Keep using sunscreen while FDA updates recommendations on safety of sunscreen ingredients

This study is called an exploratory maximal usage trial (MUsT), because the sunscreen products were applied according to the maximum limit of the products’ directions for use, which likely far exceeds use by the average consumer. Furthermore, while the FDA recommends that active ingredients in sunscreen that exceed 0.5 ng/ml should undergo toxicology testing to check for harmful health effects, this number is somewhat arbitrary, as it is not known what the significance of this blood level means. The FDA acknowledges that without further testing, we do not know what degree of absorption should be considered safe. What is the FDA saying about sunscreen? Thus far, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are two sunscreen ingredients that the FDA deems “generally recognized as safe and effective” (GRASE). These ingredients are not absorbed into the body. In order to be determined GRASE, a drug must have gone through adequate clinical testing to establish its safety and efficacy, and medical experts must agree, based on those studies, that the product is safe based on the intended, recommended usage. Two other active sunscreen ingredients, PABA and tolamine salicylate, are considered non-GRASE, and they are not legally available in the US. The FDA is asking for more safety data on an additional 12 active sunscreen ingredients in order to determine whether they can be classified as GRASE. Any sunscreen ingredients that do not receive a GRASE designation in the FDA’s final report, d...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Cancer Skin and Hair Care Source Type: blogs