José Neves has verified that most of the masks available on the market and that call themselves surgical masks or protective masks, are in fact hygiene masks and whose antibacterial filtration is unknown. These masks are being sold at lower prices and can confuse consumers, as they are identical in appearance to surgical masks and protective masks.

Surgical masks must always comply with the EN14683 standard, to guarantee their effectiveness in bacterial filtration. In the case of KN95 protective masks, equivalent to an FFP2 mask, comply with the EN149 standard, have a better fit than a surgical mask and have an antibacterial filtration > 95%. Type I surgical masks have an antibacterial filtration > 95%. Type II surgical masks have an antibacterial filtration > 98%. Type IIR surgical masks have an antibacterial filtration > 98% and protect against splashes. Hygiene masks are not subjected to certified tests in order to verify their antibacterial effectiveness and as such are not approved by Infarmed.

Therefore, we alert all our Clients and the population in general, to be aware of the type of masks they buy, because with health we cannot risk it.

At José Neves we have in stock disposable and reusable masks, duly certified by several Institutions, which prove the effectiveness of antibacterial filtration.

Credits: Photo by Vera Davidova on Unsplash.