REPORT: Cancer-causing chemical detected in several acne treatment products

UNDATED (WKRC) - A cancer-causing chemical was detected in several acne treatment products, according to a new report from a lab.

According to PEOPLE, the chemical benzene has been discovered in acne products that contain the popular ingredient benzoyl peroxide. Reuters published the results of a test conducted by the United States-based laboratory Valisure, which has since asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to recall the products.

Per PEOPLE, the chemical was discovered in the following products:

• Clearasil
• Clinique
• Target's Up & Up
• Proactiv
• PanOxyl
• Walmart's Equate Beauty acne cream
• Walgreens' acne soap bar

Benzoyl peroxide is used in some acne treatment products because, according to the Cleveland Clinic, it can decrease "inflammation and killing or preventing the growth of bacteria on your skin."

According to PEOPLE, citing Valisure, benzoyl peroxide can create benzene under certain conditions.

"Valisure’s tests on dozens of prescription and over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide products suggest that currently formulated BPO medications are fundamentally unstable and can generate unacceptably high levels of benzene when handled or stored at higher temperatures that the products may be exposed to during handling by consumers," the laboratory wrote, according to PEOPLE. "Benzene can be produced in the product itself and potentially escape into the surrounding air."

The producer of Clearasil, Reckitt, issued a statement to PEOPLE regarding the finding.

"Reckitt is confident that all Clearasil products, when used and stored as directed on their labels, are safe. The safety and quality of our products is our top priority and we work closely with regulators around the world to ensure our products are safe and effective for their intended use. Clearasil products and their ingredients are stable over the storage conditions described on their packaging which represent all reasonable and foreseeable conditions. The findings presented by an independent lab today reflect unrealistic scenarios rather than real-world conditions."

The lab wrote that some products containing benzoyl peroxide are sometimes hundreds of times the conditional FDA limit.

"The benzene we found in sunscreens and other consumer products were impurities that came from contaminated ingredients; however, the benzene in benzoyl peroxide products is coming from the benzoyl peroxide itself, sometimes at hundreds of times the conditional FDA limit. This means the problem broadly affects benzoyl peroxide products, both prescription and over-the-counter, and necessitates urgent action," Valisure Co-Founder and President David Light told the publication.