Purpose:
This document is only a guide to provide a basic due diligence toolkit for gathering relevant background on suppliers/vendors selling personal protective equipment (PPE).
How to Use This Document:
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This document contains links to verify factories of origin and products with the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control).
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It also lists standard categories of information you should expect to receive from suppliers or factories.
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In the vast majority of cases, most fraudulent sellers will not be able to provide you with this information. A sophisticated few will counterfeit legitimate documents and present it as valid.
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This was written for sourcing N95s.However, it can be applied to guide the overall approach to KN95s and other PPE.
How NOT to Use This Document:
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This document is not an instruction manual or a checklist for authenticating PPE. That can only be done by industry professionals and validated by a lab filtration test
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This is not a fully comprehensive or foolproof checklist. Checking information against the FDA and NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) registries will give a higher degree of confidence that the factories and products presented to you are legitimate
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It is NOT a guarantee the products being offered are authentic
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Counterfeiting is rampant. Buyer beware!