Millions of unsafe Covid-19 PPE seized in Suffolk
Suffolk Trading Standards examined over 11 million products at the Port of Felixstowe between April and September
Between 1st April and 30th September, Suffolk Trading Standards Import Surveillance Team examined over 11 million products, over 10.9 million of which were Covid-19 related.
Out of those products, almost six million were found to be unsafe or non-compliant, including 63% of face masks, 80% of gloves and 90% of hand sanitiser products.
While there is now less coronavirus-related PPE products coming to the Port of Felixstowe, inspectors continue to be "very busy" examining other goods.
During the same period, over 213,000 consumer goods such as e-bikes, toys, beauty items and household electricals were examined, with 139,668 failing to comply with UK safety laws.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Trading Standards said: "19% of the hand sanitisers which were tested failed on efficacy. For those that passed efficacy testing, but were non-compliant on labelling, the team worked to ensure that where possible these were brought into compliance and re-labelled under the supervision of local Trading Standards authorities, or other agencies such as the Health & Safety Executive.
"Over 2.6 million of the face masks were re-purposed as general face coverings, so they were not wasted."