FDA Announces New Requirements for Sunscreen Labels
FDA Announces New Requirements for Sunscreen Labels
The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it plans to instruct manufacturers of sunscreens to make three important changes to sunscreen labeling.
The first change requires labels to contain a warning about the dangers of ultraviolet radiation exposure and to suggest other ways that the skin can be protected from the sun.
The suggested warning would read:
“UV exposure from the sun increases the risk of skin cancer, premature skin aging, and other skin damage. It is important to decrease UV exposure by limiting time in the sun, wearing protective clothing, and using a sunscreen.”
The second change would add label information to inform consumers about the level of UVA protection in sunscreens.
While the current SPF system is meant to determine the degree of protection from the ‘burning’ effects of shorter wavelength UVB, the new system uses a star factor to indicate the level of UVA protection.
UVA rays are the longer form of ultraviolet that penetrates more deeply into the skin, accelerates skin aging and enhances the risk of skin cancer.
According to the FDA website the star system would work as follows:
on the front label, near the SPF value.
The third change would affect UVB labeling.
The FDA has proposed modifying its existing rule on UVB products ‘to increase the maximum sunburn protection factor from SPF 30+ to SPF 50+’.
Source:
http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/sunscreen082307.html