£28 family sunscreen among brands to fail safety testing, Which? finds
A £28 family sunscreen has failed an annual Which? safety test while a £2.99 supermarket alternative passed with 'flying colours', the watchdog said.
Ultrasun Family SPF30, which costs £28 for 150ml and is marketed as being 'perfect for the whole family' and 'especially suitable for children and those with sensitive skin', failed to meet minimum UVA protection levels in two separate tests by Which?.
Ultrasun passed the UVB SPF part of the test but failed on UVA testing, scoring 9.1 and then 9.5 in a retest.
Which? required a score of 10 or more for a pass.
Morrisons Moisturising Sun Spray SPF30 also failed to meet minimum SPF protection levels in two tests.
The product passed UVA tests but failed the UVB/SPF tests with scores of 25.7 and then 20.7 – short of the 30 or more needed to pass.
UVA and UVB rays both cause different types of damage, and not all sun creams protect against them in the same way.
UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB to cause long-term damage, including all types of skin cancer, and play a role in the ageing process, such as causing wrinkles, sun spots and leathery skin.
UVB rays are mostly responsible for sunburn and skin reddening. They do not penetrate as deeply as UVA rays but they are just as damaging, and can play a large part in the development of skin cancers including melanoma.
SPF stands for 'sun protection factor', and indicates the level of protection a sun cream provides against burning rays.
SPFs range from 2 to 50+, with 50+ offering the most protection against UVB.
Which? tested 15 popular sun creams this year, including Boots, Garnier and Nivea as well as supermarket own-brand products.
Aldi's Lacura Sensitive Sun Lotion SPF50+, which costs £2.99 for 200ml, was found to protect the skin from both UVA and UVB rays.
Cien Sun Spray 30 SPF High (£3.79/200ml), from fellow discounter Lidl, also passed all SPF and UVA testing, with Which? describing it as a 'solid option for affordable and reliable sun protection'.
Some 11 other products, including Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Suncare Spray SPF30 (£5.50 for 200ml), Nivea Sun Protect & Moisture Lotion SPF30 (£7.90 for 200ml) and Sainsbury's Sun Protect Moisturising Lotion SPF30 (£5.50 for 200ml) passed SPF and UVA safety tests.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: 'It's really concerning that widely available sunscreens could be putting families at risk by failing to offer the level of sun protection claimed on the packaging.
'While shoppers should avoid buying our 'don't buys', our results prove that there's no need to splash out to keep you and your loved ones safe in the sun as we've found cheap reliable options at Aldi and Lidl.'
A spokeswoman for Ultrasun said: 'Ultrasun is fully confident in our testing protocols. As an independent brand delivering very high UVB and UVA protection options for over 30 years, our detailed testing processes, independent and peer reviewed, continue to not only meet but surpass industry standards.
'Our chosen testing protocol is one of the strictest available. Further detail and clarification from Which? on their testing protocols would also be helpful, particularly on how these resulted in two different results from the same sample.'
Morrisons told Which? that it was looking closely at the data and working with its supplier to carry out additional independent testing.
A Morrisons spokeswoman added: 'We work closely with our supplier and conduct extensive efficacy and safety testing during product development. As such, all our sun care products are tested to the relevant industry test standards and are not approved for launch until they meet these standards. During development and production all tested variants consistently achieved an SPF of 30.
'In direct response to this report from Which? we have retested the SPF against the British and International Standard BS EN ISO 24444:2020 and can confirm the product has achieved an SPF value of 34.5 and can therefore be labelled as SPF 30.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cancer care staff to receive compassion fatigue resilience training
Cancer care staff at University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) will receive compassion fatigue resilience training. The initiative, funded by a grant from the Blue Light Card Foundation, aims to support the mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing of NHS staff. The intense nature of cancer care, involving patient distress, high-pressure environments and difficult discussions, can lead to compassion fatigue. This state of exhaustion endangers the health and wellbeing of healthcare professionals and compromises care quality. The training aims to help UHD cancer care staff recognise early signs of compassion fatigue. They will learn effective coping strategies to protect their emotional and mental health. Jo Valentine, UHD cancer nurse specialist lead, said: "It's so important that specialist nurses and healthcare professionals working in cancer care access this type of training because they often experience constant exposure to patients going through life-changing diagnoses, treatment, the effects of treatment, and ongoing care and regularly deal with breaking bad news. "By providing this training to staff, members of our team will be able to recognise symptoms, develop effective coping strategies and help sustain emotional and mental wellbeing. "Plus, patients will benefit from having a more emotionally balanced and engaged workforce. "Investing in staff wellbeing is one of our Trust's core values and helps build stronger teams where staff feel valued and supported." The cost of this training is £7,372, which will be covered by the Blue Light Card Foundation. Karen Smith, senior charity manager at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity, said: "We are so incredibly grateful for the support to fund this vital compassion fatigue training. "This is one of the most meaningful projects I've had the privilege to be part of." Emma Woods-Bolger, chief executive of the Blue Light Card Foundation, said: "We're proud to support this initiative from University Hospitals Dorset NHS Charity, which speaks to the heart of why the Foundation exists. "Cancer care professionals give so much of themselves, often at great personal cost. "This project provides space and skills to help them care for themselves too because protecting their wellbeing is essential to protecting the quality of care they offer others."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Crowds flock to Brighton as UK issues amber heat alert
STORY: :: People flock to the UK coastal city of Brighton as officials issue an amber heat alert :: June 19, 2025 :: The health agency warned of possible extra risks for those over 65 or with health conditions :: Brighton, England The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Met Office have issued an amber heat-health alert, meaning weather with health impacts across wider population. The agency also warned of possible "increase in risk to health for individuals aged over 65 years or those with pre-existing health conditions." Temperatures across the country are expected to rise until the end of the week.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
UK lawmakers to vote on allowing terminally ill adults to end their lives
LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, in what could be one of the most consequential social policy decisions they will ever make. Members of Parliament supported legalizing assisted dying when they first debated the issue in November by 330 votes to 275 . Since then, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has undergone months of scrutiny leading to some changes in the proposed legislation, which is being shepherded through Parliament by Labour lawmaker Kim Leadbeater rather than the government. Leadbeater is confident lawmakers will back the bill. 'We have the most robust piece of legislation in the world in front of us tomorrow, and I know that many colleagues have engaged very closely with the legislation and will make their decision based on those facts and that evidence, and that cannot be disputed,' Leadbeater said Thursday on the eve of the vote alongside bereaved and terminally ill people. Proponents of the bill argue those with a terminal diagnosis must be given a choice at the end of their lives. However, opponents say the disabled and elderly could be at risk of being coerced, directly or indirectly, to end their lives to save money or relieve the burden on family members. Others have called for the improvement of palliative care to ease suffering as an alternative. The vote is potentially the biggest change to social policy since abortion was legalized in 1967. What lawmakers are voting on The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow terminally ill adults aged over 18 in England and Wales, who are deemed to have less than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death. The terminally ill person would have to be capable of taking the fatal drugs themselves. Proponents of the bill say wealthy individuals can travel to Switzerland , which allows foreigners to legally end their lives, while others have to face possible prosecution for helping their loves ones die. How the vote may go The outcome of the vote is unclear, as some lawmakers who backed the bill in the fall only did so on the proviso there would be changes made. Some who backed the bill then have voiced disappointment at the changes, while others have indicated Parliament has not been given enough time to debate the issues. The vote is a free one, meaning lawmakers vote according to their conscience rather than on party lines. Alliances have formed across the political divide. If 28 members switched directly from backing the bill to opposing it, while others voted exactly the same way, the legislation would fail. Timeline if the bill passes Friday's vote is not the end of the matter. The legislation would then go to the unelected House of Lords, which has the power to delay and amend policy, though it can't overrule the lower chamber. Since assisted dying was not in the governing Labour Party's election manifesto last year, the House of Lords has more room to maneuver. Any amendments would then go back to the House of Commons. If the bill is passed, backers say implementation will take four years, rather than the initially suggested two. That means it could become law in 2029, around the time the next general election must be held. Changes to the bill Plenty of revisions have been made to the measure, but not enough for some. Perhaps the most important change was to drop the requirement that a judge sign off on any decision. Many in the legal profession had objected. Now any request would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Changes also were made to ensure the establishment of independent advocates to support people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health conditions and the creation of a disability advisory board. No involvement of health care practitioners It was already the case that doctors would not be required to take part, but lawmakers have since voted to insert a new clause into the bill extending the provision to anyone. The wording means 'no person,' including social care workers and pharmacists, is obliged to take part in assisted dying and can therefore opt out. The government's stance There is clear no consensus in the cabinet about the measure. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has indicated he will back the bill on Friday. His health secretary, Wes Streeting, is opposed but said he will respect the outcome. There are also questions about how it would impact the U.K.'s state-funded National Health Service, hospice care and the legal system. Nations where assisted dying is legal Other countries that have legalized assisted suicide include Australia, Belgium, Canada and parts of the United States, with regulations on who is eligible varying by jurisdiction. Assisted suicide is different from euthanasia, allowed in the Netherlands and Canada, which involves health care practitioners administering a lethal injection at the patient's request in specific circumstances.
