Does Your Sunscreen Really Say SPF 50?
Independent labs in Australia and New Zealand have found that many sunscreens don't deliver the SPF printed on the bottle. Regulators are scrambling. Canadians should be asking the same questions.
Bottom line first
Keep using sunscreen. Most of the products that failed still gave real protection. The problem is a number on the label you can't fully trust, which is a reason to apply more, reapply often, and add hats, shirts and shade. It is not a reason to stop.
Australia: 16 out of 20 failed
In June 2025 the consumer group CHOICE sent 20 popular sunscreens to a lab. Sixteen did not meet the SPF on their labels. The worst, Ultra Violette's Lean Screen SPF 50+ Mattifying Zinc Skinscreen, tested at SPF 4. The company first disputed the result, then voluntarily recalled the product in August 2025 after its own testing showed widely varying results.
On 1 October 2025 Australia's regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), said Lean Screen shared a base formula with other sunscreens made by the contract manufacturer Wild Child Laboratories. Preliminary testing suggested that base gave no more than about SPF 21, and some finished products could be as low as SPF 4. The TGA said it had "significant concerns" about SPF testing done by a UK lab, Princeton Consumer Research Corp, which many of the brands had relied on. Twenty products were put under review; within days, 18 had been recalled or had sales paused.
On 27 October 2026 the TGA proposed an overhaul:
- SPF must be tested on the finished product, not just the base formula.
- Products would be retested periodically over their shelf life.
- Testing labs would need stronger international accreditation.
- Results would go to the TGA before sale, though they would not be made public or routinely checked.
- The TGA is even considering replacing SPF numbers with "low, medium, high, very high" labels.
Some changes need more consultation or new legislation, and it is not yet clear how they will apply to products already on shelves.
New Zealand: 7 out of 10 failed
On 30 October 2026 Consumer NZ reported that 7 of 10 sunscreens it tested missed their label SPF. The worst was one of the most expensive: Coola Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion 50, which tested at SPF 14. CHOICE reported that six of the seven tested products also sold in Australia failed their SPF 50+ claims, including Sun Bum Mineral (SPF 38) and Beauty of Joseon Ginseng Sun Moist Serum (SPF 41). Apart from Coola, the failing products still tested at SPF 30 or higher.
These are results from single rounds of independent testing; companies may dispute them, and results can vary between labs and batches. That variability is exactly the problem regulators are now trying to fix.
United States: the "whipped" sunscreen warning
In August 2025 the FDA sent warning letters to five companies, including Supergoop! (PLAY SPF Body Mousse) and Vacation (Classic Whip), over mousse and foam sunscreens. The FDA said this dosage form is not covered by US sunscreen rules and the products "might not be effective." It also said Vacation's whipped-cream-style can could be mistaken for food.
Canada: who checks the number?
In Canada a sunscreen is regulated either as a non-prescription drug (with an eight-digit DIN) or as a natural health product (with an NPN), depending on its active ingredients. Health Canada updated its sunscreen monographs, which set the rules for ingredients, claims and SPF testing, in 2026.
Health Canada's last published compliance testing, in 2018, looked at 27 sunscreens. It checked ingredient amounts, pH, preservatives and microbial contamination, and found no serious quality problems. That report did not publish SPF measurements.
Several of the brands named in the Australian and New Zealand tests are easy for Canadians to buy, in stores or online. ISCAN's questions for Health Canada:
- Does Health Canada independently test SPF on products sold here, and will it publish the results?
- Has it checked whether any sunscreens sold in Canada use the base formula or test lab flagged by the TGA?
- Will it require finished-product SPF testing, as Australia now proposes?
If you'd like to report a sunscreen that burned you despite proper use, Health Canada accepts reports through its MedEffect Canada side-effect reporting page. We'd like to hear from you too.
What you can do now
- Choose a broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher. A label of SPF 50 gives you a margin if the true number is lower.
- Use enough. Most people apply far less than the amount used in SPF testing. Cancer Council Australia suggests about a teaspoon for each arm, leg, front, back and face (about 35 ml for an adult's whole body).
- Reapply at least every two hours, and after swimming, sweating or towelling.
- Don't rely on sunscreen alone. Hats, long sleeves, sunglasses and shade at midday matter just as much, especially when the UV index is 3 or higher.
- Check the DIN or NPN on the box. No number means it is not authorized for sale as a sunscreen in Canada.
More from the 2026 Watch
Sources
- CHOICE: We tested the SPF claims of 20 sunscreens. 16 failed (June 2025)
- SBS News: Australia sunscreen recall explainer (Oct 2025)
- ABC News: Australian sunscreens face tough new rules in wake of SPF scandal (27 Oct 2026)
- 1News: Seven of 10 sunscreens tested fail to meet their SPF label claims (30 Oct 2026)
- CHOICE: More sunscreens fail to meet their SPF claims (29 Oct 2026)
- Cosmetics Business: FDA warning letters to Supergoop! and Vacation over mousse sunscreens (Aug 2025)
- Health Canada: 2018 report on compliance monitoring, sunscreen testing
This page is consumer information, not personal medical advice. If you have a new or changing mole, see a doctor or dermatologist. Last updated 2 November 2026.