The Food and Drug Administration has mandated new sunscreen labeling requirements that were supposed to go into effect this month, just in time for the summer season. However, they decided to push back those requirements until December in order to give companies more time to comply with the new directives. Now, a new report discusses the bitter debate that has erupted over whether or not pushing back the deadline was the right move.
In one corner are those who agree with the FDA’s decision, including the Personal Care Products Council. A spokesperson for that organization stated that revamping the labels would require more than just a basic word change. They said that, in many cases, new manufacturing equipment might need to be ordered so that the companies could ensure that their millions of products meet the new requirements. The FDA seems to have concurred with this assessment, thus the decision to push the deadline.
Others aren’t happy with the FDA’s deadline shift. Some lawmaking officials have taken umbrage at the fact that consumers will have to face another summer without proper information regarding their sunscreens. A representative from the American Cancer Society says that skin cancer is already an epidemic.
The new requirements ban such words as sunblock, sweat-proof, and waterproof, and only allow the broad spectrum protection label to be applied to products that protect against UVA and UVB rays.