Australian SPF50 sunscreen tested as low as SPF 4 after 20 products recalled
Australian sunscreen brand Ultra Violette is suing manufacturer Wild Child Laboratories after tests revealed their SPF50 products provided significantly lower protection. The legal battle is complicated by the fact that Wild Child has entered voluntary liquidation, leaving creditors and consumers seeking accountability.
Why it matters
This case highlights critical failures in product safety standards and the complexities of corporate liability when manufacturers undergo restructuring.
A sunscreen manufacturer whose base formula was used in 20 products recalled in Australia after they failed to meet their advertised SPF claims is facing multimillion-dollar legal claims. Wild Child Laboratories is being sued in the Federal Court over allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct.The issue came to light last year after an ABC news Australia investigation and testing by consumer group Choice led to a series of sunscreen recalls. One of the products involved was Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen SPF50+, which Choice testing found had an SPF of just four.Ultra Violette is now seeking millions of dollars from Wild Child Laboratories. The company alleges that Wild Child made several representations that its sunscreen had an SPF of 50 or 50+, but tests it commissioned later returned much lower results.The legal action has become more complicated because Wild Child Laboratories went into voluntary liquidation in August.
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