A tanning salon frequented by the infamous New Jersey tanning mom is in the hot seat for allegedly letting a customer tan too often.
The City Tropics Salon in Nutley, New Jersey was fined $5200. Authorities say the fine was mostly for allowing a single, unidentified customer to get an excessive amount of tans beyond FDA guidelines. The fine was also for paperwork involving staff training and the size of the warning signs, according to officials.
But the New Jersey Indoor Tanning Association called NBC10 on Tuesday to say the state is misinterpreting the law and has fined the salon for breaking a rule that doesn't even exist. Their statement goes on to say:
New Jersey’s Department of Health this week issued a fine to a tanning salon for breaking a rule that does not exist -- allowing a client with an established suntan more than one indoor tanning session a week. In fact, New Jersey regulations are based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended exposure schedules which only address exposure times in an individual daily tanning session to prevent sunburn. This is an issue FDA and other states have already reconciled.
This incorrect interpretation of the guideline is akin to the State fining New Jersey’s beach towns for allowing people to come to the beach both days of the weekend, which would result in a significantly higher exposure than one receives in a single non-burning sun bed visit.
An employee for City Tropics told NBC10 they plan on asking for a hearing to fight the fine and deny the Health Department's allegations against them.
City Tropics first made headlines after 44-year-old Patricia Krentcil was accused of taking her 6-year-old daughter, who was 5 at the time, into a tanning booth at the salon back in April. It’s against New Jersey law for anyone under 14 to use a tanning booth. Krentcil has denied the charges and claims her daughter’s burn came from the sun on an unusually warm day.
NJ.com reports the salon’s fine is unrelated to Krentcil. Instead it’s a result of an inspection on May 14. The City Tropics employee also told NBC10 Krentcil has not visited the salon since the accusations against her were made.
