TORONTO -- Health Canada is warning Canadians of counterfeit 3M N95 respirators in light of recent seizures of counterfeit products at the Canada-U.S. border.
Since mid-February, the agency has seized close to 330,000 counterfeit 3M-branded N95 respirators from Canadian distributors and detained nearly 365,000 products at the U.S. border, according to a statement from Health Canada.
“Counterfeit health products are imitations of legitimate products,” the statement read. “They lack any assurance of safety, quality and efficacy.”
The knock-off masks that would have been used by first responders are not only illegally made, but Health Canada says they also pose a health risk to those who rely on adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep them safe.
Health Canada has detected three fake versions of the 3M respirator circulating the country, including ones made to appear as Health Care Particulate Respirator and Surgical Mask 1860, 1860S, and 1870+ models.
Despite the masks appearing legitimate, the agency says missing straps, strange odours, blocked valves or misspelled words are key indicators that they are likely not authentic 3M respirators.
Another indicator that the masks are counterfeit is suspicious packaging. Health Canada says they are not meant to be sold individually or without packaging.
“The department takes this issue seriously and will use all available tools to stop these activities, including product seizures and stopping products from entering Canada at the border,” Health Canada said in the statement.
Health Canada said it is working with 3M to identify the source of the counterfeit products and to determine where any may have been distributed or sold in Canada.
