3M launches new Verify app to help tackle counterfeit personal protective equipment

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 3, 2024

Protecting the health and safety of workers across industries and work environments is one of 3M's passions. We understand the importance of keeping workers safe and protected, and we recognize the value of being certain that PPE is genuine. Counterfeit products can pose serious risks to workers as they may not be tested or approved in the same way as authentic 3M products. Instead they are made by fraudsters using unknown processes and materials without quality control. Depending on the type of product, using a counterfeit product could put a person's safety at risk.

Continuing the efforts against PPE counterfeiting that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic, 3M has established the new 3M™ Verify app to help companies ensure their PPE is authentic. The app helps validate a disposable respirator carton in real time by using advanced technology to identify a bar code and determine if a product package is genuine. A genuine result provides a high degree of certainty that you have an authentic 3M™ Disposable Respirator. An inconclusive result means that the package is either not recognized or a potential counterfeit. If you receive an inconclusive result, the app will help you contact 3M directly for further investigation.

The app is currently available for the following products:

• 3M™ Health Care Particulate Respirators and Surgical Masks, 1860 & 1860S, N95
• 3M™ Particulate Respirator 8210, N95 -- excluding the consumer packout version of this product
• 3M™ Aura™ Particulate Respirator 9330+, FFP3
• 3M™ Aura™ Particulate Respirator 9332+, FFP3

You can download the 3M™ Verify app in Apple's App Store. The app will be available on Google Play at a later date.

"If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is," said Cassie Jacobson, director, 3M Personal Safety Division. "The 3M Verify app will enable customers to be confident their disposable respirators are genuine and working to keep them safe and protected."