Woolworths Sunscreen Everyday Tube SPF 50+: What CHOICE Measured
Last updated September 13, 2026
CHOICE measured SPF 27 against a label of SPF 50+ in June 2025; Woolworths answered with a laboratory result of 68.0, from a laboratory the TGA later said it had significant concerns about.
Woolworths' response to CHOICE is the one that later came under question. The supermarket cited testing by Princeton Consumer Research showing an average SPF of 68.0. By November 2025 the TGA had published its own view of that laboratory.
What was tested
CHOICE measured SPF 27, 12 June 2025
CHOICE measured SPF 27 against a label of SPF 50+. In the body's own words:
Woolworths Sunscreen Everyday Tube SPF 50+ – tested at 27
Method, as CHOICE states it: AS/NZS 2604:2021, incorporating ISO 24444 (in vivo SPF) and ISO 24443 (in vitro UVA); a 10-person panel under a solar simulator, run at Eurofins Dermatest in Sydney.
What the brand said
Woolworths rejected the finding, citing a laboratory result of its own.
Testing by Princeton Consumer Research, USA, using ISO 24444:2019 and ISO 16217:2020 as required by the Sunscreen products standard, showed an average SPF of 68.0, confirming an SPF 50+ rating.
What happened next
- by 31 October 2025 — In its review of a different group of sunscreens, the TGA stated that it has significant concerns about the reliability of SPF testing undertaken by Princeton Consumer Research Corp, a testing laboratory it describes as based in the United Kingdom, and that it wrote to the laboratory and has not received a response. The page was first published on 30 September 2025 and carried this passage by its 31 October 2025 update, the earliest archived copy that contains it. The TGA places the laboratory in the UK where Woolworths described it as being in the USA. The TGA's concern is about the laboratory, not about any specific certificate. TGA.
Market status: no change has been published by any source cited here. Statuses in this story moved repeatedly between 2025 and 2026, so check the regulator before assuming a product is still on sale.
Alternatives that passed
CHOICE reported that four of the 20 sunscreens it tested returned a measured SPF at or above the claim on the label. Two of the four cleared the claim with margin: La Roche-Posay Anthelios Wet Skin SPF 50+, measured at 72, Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Lotion SPF 50, measured at 56.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Woolworths dispute the result?
Yes. It cited testing by Princeton Consumer Research, which it described as being in the USA, showing an average SPF of 68.0 and confirming an SPF 50+ rating.
What did the TGA say about that laboratory?
In the document covering a separate group of sunscreens, the TGA wrote that it has significant concerns about the reliability of SPF testing undertaken by Princeton Consumer Research Corp, which it locates in the United Kingdom, and that it wrote to the laboratory and has not received a response. The TGA's statement is about the laboratory in general. It does not say that any particular certificate was wrong, and neither does this page.
SPF List did not test this product. The results on this page were published by the named test body or regulator; quotes and links go to the original publication. Brand responses and later developments are listed where they were published. Formulations change; a result applies to the batch and date tested.