The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved bemotrizinol, a sunscreen active ingredient long used in Europe and parts of Asia, marking the first addition of a new sunscreen ingredient in more than two decades. Multiple outlets report that the FDA expanded its list of permitted sunscreen active ingredients by adding bemotrizinol, which provides protection against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. The FDA says the ingredient meets its standards for effective UV protection while causing little irritation and having low levels of absorption through the skin into the body. The approval is described as the first such update since the late 1990s or, depending on the comparison used, the first since the late 1990s or early 2000s and the first in roughly a quarter century. Some reporting notes bemotrizinol was authorized by European regulators in 1999 and that it was first submitted to the FDA for review in the mid-2000s. Other accounts emphasize that it is approved for use in over-the-counter sunscreen products and is available to adults and children, according to FDA and outlet summaries.