CVS releases 2 aloe vera products from its shelves

Summer is in full swing, but the world of sun protection is in turmoil. After a recent report claimed that several popular sunscreen products contain a chemical that could potentially cause cancer, many companies have had to review their inventory. CVS is the latest company to choose to voluntarily remove items from shelves as a result of this explosive report. Read on to find out which two products you will no longer be able to buy from the drugstore chain.

RELATED: The One Thing Every Department Store Has Now Permanently Banned.

CVS announced on July 15 that it would suspend the sale of two of its solar products. The company is removing both CVS Health After Sun Aloe Vera and CVS Health After Sun Aloe Vera Spray from its shelves. A CVS spokesperson said The Wall Street Journal that the company halted sales of these two products “out of an excess of caution”.

“We remain committed to ensuring that the products we offer are safe, perform as intended, meet regulations and satisfy customers,” said the spokesperson.

These aren’t the only sunscreen products CVS took off the shelves this week, however. On July 14, Johnson & Johnson issued a voluntary recall of five of its sun protection products: Neutrogena Beach Defense Sunscreen, Neutrogena Cool Dry Sport Sunscreen, Neutrogena Invisible Daily Defense Sunscreen, Neutrogena Ultra Sunscreen Sheer and Aveeno Protect and Refresh Sunscreen. CVS confirmed to Fox Business on July 15 that it would cooperate with the manufacturer’s recall and remove all five products from its inventory. Two other major drugstore chains, Walgreens and Rite Aid, have confirmed they will also remove Johnson & Johnson products from shelves.

RELATED: For more up to date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.

CVS’s withdrawal of two of its products and Johnson & Johnson’s recall follow a report that certain sunscreens contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical. Pharmaceutical testing company Valisure released a report in May saying it had found benzene, a known carcinogen, in about 27% of the sun sprays and lotions tested. Products affected by the chemical include the two aloe vera products being phased out by CVS, as well as the four recalled Neutrogena products and the recalled Aveeno product.

Benzene is “classified as a human carcinogen, a substance that could potentially cause cancer depending on the level and extent of exposure,” according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“[Benzene’s] the association with the formation of blood cancers in humans has been demonstrated in numerous studies at minute levels of parts per million and below ”, David Light, founder and CEO of Valisure, said in a statement. “The presence of this known human carcinogen in products widely recommended for the prevention of skin cancer and which are regularly used by adults and children is of great concern.”

These are not the only products listed in the Valisure report. Several Banana Boat sunscreens and a few Walgreens brand sunscreens have also been found to contain low levels of benzene. However, these products have not yet been recalled or taken off the shelves. John Dondrea, general counsel for Fruit of the Earth, the supplier of sunscreen products to Walgreens, told Bloomberg that “all [its] the products are safe ”and that the supplier is“ confident that the products do not contain benzene ”.

“We are confident in the safety and effectiveness of our Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen,” Edgewell Personal Care Co., the company behind these two brands, told Bloomberg. “Our products are not affected by a recall.”

RELATED: Target Has Banned Buying This One Thing From All Of Its Stores.