Dermatologist assures that SA sunscreens rigorously tested after Australia recall

Eighteen sunscreen products have been pulled from shelves in Australia after failing to meet labelled UV protection assurances.

The sunscreens were labeled to have an SPF 50+ but when tested, had an SPF intensity of 4.

This has sparked concerns about the validity of sunscreen testing.

Australia has also been flagged as the country with the highest rate of skin cancer.

Dermatologist, Dr Irshad Essack, has assured that South African sunscreens go through rigorous testing.

"There has been a move in many EU countries and in South Africa as well for sunscreens to be labelled properly. And now you'll also notice that some sunscreens do not have a claim of an SPF 80 or a SPF 90 or a SPF 100. You'll notice that the majority of sunscreens now claim just SPF 50 plus."

Essack added that as the day progresses, the effectiveness of the sunscreen decreases.

"The sunscreen will degrade as time goes by. So, you get photo liability and degradation. So, at hour number one or hour number two, you no longer have an SPF of 50. You effectively may be having an SPF of 25 or 30."