A major UK supermarket’s own-brand sun cream has failed a safety test, with households told “don’t buy” as it could be “putting families at risk”. Which? conducted tests on 15 well-known sun creams to verify that they provided at least the minimum required level of sun protection.
According to the survey, the Morrisons Moisturising Sun Spray SPF30 failed to meet the minimum levels for SPF protection. Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said: “It’s really concerning that widely available sunscreens could be putting families at risk by failing to offer the level of sun protection claimed on the packaging. While shoppers should avoid buying our Don’t Buys, our results prove that there’s no need to splash out to keep you and your loved ones safe in the sun as we’ve found cheap reliable options at Aldi and Lidl.”
The sun cream did not meet the minimum UVA protection standards in two separate tests, with the Morrisons product achieving scores of just 25.7 initially and dropping to 20.7 in the follow-up test.
A Morrisons spokesperson said: “We work closely with our supplier and conduct extensive efficacy and safety testing during product development. As such, all our sun care products are tested to the relevant industry test standards and are not approved for launch until they meet these standards.
“During development and production all tested variants consistently achieved an SPF of 30. In direct response to this report from Which? we have retested the SPF against the British and International Standard BS EN ISO 24444:2020 and can confirm the product has achieved an SPF value of 34.5 and can therefore be labelled as SPF 30.”
Express.co.uk has reached out to Morrisons for a comment.
The majority of sun creams tested met the required standards, including budget-friendly options from Lidl and Aldi. Other successful products featured Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Suncare Lotion and Spray SPF30, both priced at £5.50 for 200ml.
Also making the cut were Nivea Sun Protect & Moisture Lotion SPF30 (£7.90/200ml), Sainsbury’s Sun Protect Moisturising Lotion SPF30 (£5.50/200ml), Superdrug Solait Sun Spray SPF30 (£5.50/200ml), and Garnier Ambre Solaire Sensitive Advanced Sun Spray SPF50+ (£11/150ml).
Additional passing products included Sainsbury’s Sun Protect Moisturising Spray Lotion SPF50+ (£5.75/200ml), Boots Soltan Protect & Moisturise Suncare Lotion SPF50+ (£5.50/200ml), and Nivea Sun Protect & Moisture Spray SPF50+ (£7.90/200ml).