US FDA Alerts Public Industry About Benzene Contamination in Acne Products, Initiates Voluntary Recalls

On March 11, 2025, the FDA announced the results of its testing on 95 acne products containing benzoyl peroxide for potential benzene contamination. The FDA's independent testing found only a small number of products with elevated benzene levels, leading to voluntary recalls at the retail level by several manufacturers. Importantly, over 90% of the tested products had either undetectable or extremely low levels of benzene.

Following are the products with lot numbers recalled voluntarily by companies due to elevated levels of benzene:

1) La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo Dual Action Acne Treatment (MYX46W)
2) Walgreens Acne Control Cleanser (23 09328)
3) Proactiv Emergency Blemish Relief Cream Benzoyl Peroxide 5% (V3305A, V3304A)
4) Proactiv Skin Smoothing Exfoliator (V4204A)
5) SLMD Benzoyl Peroxide Acne Lotion (2430600)
6) Walgreens Tinted Acne Treatment Cream (49707430)
7) Zapzyt Acne Treatment Gel

The FDA emphasizes that these recalls are at the retail level only, meaning consumers do not need to return products currently in their possession unless expired. The risk of cancer from using these products daily, even over many years, is very low.