Old Spice, Secret deodorants recalled in Canada after benzene detected

Health Canada has issued a recall on Friday for Old Spice and Secret aerosol deodorants after benzene was detected in them.

The recall involves eight different products from Proctor & Gamble that were packaged in aerosol cans and sold between November 2019 and Nov. 23, 2021. Health Canada said 1.4 million units of the products were sold in the country.

The agency said consumers should “immediately stop using the recalled product and discard them,” and that there are no reports of incidents or injuries related to the products in Canada.

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Benzene is a human carcinogen that can result in cancers such as leukemia and cancer of the bone marrow, as well as blood disorders that can be life-threatening, according to the agency. Exposure can occur through inhalation, orally or through the skin.

Health Canada says that daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in testing is not expected to cause “adverse health consequences,” according to exposure modeling and cancer risk assessments from the U.S.’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Canada’s recall comes three days after the U.S. issued its own recall on Nov. 23 for a larger array of Old Spice and Secret deodorants whose expiry dates run to September 2023.