The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the arrival of banned and non-compliant goods, especially face masks, in the European Union - Ministry of Finance, Customs Administraton published. In many cases, these are also infringements of intellectual property rights in relation to face masks.

Counterfeit respirators are products that are falsely marketed and sold as being NIOSH-approved (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) and may not be capable of providing appropriate respiratory protection to workers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is how to identify a NIOSH-approved respirator:

NIOSH-approved respirators have an approval label on or within the packaging of the respirator (i.e. on the box itself and/or within the users’ instructions). Additionally, an abbreviated approval is on the FFR itself. You can verify the approval number on the NIOSH Certified Equipment List (CEL) or the NIOSH Trusted-Source page to determine if the respirator has been approved by NIOSH. NIOSH-approved FFRs will always have one the following designations: N95, N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, P100.

Signs that a respirator may be counterfeit:

-No markings at all on the filtering facepiece respirator
-No approval (TC) number on filtering facepiece respirator or headband
-No NIOSH markings
-NIOSH spelled incorrectly
-Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons (e.g., sequins)
-Claims for the of approval for children (NIOSH does not approve any type of respiratory protection for children)
-Filtering facepiece respirator has ear loops instead of headbands