PPE: Six million anti-Covid items seized at Felixstowe port

A report by Suffolk County Council Trading Standards officers said additional checklists had been created to identify unsuitable face masks and other PPE items

Six million pieces of unsafe personnel protection equipment (PPE) have been seized at a port by trading standards officers.

In total, 11 million goods were examined at Felixstowe in Suffolk between 1 April and 30 September.

Suffolk County Council said 5.9 million products failed to comply with UK safety standards, which was more than half the items checked.

It found nearly all hand sanitiser consignments did not comply.

Felixstowe welcomes about 3,000 ships every year and is the UK's busiest container port, it said

Suffolk Trading Standards said while some face masks were repurposed, the KN95 variety are illegal and have been destroyed

A report by the council's Suffolk Trading Standards department found that 400 different product types came through the port and 10.9 million items were PPE, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Some 102 consignments were checked and findings showed 90% of the hand sanitiser, 80% of gloves and 63% of face mask batches all failed standards.

A Trading Standards spokesman said: "19% of the hand sanitisers failed on efficacy.

"For those that passed efficacy testing, but were non-compliant on labelling, the team worked hard to ensure that where possible these were brought into compliance and relabelled under the supervision of local Trading Standards authorities, or other agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive.

"Over 2.6 million face masks were repurposed as general face coverings, so they were not wasted."

Many of the hand sanitiser bottles were relabelled

Other unsafe items that came into the port included inflatable swim seats, giant teddy bears, baby wrist bells that were a choking hazard, maternity pillows, booster seats, baby strollers and hair straighteners and chargers.

"The work of the team is critically important in ensuring the safety of all consumers, not only in Suffolk but across the entire UK," the report said.

Trading standards confirmed none of the PPE items seized had been ordered by the NHS of government.