Corona pandemic and counterfeit respirators
Especially at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, a conspicuous number of offers for respiratory masks were called. All these offers, which were usually spread very aggressively over the net or by e-mail, did not comply in any way with the CE standard EN 149 (FFP2 and FFP3 masks). As aggressively as the counterfeits, most of which were sold via the Internet, were pushed onto the market, the incorrectly labeled masks for the specialist trade were obvious.
The counterfeits or falsely labeled masks, usually offered by completely inexperienced "soldiers of fortune", had only the goal of making fraudulent profit from the misery of the users. A very special situation was communicated to us by a cooperation partner, who received the "certificate" as FFP2 or FFP3 for masks with felt-tip pens. After the introduction of the mask requirement in retail, among other places, many uncertified DIY or everyday masks were brought onto the market. This resulted in a relief in the demand for certified respiratory protection (FFP masks), and yet no real improvement in the fraudulent offers.
It is a fact that these soldiers of fortune of all stripes have gone to work here with all kinds of fraudulent tricks, to the detriment of professional users and to the detriment of health. Look at their websites (if any): outside the industry, no expertise, no expertise.
Corona: Beware of non-certified examination gloves
Now to the current market situation of disposable gloves (synonymous with disposable gloves, examination gloves). Since the demand for these protective gloves has also increased extremely due to the Corona pandemic, all types of outright fraudsters and counterfeiters are also bustling around here.
The recommendation of the protection professionals is very clear: buy certified disposable gloves only from a specialist dealer who can also advise you professionally. The specialist dealer can provide original CE certificates and declarations of conformity.
Quality products are recommended from brand manufacturers such as Ansell or the Austrian company Semperit. Semperit disposable gloves and examination gloves are manufactured in Austria, China and Malaysia. We have not yet had a forged certificate in our hands for Semperit gloves. The situation is different with many other suppliers and manufacturers of disposable gloves (sometimes "no-name" products). Warnings about fake certificates, for example, have already been issued several times by the manufacturer Top-Glove.
Semperit is a member of the Association of Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers (MARGMA) through its own Malaysian production company.
The MARGMA explicitly warns against fake certificates and all kinds of "fakes" and fraud. MARGMA members have produced 53 billion gloves in the first 3 months of this year, and yet production is not enough to meet the world's total demand. For 2020, MARGMA expects to deliver 220 billion of the 330 billion demand. Since the total demand is greater than the supply, the door is open to counterfeit goods from other sources with fake certificates for fraudsters.
Identify forged certificates
A good source for identifying fake certificates is also the website of the European Safety Federation. If you receive a certificate from outside the EU, it is almost certainly suspicious and therefore possibly illegal. The incentive for fraudsters is too great as a result of the increased prices. Forged certificates can of course also affect all EU "notified bodies". No "notified body" is immune to such fraud. In case of suspicion, the only thing that helps here is to ask the certifier or the certified body itself.
The above statements suggest that disposable gloves with forged certificates pose a very high risk to the user. He should avoid falling for such fraud and endangering himself and his own employees by being vigilant.
Fake examination gloves are unsafe! Hands off!
Buy personal protective equipment only from trusted occupational safety dealers. This is about your health! A good source for identifying fake certificates is also the website of the European Safety Federation.