June 09, 2020
Courtesy/Customs and Border Protection Release
A shipment of 10,000 unapproved face masks was seized in Philadelphia on Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers for violating Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
A shipment of 10,000 unapproved respirator masks were seized in Philadelphia by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers last week.
The KN-95 respirators were manufactured in China and sent to a Philadelphia address via Israel. Officers examining the shipment noticed the masks appeared to be of poor quality and packaging. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration later determined the masks violated federal guidelines.
The FDA has said that KN-95 masks are a suitable alternative that can be used in emergencies to protect against COVID-19, but these masks were not from an approved manufacturer.
KN95 masks differ from N95 respirators, which are recommended for usage by health care workers to protect against the coronavirus. N95 respirators, manufactured in the United States, can withstand a stronger pressure as someone breathes than the Chinese-produced KN95 respirator, an infectious disease expert told The Boston Herald.
The shipment violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibiting the importation of adulterated or misbranded food, drugs, devices, tobacco products or cosmetics.
The shipment was first noticed May 15. Officers in the ports of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Wilmington have continued to find more unapproved COVID-19 related materials.
They include 25 counterfeit COVID-19 test kits and more than 700 medicines including hydroxychloroquine, the controversial malaria drug hailed by President Donald Trump.
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