1,600 ‘unsafe’ masks seized across Notts
PRODUCTS DESCRIBED AS ‘PROTECTIVE’ DID NOT MEET ESSENTIAL REQUIRMENTS
HUNDREDS of PPE items have been seized by trading standards officials in Nottinghamshire during routine checks across the county.
These include masks claiming to be of surgical standard while failing to meet EU guidance, as well as false advertisement on levels of protection.
In total, more than 1,600 items were either seized or sent for repackaging by Trading Standards officials during checks in the county, including in Mansfield, Newark and Gedling.
In some circumstances, the masks were seized to protect consumers from being “misled” into believing they are getting heightened levels of protection.
The majority of the face masks which were seized came during 12 separate checks in Mansfield, with 1,000 masks described as being suitable for care homes and hospitals despite not meeting “essential safety requirements”.
A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire County Council’s trading standards department said: “These masks were described in store as ‘surgical face masks’ and there was an offer to ‘post directly to care homes and hospitals’.
“These claims were not true as the products did not meet the essential safety requirements for medical devices, they could not be used in this setting and could not be described as surgical.
“There was also advertising on the premises claiming that the products were ‘EU Approved’, which was not true and therefore misleading to consumers.
“The labelling on the product also didn’t provide name and address details identifying the manufacturer or importer in the EU.”
A further 600 items were seized across Gedling and Newark - 400 and 200 respectively - for falsely claiming to be at a high standard of protection.
These masks were KN95 masks - a performance rating in Chinese standards which is “broadly the same” for high European standards of FFP2 face masks.
FFP2 masks are of a higher protective standard than general disposable masks, however, Nottinghamshire County Council say the Chinese version has no “independent certification or assurance of their quality”.
This means they cannot be advertised as ‘personal protective equipment’, and council officials say they are usually accompanied by “fraudulent” paperwork.
The council spokesperson added: “[We seized] a substantial number of face masks claiming to be of KN95 standards, which provide an inadequate level of protection and are likely to be poor quality products - accompanied by fake or fraudulent paperwork.
“There is no independent certification or assurance of their quality, and products manufactured to KN95 rating are only declared as compliant by the manufacturer.
“KN95S cannot be sold as PPE in the UK. There cannot be any ‘KN95’ embossed/printed on the mask either as that could mislead consumers.
“In Newark we also seized masks labelled as “protective” but were not PPE, which again could mislead consumers into believing they are getting a level of protection which is not there.
“The product also did not include information of the manufacturer or importer in the EU on the pack.”
When asked about what to look for when buying a mask, a trading standards spokesperson previously said: “As with any product we’d advise to buy from a reputable trader, so at least then people have some trust in that product.”