Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mask-filtration-standards-marketplace-1.5974442
Is your N95-style mask failing you? Lab tests show some falling way short of filtration standards
Experts say avoid resellers and consider the FDA logo a red flag
Tiffany Foxcroft, Menna Elnaka, Asha Tomlinson ? CBC News ? Posted: Apr 02, 2021 7:55 PM ET | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
As more dangerous variants of the coronavirus spread, many Canadians are looking to upgrade their mask.
That has some people reaching for N95-style respirators that promise to filter at least 95 per cent of airborne particles.
When shopping online and in stores, consumers are most likely to find the international equivalents of the coveted N95, as these masks are still generally not available in stores.
The imported equivalents include the KN95 respirator, which meets the Chinese standard of 95 per cent filtration efficiency and the KF94, which meets the Korean standard of 94 per cent filtration efficiency.
However, as demand for these masks has grown, so has the presence of counterfeits and poor-quality respirators in Canadian stores.
To find out how much Canadians can trust what they're buying, CBC's Marketplace tested 14 KN95 and KF94 respirator brands purchased from Amazon and big box stores.
Three masks from each brand were tested at a lab at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health to see if they meet their filtration efficiency claims. Half failed...
Is your N95-style mask failing you? Lab tests show some falling way short of filtration standards
Experts say avoid resellers and consider the FDA logo a red flag
Tiffany Foxcroft, Menna Elnaka, Asha Tomlinson ? CBC News ? Posted: Apr 02, 2021 7:55 PM ET | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
As more dangerous variants of the coronavirus spread, many Canadians are looking to upgrade their mask.
That has some people reaching for N95-style respirators that promise to filter at least 95 per cent of airborne particles.
When shopping online and in stores, consumers are most likely to find the international equivalents of the coveted N95, as these masks are still generally not available in stores.
The imported equivalents include the KN95 respirator, which meets the Chinese standard of 95 per cent filtration efficiency and the KF94, which meets the Korean standard of 94 per cent filtration efficiency.
However, as demand for these masks has grown, so has the presence of counterfeits and poor-quality respirators in Canadian stores.
To find out how much Canadians can trust what they're buying, CBC's Marketplace tested 14 KN95 and KF94 respirator brands purchased from Amazon and big box stores.
Three masks from each brand were tested at a lab at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health to see if they meet their filtration efficiency claims. Half failed...