven active ingredients used to filter UV radiation in sunscreen. It concluded five of those ingredients were safe.
The two outstanding chemicals – homosalate and oxybenzone – showed signs of risk in higher concentrations.
Homosalate could be a hormone disruptor, although data isn’t conclusive. Oxybenzone has been linked to skin irritation in larger quantities, according to the U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
In Australia, both of these chemicals are approved at higher rates than other parts of the world.
The maximum for homosalate is 15%, the same as the U.S. and Canada, while in the EU it’s 7.34%.
Meanwhile, oxybenzone is approved at 10% in Australia compared to 6% in Europe for face and hand products.
The TGA said it will now conduct public consultation to “determine the level in sunscreens at which these ingredients remain suitable for use”.
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Reformulating
The TGA has now recommended sunscreen brands that use both homosalate and oxybenzone are “reformulated” for extra safety over long-term use.
This would involve reducing the concentration of these chemicals in their products. The recommendation also applies to another chemical called benzophenone.
The TGA said: “All sunscreens available in Australia are safe. The TGA is not recommending a change in the use of sunscreens”.
SPF
The TGA’s recommendations follow a recent study from consumer group Choice, which measured the effectiveness of some sunscreens.
It tested various sunscreen brands labelled as SPF50 (sun protection factor) in a laboratory.
The results suggested some brands had over-stated their SPF rating, finding an SPF50-labelled product from the brand Ultra Violette only returned an SPF rating of 4. The company disputes the results.
The TGA has since said it would review Choice’s findings.
It said there were concerns around testing SPF on human volunteers, while noting it is “the universally accepted method”.
The TGA said the process could be “highly subjective”.
Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer diagnoses in the world, with about 2,000 people dying of the disease annually.
