£28 family sunscreen has failed an annual Which? safety test while a £2.99 supermarket alternative passed with “flying colours”, the watchdog said.
Ultrasun Family SPF30, which costs £28 for 150ml and is marketed as being “perfect for the whole family” and “especially suitable for children and those with sensitive skin”, failed to meet minimum UVA protection levels in two separate tests by Which?.
Ultrasun passed the UVB SPF part of the test but failed on UVA testing, scoring 9.1 and then 9.5 in a retest. Which? required a score of 10 or more for a pass.
Morrisons Moisturising Sun Spray SPF30 also failed to meet minimum SPF protection levels in two tests. The product passed UVA tests but failed the UVB/SPF tests with scores of 25.7 and then 20.7 – short of the 30 or more needed to pass.
UVA and UVB rays both cause different types of damage, and not all sun creams protect against them in the same way. UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB to cause long-term damage, including all types of skin cancer, and play a role in the ageing process, such as causing wrinkles, sun spots and leathery skin. UVB rays are mostly responsible for sunburn and skin reddening.
SPF stands for ‘sun protection factor’, and indicates the level of protection a sun cream provides against burning rays. SPFs range from 2 to 50+, with 50+ offering the most protection against UVB.
Which? tested 15 popular sun creams this year, including Boots, Garnier and Nivea as well as supermarket own-brand products. Aldi’s Lacura Sensitive Sun Lotion SPF50+, which costs £2.99 for 200ml, was found to protect the skin from both UVA and UVB rays. Cien Sun Spray 30 SPF High (£3.79/200ml), from fellow discounter Lidl, also passed all SPF and UVA testing, with Which? describing it as a “solid option for affordable and reliable sun protection”.
Some 11 other products, including Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Suncare Spray SPF30 (£5.50 for 200ml), Nivea Sun Protect & Moisture Lotion SPF30 (£7.90 for 200ml) and Sainsbury’s Sun Protect Moisturising Lotion SPF30 (£5.50 for 200ml) passed SPF and UVA safety tests.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: “It’s really concerning that widely available sunscreens could be putting families at risk by failing to offer the level of sun protection claimed on the packaging.”
A spokeswoman for Ultrasun said: “Ultrasun is fully confident in our testing protocols… Further detail and clarification from Which? on their testing protocols would also be helpful.”
Morrisons told Which? that it was looking closely at the data and working with its supplier to carry out additional independent testing. A Morrisons spokeswoman added: “We work closely with our supplier and conduct extensive efficacy and safety testing during product development… In direct response to this report from Which? we have retested the SPF against… and can confirm the product has achieved an SPF value of 34.5 and can therefore be labelled as SPF 30.”
Мнение редакции
Эта ситуация свидетельствует о том, что потребители должны быть настороже и внимательно выбирать солнцезащитные средства, особенно когда речь идет о товарах с высокой ценой. Производители, такие как Ultrasun и Morrisons, должны взять эти результаты на вооружение и пересмотреть свои тестовые процедуры, чтобы предотвратить подобные проблемы в будущем. Для покупателей это значит, что недорогие альтернативы, такие как продукты от Aldi и Lidl, могут оказаться более надежными и эффективными. Также это создает давление на компании, чтобы они повышали стандарты качества своих товаров, и потенциально приводит к тому, что рынок будет более конкурентоспособным и ориентированным на потребителя.
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