Johnson&Johnson has recalled some of its skin beauty products after low levels of toxic elements like benzene were found on them.
Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has recalled its products Neutrogena and Aveeno, after "low levels” of benzene, a substance that can potentially cause cancer, were detected in some samples.
The company has voluntarily recalled five of its sunscreen products after an independent testing company found low levels of benzene in them.
The recall affects four aerosol sunscreen sprays from Neutrogena and one from Aveeno: Neutrogena’s Beach Defense, Cool Dry Sport, Invisible Daily Defense and Ultra Sheer, along with Aveeno’s Protect + Refresh.
Johnson & Johnson also advised customers to stop using the products and throw them out.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling all lots of these specific sunscreen aerosol products,” the company wrote in an official announcement on its website, clarifying that “daily exposure to benzene in these sunscreen products at the levels detected in internal testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences.”
Benzene has been associated with blood cancers such as leukemia.
What makes these findings "particularly concerning", according to Valisure, is that these products are absorbed through the skin and multiple studies conducted by FDA researchers have shown chemicals in sunscreen products are found in the blood at high levels following skin application.
According to CNET, a news outlet in the US, the FDA allows benzene to be used at low levels (two parts per million or less) if its inclusion in a product is “unavoidable to produce a drug product with significant therapeutic advance.”
However, benzene is not necessary in sunscreen.
The Dermatology Times reports that 14 of the 294 batches of sunscreen products tested contained benzene at two parts per million or more.
The recalled products were distributed via "a variety of retail channels" across the country.
Distributors and retailers will be notified of the recall by letter and the company is arranging for the return of all the recalled products. (NP)
Tags: #Johnson&Johnson, #skinproducts, #productrecall, #carcinogens