Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has announced the recall of five of the Neutrogena and Aveeno spray sunscreens after finding low traces of benzene in some product samples. The substance is known for causing cancer.
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Since the spray sunscreens have been distributed across U.S. stores, the company has promptly urged customers to stop using the products.
Benzene, Not an Ingredient
As informed by the New York Post, besides the Aveeno Protect + Refresh aerosol sunscreen, four Neutrogena sunscreens are involved in the recall: Beach Defense aerosol sunscreen, CoolDry Sport aerosol sunscreen, Invisible Daily Defense aerosol sunscreen, and UltraSheer aerosol sunscreen.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, benzene has been long associated with leukemia and other cancer diseases, should a person be exposed to large amounts during long periods.
While J&J noted that benzene is not an ingredient in the affected sunscreens, the company said it is investigating how the substance might have been involved with the aforementioned products.
The company released a statement on Wednesday stating that “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.”
Another Blow
J&J has stated that the recall of the products is voluntary and said “it has notified the Food and Drug Administration.” Meanwhile, the company said, “it’s working to pull all lots of the five products from shelves across the country.”
In recent years, J&J has seen its reputation affected by thousands of lawsuits against its famous talc-based baby powder. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected to overturn a sentence that forces the company to pay 22 women a whopping $2 billion for cancer cases associated with asbestos in the product.
“The company last year halted sales of the product and has recently socked away $3.9 billion to help cover the costs of the lawsuits.”
As informed by CNN, the FDA also updated the Johnson & Johnson vaccine label on Monday, “aiming to warn of the possible increased risk of a rare neurological complication known as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).”
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