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Four things to check at home this week: two sunscreen ingredients FDA just ruled out, a 2.3-million-bottle candy recall, fire-spray canisters that can rupture, and a cheese with undeclared egg.

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On September 11 the FDA published a final order removing PABA and trolamine salicylate as sunscreen active ingredients, finding that a sunscreen containing either is not generally recognized as safe and effective. The day before, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced two recalls a household can check in seconds: about 2.3 million Ricky Joy Sour Crush rolling liquid candy bottles, whose rolling ball can detach and choke a child, and about 31,000 Hero Fire Spray canisters, which can deteriorate and rupture — the firm has nine reports of canisters exploding or deteriorating in storage. And Whole Foods Market is recalling Cabricharme cheese sold at 18 stores because it contains an egg protein not declared on the label. What each notice asks you to look for, and what none of them says.

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None of these is a headline. All four are the kind of notice that matters only if the thing is in your house — which is exactly why each one gives you something to look for.

1. Sunscreen: read the active-ingredients panel

On September 11 the FDA published a final order in its sunscreen rulemaking (Docket No. FDA-1978-N-0018). Its purpose, in the notice's words, is "to remove PABA and trolamine salicylate as sunscreen active ingredients."

The finding is direct: "A sunscreen drug product containing PABA or trolamine salicylate is not generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE)." The agency's reason: "the risks associated with use of these active ingredients in sunscreen drug products outweigh the benefits."

What to check: the Active Ingredients box on the label, for aminobenzoic acid (PABA) or trolamine salicylate. Most sunscreens sold today use neither, but a bottle that has sat in a cabinet for years is exactly where an old formula lives.

The order is narrow. "FDA will address the other aspects of proposed order OTC000008 in a future order or orders" — the rest of the sunscreen rulemaking is still to come.

2. Sour Crush rolling candy bottles: take them away from children

The CPSC announced a recall of Ricky Joy Sour Crush Rolling Liquid Candy Bottles — "About 2.3 million" units. The hazard: "The rolling ball on the recalled candy bottles can detach, posing a risk of serious injury or death from choking hazard."

The instruction is unusually blunt: "Consumers should stop using the candy bottles immediately, take them away from children and contact The Ricky Joy Company for a refund." Injuries: "None reported."

3. Hero Fire Spray canisters: stop relying on them

About 31,000 Hero Fire Spray Canisters are recalled because "The recalled fire spray canister can deteriorate overtime, causing it to rupture and fail to operate during a fire, posing the risk of serious injury or death from fire and burn hazards."

This is a safety product that can fail in two directions — explode in storage, or do nothing when you reach for it. The firm "has received nine reports of the fire spray canister exploding or deteriorating while in storage." No injuries are reported. CPSC's notice directs owners to stop using the canisters, request a free replacement from the company, and dispose of the recalled canister as household hazardous waste according to local rules rather than in household trash.

4. Cabricharme cheese: an egg protein not on the label

Whole Foods Market of Austin, Texas "is recalling Fromagerie Coop de Mean Cabricharme cheese because the product contains egg lysozyme, an egg white protein, which is not declared on the product label."

What to check: the store scale label. The recall covers PLU 57953, sold in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, and PLU 54670, sold in California and Arizona — "18 Whole Foods Market stores" in all. "No illnesses have been reported to date."

What is not established

  • The sunscreen order is not a recall. The notice states no compliance date for products already on shelves and does not say whether any product currently sold contains either ingredient.
  • Unit counts and incident reports are the companies' own, carried in the recall announcements. CPSC and FDA publish them; they are not independent counts.
  • No injuries or illnesses are reported in any of the three recalls as of the notices' dates.
  • FDA publishes company recall notices without endorsing the company, and the Whole Foods notice is the company's announcement.

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