As announced Wednesday, Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling five of its Neutrogena and Aveeno aerosol sunscreens from all U.S. stores after detecting low levels of benzene, a potentially cancer-causing chemical, in various samples.
“While benzene is not an ingredient in any of our sunscreen products, it was detected in some samples of the impacted aerosol sunscreen finished products,” reads a company press release. “We are investigating the cause of this issue, which is limited to certain aerosol sunscreen products.”
The sunscreens impacted are Neutrogena Beach Defense aerosol sunscreen, Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport aerosol sunscreen, Neutrogena Invisible Daily Defense aerosol sunscreen, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer aerosol sunscreen, and Aveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen. The recall includes all can sizes and levels of SPF.
"Benzene is classified as a human carcinogen, a substance that could potentially cause cancer depending on the level and extent of exposure," the company explained in its release. "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. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recalling all lots of these specific aerosol sunscreen products."
While the health-care giant works to remove all lots of these products off store shelves, Johnson & Johnson is urging customers to discontinue the use of any of these five affected products and follow instructions outlined here.
