After Blumenthal Called for FDA Action on Benzene in Sunscreens, Johnson & Johnson Recalls Sunscreens Containing the Carcinogen

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security, released the following statement after Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced that the company is recalling five of its aerosol sunscreen products due to the discovery of trace amounts of benzene, a carcinogen, in some samples:

“J&J is rightly recalling these potentially cancerous aerosol sunscreens. Sunscreen offers essential protection from harmful UV rays, but remains largely unregulated and put consumers at risk of toxic chemicals. The FDA has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that consumers have transparent, truthful information about their sunscreen and companies need to ensure the safety of their products.”

In May, Blumenthal sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action to ensure that sunscreen is safe, effective, and properly labeled. The full text of the letter can be found here.

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