Testing lab welcomes new guidelines

New recommendations for testing and labelling of sunscreens have received the backing of the Clinical Sciences department at RSSL Pharma. The company carries out SPF (sun protection factor) testing for a number of clients, and states the new recommendations are more definitive, easier to follow and crucially, will make it simpler for consumers to choose and apply the right product for their own needs.

The recommendations, which were compiled by the EU commission and have now been adopted by COLIPA, set out to standardise the way the SPF of a product is calculated and the claims that can be made. "Under the new recommendations, there is a big change in the way we report the SPF of a product," says Valerie Hart, Head of Clinical Sciences at RSSL Pharma. "We previously reported the mean SPF results, but now we shall report the lowest of the confidence intervals. In addition products will be classified according to new categories of 'low', 'medium', 'high' and 'very high' in the same way that the FDA recommends for labelling of this type of product."

One significant change that has received support from RSSL Pharma is that claims, such as 'all-day protection' and 'total sunblock' can no longer be made on the product labels. Any statement implying no need to re-apply the sun cream at regular intervals will also not be allowed. "This is an area we have been concerned about for some time," says Valerie Hart. "This type of claim implies to consumers that certain sun products offer unlimited protection when this is not always the case."