Banana Boat’s Hair and Scalp sunscreen is being recalled after tests detected trace levels of the carcinogen benzene, Edgewell Personal Care Company said Friday.
“While benzene is not an ingredient in any Banana Boat products, the review showed that unexpected levels of benzene came from the propellant that sprays the product out of the can,” the release says.
Benzene is classified as a carcinogen. Exposure to benzene can occur by inhalation, orally, and through the skin, and it may result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancer of the bone marrow and blood disorders which can be life-threatening.
The FDA assured that the levels found in the defective sunscreen “would not be expected to cause adverse heath consequences.”
Edgewell Personal Care Company is voluntarily recalling three batches of Banana Boat Hair & Scalp Sunscreen Spray SPF 30 after testing found trace levels of the chemical benzene. The recalled products all have the UPC 0-79656-04041-8, but three different lot codes: 20016AF, 20084BF, and 21139AF.
The affected sunscreen will have an expiration of Dec. 2022, Feb. 2023, or April 2024.
No other batches of Hair & Scalp before or after the expiration dates listed were affected, according to the FDA release, and no other Banana Boast sunscreen is subject to the recall.
The FDA recommends that buyers of Banana Boat’s Hair and Scalp sunscreen should “stop using the affected product immediately and appropriately discard.”
Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact Edgewell Personal Care at 1-888-686-3988 or visit www.bananaboat.com for more information. Banana Boat also announced that they are offering reimbursement for consumers who have purchased a product marked with one of the lot of codes, which is on the bottom of the cans.