Australia sunscreen scandal grows as more products pulled off shelves

The scandal has prompted a massive backlash in the world's biggest skin cancer hotspot.

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Analysis by a consumer advocacy group in June found several popular and expensive sunscreens did not provide the protection claimed by their makers.

One product, Ultra Violette's Lean Screen Skinscreen, is supposed to offer a skin protection factor (SPF) of 50+ but instead returned a result of SPF 4 and was voluntarily recalled in August.

An investigation by the medicines regulator has now warned about 20 more sunscreens from other brands, which share the same base formula, and raised "significant concerns" about a testing laboratory.

"The preliminary testing indicates that this base formulation is unlikely to have an SPF greater than 21," the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said in an update, adding that for some of the goods the SPF rating may be as low as four.