Sunscreen recall: Banana Boat spray-ons can catch on fire
Sunscreen recall involves 23 Banana Boat spray-on products. Five burn incidents in the US and Canada spurred the Banana Boat sunscreen recall.
A bottle of Banana Boat sunscreen is placed (by the photograph) in the sand near the Newport Beach pier in Newport Beach Calif., Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. The maker of Banana Boat sunscreen is recalling 23 of its spray-on products because they can catch on fire. Five reports of Banana Boat users being burned spurred the sunscreen recall.
Chris Carlson/AP
Spray-on Banana Boat sunscreen is being recalled because it carries a potential risk: It can catch fire if it's exposed to a flame or spark before it dries on your skin.
In five known cases, people have been burned after using Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 and SPF 50 products, according to the maker of the product, Energizer Holdings. The company announced Friday it was removing 23 Banana Boat continuous sprays from retailers' store shelves.
Consumers who have any of the Banana Boat UltraMist products listed below should stop using them, the company warns. And, as the warning label states on all spray-on sunscreen products, consumers shouldn't apply them when smoking or near a flame or spark.
People who bought a Banana Boat UltraMist spray and have questions – or want a refund – should contact Energizer directly at 800-723-3786 between Monday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. Or they can send an e-mail to SUNCARE@customerfollowup.info.
"This is not like a drug recall," a company spokesman says. "They don't need to send the bottles back."
Consumers of the product who have been burned should contact the US Food and Drug Administration directly online ( www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm) or by mail (MedWatch, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787). You can get a postage-paid form for the FDA by going online to www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm.
The recall does not involve any Banana Boat sunscreen lotions. These don't have alcohol and other ingredients that are used in the spray-on products so they can flow more freely through the spray nozzle, a company spokesman says.
All five burn incidents – four in the United States and one in Canada – have occurred within the past year, according to the spokesman. When the first report came in, the company began an internal investigation to figure out what was wrong. Energizer found that its spray mechanism was delivering more sunscreen than the industry standard, so it wasn't drying as quickly.
"Energizer believes it has identified the cause of this safety concern and expects to offer new Banana Boat continuous spray products shortly," the company said in a statement.
Here are the Banana Boat products that are being recalled:
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 15 Continuous Spray 6oz (UPC label 7965600979-8)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 Continuous Spray 6oz (UPC 7965600878-4)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 Bonus Continuous Spray 8oz (7965600955-2)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense SPF 30 Continuous Spray 6oz (7965604626-7)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense SPF 30 Bonus Continuous Spray 8oz (7965600956-9)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 Family Size Continuous Spray 9.5oz (7965605167-4)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 50 Continuous Spray 6oz (7965600933-0)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense SPF 50 Continuous Spray 6oz (7965604492-8)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense SPF 50 Bonus Continuous Spray 8oz (7965604549-9)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Kids SPF 50 Clear Continuous Spray 6oz (7965604495-9)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 50 Bonus Continuous Spray 8oz (7965604551-2)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 50+ Continuous Spray 9.5oz. (7965605110-0)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense SPF 85 Continuous Spray 6oz (7965604654-0)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 85 Continuous Spray 6oz (7965604665-6)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Kids SPF 85 Continuous Spray 6oz (7965604916-9)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Ultra Defense SPF 85 Bonus Continuous Spray 8oz (7965604677-9)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 85 Bonus Continuous Spray 8oz (7965604679-3)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SFP30 Continuous Spray 2pk 6oz (7965605374-6)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 50 Continuous Spray 2pk 6oz (7965605028-8)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 Continuous Spray 2pk 6oz w/Sport Lotion & Lip (7965605389-0)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 Continuous Spray 8oz w/Sport Lip Balm (7965607951-7)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 30 Continuous Spray 6oz w/$1 Instant Redeemable Coupon (7965607975-3)
- Banana Boat UltraMist Sport SPF 50 Continuous Spray 3ct 6oz (7965605464-4)