Choice defends sunscreen testing after criticism from Ultra Violette over testing methods
Choice said it stands by its testing which found only four out of 20 popular sunscreens sold in Australia met their advertised label claim of SPF50.
The worst performer in Choice's testing was Ultra Violette's Lean Screen SPF50+ Mineral Mattifying Zinc Sunscreen which returned a rating of SPF4.
Ultra Violette completely rejected the findings and said its own independent testing showed its product had an SPF of more than 60.
Over the weekend, co-founder Ava Chandler-Matthews took aim at Choice for unreliable testing methods on Ultra Violette's social media channel.
"What we do know about Choice is they are not a regulator … they are not the ones who approve sunscreens."
Choice used an accredited, independent laboratory in Australia for all the testing but was so surprised when Ultra Violettte's sunscreen showed an SPF of 4 that it ordered a second round of testing just for that product.
To do this, it sent a different batch to a laboratory in Germany for a smaller validation test where it returned a result of SPF5.
But Ms Chandler-Matthews criticised Choice for decanting the samples into unlabelled containers before sending them to both the Australian lab, Eurofins Dermatest, and the German lab, Normec Schrader Institute.
"I don't know what happened on the journey to that lab, I don't know whether it was in extreme temperatures, heating or otherwise," she said.
Choice CEO Ashley de Silva said all 20 sunscreens tested were decanted into amber glass jars which were sealed and transported in accordance with the strict instructions provided by the labs.
"Amber glass jars were used in order to limit any degradation of the sunscreen ingredients and ensure the validity of our results, as they block UV light more than clear glass jars, and glass is less reactive than plastic," he said in a statement.
He said in Australia the entire process, including transportation to the Sydney-based lab, was undertaken in less than an hour.
Ms Chandler-Matthews also criticised Choice for testing a small sample size of volunteers.
In accordance with Australian and international standards, Choice tested all sunscreens on 10 volunteers at the Sydney-based laboratory.
Choice told the ABC in addition to the ten-person test in Australia, the extra Ultra Violette test in Germany was done on just five people because it was a validation test performed out of an abundance of caution.
Ultra Violette has pointed out that two of the results from the five- person panel in Germany were invalid, meaning the results were based on just three people.
Choice has told the ABC those results were sufficient to confirm the original test results.
Ms Chandler-Matthews said Choice may have tested on 13 people overall but Ultra Violette had done three rounds of testing on 30 people altogether.
She said the company was continuing to investigate the matter.
Mr de Silva said Choice "stands by its rigorous, independent sunscreen testing" and publicly released all its test results.
"We did this testing because it's in line with our mission to work for fair, safe and just markets for Australian consumers. Millions of people rely on SPF ratings to understand the sun protection they're paying for, and expect these ratings to be as accurate as possible," he said.
Choice has called on the regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), to do its own testing of the 16 products that failed to meet their label claims.
The TGA says variability in sunscreen testing is common across laboratories due to the reliance on human subject testing and it is investigating Choice's findings.
All the other sunscreen products that did not meet their label claims according to Choice's testing have also said they have their own independent testing that confirms their products are compliant and meet the SPF on their labels.
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