What Should You Know About the FDA’s New Sunscreen Rules?
Jun 20, 2011 Eco Friendly Beauty Tips
The FDA recently announced some new rules about how sunscreen can be marketed. While it’s important to make sure you’re using a safe sunscreen, I like seeing that the FDA is taking steps to handle the many excessive claims made by marketers about sunscreen. These changes will officially go into effect the summer of 2012, but companies can change over sooner.
The FDA says that one of the big reasons they’re making changes is because the old rules only covered UVB protection, but modern testing can also determine how much protection the sunscreen provides against UVA.
Sunscreens must be tested in order to make a broad spectrum protection claim, which would mean that they have UVA and UVB protection. Sunscreens without that label will protect against sunburn only.
Sunscreens may not be labeled waterproof or sweatproof, only water resistant. This is because such claims make the sunscreens sound as though they protect better than they do. The claims must indicate whether the sunscreen is water resistant for 40 or 80 minutes, so it’s clearer when it must be reapplied for protection.
One more rule to limit the claimed SPF to a maximum of 50+ is under consideration. This is because it is not clear that any sunscreen products provide protection better that the protection provided by 50 SPF sunscreens.
Of course, new rules or old, you’re best off making sure that you buy a safe sunscreen. It’s better to be comfortable with the things you’re putting on your skin, even when you’re trying to protect it from other kinds of damage.
Tags: fda, safe sunscree, safest sunscreen, sunscreen
Surprise, Surprise, the FDA Continues to Bury Its Head About BPA
Aug 19, 2008 Eco Friendly Home, Environmental News
I’m not really that surprised anymore when I read that the FDA is siding with industry rather than looking at all the data. The other day they announced yet again that they consider BPA completely safe.
Never mind the 100+ reports by government scientists and independent research labs clearly demonstrating otherwise. They trust the 2 industry reports that say everything is just fine.
About all I can do on this topic anymore is roll my eyes and hope that California does indeed pass a ban on its use in certain children’s products. It would be a start, you know?
Some people justify this as the FDA knowing which resources they can trust. Funny thing, I figured they might want to think about industry bias. Not like they don’t know it hasn’t been done before. I guess they haven’t learned anything at all from how things went with the tobacco industry.
The FDA seems to trust industry to monitor itself. That’s always gone over so very well, after all.
Personally, I’m getting more and more wary of big industry. BPA, gene mod foods, pesticides and even mortgages are showing that you cannot trust big business with people’s lives. The bottom line matters more to them.
And of course, I’m not the only blogger outraged about this:
Edited to add:
Dangit! California rejected the ban!
