3M launches Verify app for PPE authentication

3M reported it has established its Verify app to help companies ensure their personal protective equipment is authentic.

“When it comes to personal protective equipment, or PPE, there’s no place for fraud or counterfeit,” said the company.

The app helps validate a disposable respirator carton in real time, said the firm, by using advanced technology to identify a barcode 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 an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is,” said Cassie Jacobson, director, 3M personal safety division.

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; and, 
• 3M Aura particulate respirator 9332+, FFP3.

Counterfeit products can pose serious risks to workers as they may not be tested or approved in the same way as authentic 3M products.

This move continues the efforts against PPE counterfeiting that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic, said 3M.

Protecting the health and safety of workers across industries and work environments is one of 3M’s passions, said the company.