Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble has recalled some of its deodorants and aerosol spray products due to the presence of a human carcinogen.
More than a dozen of its Old Spice and Secret products were found to contain benzene, an agent which could lead to cancers such as leukemia and blood cancer of the bone marrow, the Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week.
“Based on exposure modeling and the cancer risk assessments published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (IRIS database), daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in our testing would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences. Benzene is ubiquitous in the environment,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. “Humans around the world have daily exposure to it indoors and outdoors from multiple sources. To date, The Procter & Gamble Company has not received any reports of adverse events related to this recall and is conducting this recall out of an abundance of caution.”
The recall includes the below products with expiration dates of September 2023:
• Old Spice High Endurance AP Spray Pure Sport 12/6oz
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Stronger Swagger 3.8oz
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Pure Sport Plus 12/3.8oz
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Stronger Swagger 12/3.8oz
• Old Spice Hardest Working Collection Inv Spray Ult Captain 12/3.8oz
• Old Spice Below Deck Powder Spray Unscented 12/4.9oz
• Old Spice Below Deck Powder Spray Fresh Air 12/4.9oz
• Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh Twin Pack
• Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh 12/6OZ
• Secret Aerosol Powder Fresh 12/4OZ
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Waterlily 3.8oz
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Lavender 12/3.8oz
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Water Lily 12/3.8oz
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Light Essentials 12/3.8oz
• Secret Fresh Collection Invisible Spray Rose 12/3.8oz
• Secret Outlast Invisible Spray Completely Clean 12/3.8oz
• Secret Outlast Invisible Spray Protecting Powder 12/3.8oz
• Old Spice Pure Sport 2021 Gift Set
The recalled products were sold online and through retail outlets throughout the U.S. Other Old Spice and Secret products are not part of the recall and can still be used safely. Procter & Gamble has told its retailers to remove products from the shelves and will also offer refunds to consumers who have bought any of the recalled items.
Consumers should stop using the affected aerosol spray products and discard them and contact their health care providers if experiencing any issues that could be linked to these recalled items, the FDA said. They also can report adverse reactions from use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.
In July, Johnson & Johnson recalled five of its Neutrogena and Aveeno aerosol sunscreen products because testing found low levels of benzene in some of these products.
Health, The New York Today
