More stories are emerging of people being left "red raw" despite using popular sunscreen products, prompting calls from a leading public health advocate for a review of the way Australia regulates sunscreens.

Key points: More people have come forward with cases of severe burns after using certain sunscreens

More people have come forward with cases of severe burns after using certain sunscreens It's prompted calls for the TGA to review the way it tests the adequacy of sunscreens

It's prompted calls for the TGA to review the way it tests the adequacy of sunscreens The Cancer Council says it has confidence in the current testing process

Scores of people have reported having their skin scorched while using Banana Boat sunscreen and Cancer Council's Peppa Pig-branded product.

Michael Moore, chief executive of the Public Health Association of Australia, said the reports were extremely concerning.

He said it was time for the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) — Australia's sunscreen regulator — to examine its processes to make sure sunscreens were being adequately tested before going on the market.

"We can see there are problems, it does point to an inadequate system with the TGA and I think it requires the TGA themselves to look at what they're doing," he told the ABC.

"If that doesn't work, well I think it will be time for an independent review.

"They need to review what has been done and check that they're not just testing sunscreens that are given to them deliberately, rather than looking more broadly."

Mr Moore, who is also the president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, said there was a risk that the public could lose confidence in the use of sunscreen.

"Sunscreen is incredibly important, of course covering up in the first place is even more important, but I think we have to make sure we retain the confidence of how important it is to use sunscreens," he said.

"Remember this is a very small percentage of cases, but we still have to make sure the system is working properly."

A spokeswoman for the TGA said it does test sunscreens in its laboratories.

"It should be emphasised that TGA also collects random samples of sunscreens from the market (pharmacies etc) than 'typical' fresh samples as the samples from the market reflect what is being applied to people and also enables to look at stability if we need to," the spokeswoman said.

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But Professor Sanchia Aranda from Cancer Council Australia said she had confidence in the current system.

"The TGA requires of the manufacturing laboratory to undertake a number of tests, which includes the individual ingredients and then the formula for its water resistance, its SPF," she said.

"While the TGA don't specifically audit the laboratories for formulas, they do audit the goods manufacturing process that's laid down for those things to be done."

The Health Minister Greg Hunt did not respond to requests for comment.

Call for a global standard on testing

The director of the only company carrying out independent laboratory testing of sunscreen in Australia wants an overhaul of international testing standards.

John Staton runs Dermatest, a Sydney laboratory which tests the SPF factor of sunscreens.

He said the problem is that many sunscreens sold in Australia are tested in the United States and Europe.

"Sunscreens should have been tested to be on the market, they don't have to be tested in Australia, they (just) have to be tested to the Australian standard," he told the ABC.

"Nowhere in the world are there audits of the labs that do the testing."

He said his company has tested about half of the sunscreens that are on the market in Australia, while the other half would have been tested overseas.

"That's a bit of a concern that I have because I've recently reported to the international arena, to ISO, who have a harmonised standard for sunscreens, that we need to improve so that we know that those instruments are actually being calibrated.

"The TGA as far as I know doesn't test anything, they actually rely on submissions that are put to them and they can do analytical testing but that's a bit different to actually testing if the product really works in the marketplace as used by consumers."

The TGA spokeswoman said the TGA does require "sponsors" to undertake SPF testing for sunscreens.

"But because of the highly specialised nature of the testing the TGA does not do it in-house," the spokeswoman said.

"All testing is done under an international ISO standard, so it is wrong to say something like 'not calibrated to Australia's harsh UV conditions' — an SPF 50+ measurement is the same globally under the ISO standard."

Professor Sanchia Aranda said while the current standard does not regulate the radiation level of machines, it does use a range of radiation that covers off on Australian conditions.

"While there can always be improvements in the system, because it's not actually testing for conditions where the UV maximum level is eight, it is going higher than that so it will be suitable for Australian conditions."

'We both looked like lobsters'

University graduate and hospitality worker Emma was badly burnt three weeks ago, after using the Banana Boat SPF 50+ Sport cream on her feet.

"[It was] immensely painful, my feet swelled up to twice their size, they were red and raw and I couldn't move," she told the ABC.

Hunter's mother used the Cancer Council's Peppa Pig sunscreen on her son. ( Supplied )

Mother Emma Fryer said her son Hunter was burnt while using the Cancer Council's Peppa Pig sunscreen.

"That day he was out on the water most of the day from 10am until 6pm, even though it was an overcast day every three hours I kept re-applying the sunscreen.

"By the time he had finished in the water around 6pm he was complaining he felt like he was burning, he did look red but nothing too extreme.

"Hunter had then fallen asleep, two hours later he awoke in tears, by this time he was red raw."

Richard Gourlay and his wife were also badly burnt using Banana Boat sunscreen in November last year.

"We both looked like lobsters," Mr Gourlay said.

"We could both hardly sleep the next couple of nights they were that bad, which did ruin the first few days of our honeymoon as we were basically forced to stay in our hotel room such was the discomfort."