Those employers who are providing staff with face masks during the pandemic should note that it has come to this firm’s attention that a number of masks, made in China, have been falsely accredited as meeting CE Status using forged documents from a Notified Body. These masks are said to meet the FFFP1, 2 or 3 standard.  A Notified Body is a body tasked with ensuring that goods imported into the EU have met the standard for PPE respiratory wear namely EU 2016/4256.

The full details are at this link COVID-19 : suspicious certificates for PPE (eu-esf.org)

Please also note that there have been reports from Belgium and Canada that some masks from China provided to public sector workers have been found to have been made using material that is toxic and potentially harmful to health. If in doubt obtain a toxicology report.