In July 2013, Health Canada announced sweeping changes to the way in which sunscreen products could be sold in Canada. As a result of this, many products were removed from store shelves in Canada and many products have not been re- registered.
Any Sunscreen product (all types – lip balms, sticks, sprays, lotions or creams) must now be certified by Health Canada before it can be sold. Products may have either an NPN (natural product number) or a DIN (drug identification number), depending on the medicinal ingredients they contain.
Products with a DIN rather than an NPN are sometimes referred to as “chemical sunscreens”. This distinction is important for families looking for naturally sourced sunscreen products.
There are only 3 active ingredients that Health Canada will consider for Natural Product certification. Green Cricket SPF 30 Lip Balm uses one of them – Zinc Oxide as the natural barrier protection to the sun’s harmful rays. Chemical sunscreens use artificial chemical mixtures used to refract or disperse the sun’s rays.
Health Canada has done much to standardize and clarify sunscreen claims, giving families the information they need to be confident that they are making the right choices on sunscreens. Want to learn more? Visit the Health Canada NPN and DIN directories to read the product profile of your favourite sunscreen. Green Cricket SPF 30 Lip Balm can be found at:
