In the summertime it’s easy to grab the nearest SPF providing lotion, spray or stick and run out of the house without a second thought — but consumers will want to check their medicine cabinets to make sure that their sunscreens are up to snuff by making sure they don’t include ones that were recently voluntarily recalled by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Wednesday.
Per the company, five aerosol sunscreens from Neutrogena and Aveeno were recalled “out of an abundance of caution” after trace amounts of Benzene were found in some samples. According to Johnson & Johnson, Benzene, while not an ingredient in any of their products, was detected in samples of some of the above sunscreens.
“Benzene is classified as a human carcinogen, a substance that could potentially cause cancer depending on the level and extent of exposure,” per a release from J&J. “Benzene is ubiquitous in the environment. Humans around the world have daily exposures indoors and outdoors from multiple sources. Benzene can be absorbed, to varying degrees by inhalation, through the skin, and orally. Based on exposure modeling and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) framework, daily exposure to benzene in these aerosol sunscreen products at the levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences.”