Recently, there has been a continuous outbreak of new pneumonia in foreign countries, and the demand for masks and other epidemic prevention materials has increased greatly. Due to the different standards of various countries, cases in which non-medical masks exported by China are misused for medical treatment have occurred frequently. On March 31, the Ministry of Commerce, together with the General Administration of Customs and the Food and Drug Administration, issued the "Announcement on the Orderly Development of Export of Medical Materials" (No. 5 of 2020), requiring that the export of 5 types of products such as medical masks must obtain the relevant qualifications of the drug regulatory department , In line with the quality standards of the importing country (region). So, how to distinguish medical and non-medical masks quickly and accurately? Let's understand.

1. Basic classification and subdivision of masks
Masks can be divided into two categories: medical / non-medical. As the name implies, medical masks are mainly used for medical protection, which can be subdivided into three types: medical protective masks, medical surgical masks, and disposable medical masks; non-medical masks are also called personal protective masks. Divided into two kinds of anti-particles and daily protection. Masks for different purposes have different technical requirements and different scopes of application.

The main mask categories in China:
2. Use appearance and packaging information to distinguish medical / non-medical masks
Distinguish by mask structure
Resolved by the filter valve. Masks with filter valves are generally not medical masks. For example, Article 4.3 of the Chinese Medical Protective Mask Standard GB 19803-2010 clearly states that “masks should not have an exhalation valve”. This can prevent droplets, microorganisms, etc. from exhaling through the exhalation valve, thereby harming others. Civil masks are allowed to have an exhalation valve. The exhalation valve can reduce the exhalation resistance, which is beneficial for the operator to work for a long time.

Identify by the information on the outer packaging
The minimum unit package of mask products sold through formal channels should have information such as the name of the product, the standards implemented and the level of protection. The information expressed by these merchants can be used as a distinguishing point. For example, if the product name contains "surgical" and "Medical", it can generally be judged as a medical mask.