Is the price of the mask an indicator of quality?
If getting it is no longer a problem today, that's another story on the wallet side.
One of our articles this summer revealed that it could cost up to 228 € per month for a family of four at the time.
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To find out if the cost had a relation to the effectiveness of the masks, we bought three boxes of 50 so-called “surgical” masks in three different places to have them tested in a specialized laboratory.
The first box, bought in a pharmacy in the 16th arrondissement of Paris cost us 24.50 euros, the second, bought in a large Parisian supermarket, 16.90 euros, and the third, bought on the Kremlin-Bicêtre market (Val -de-Marne) only cost us 5 euros.
Four criteria for judging effectiveness
To check if these masks are effective, head to the Icare laboratory, in Saint-Beauzire, in Puys-de-Dôme.
The latter is recognized by the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products) for the certification of surgical masks.
"To test the effectiveness of a mask, the laboratory is based on 4 fundamental criteria", explains Christian Poinsot, CEO and scientific director of the laboratory.
The effectiveness of bacterial filtration, which consists in checking that the mask forms a barrier to the particles that we breathe and that we exhale to avoid any contamination.
Breathability, which consists of checking the ease of breathing when wearing the mask
Microbial cleanliness verifies that there is no pathogenic organism on the masks.
And the three biocompatibility tests, which consist in verifying that the mask will not cause allergies on contact with the skin.
For a mask to be compliant, the first three tests must be passed.
If one of these obligations is not fulfilled, the mask is then considered "not for medical use".
On the day of our visit to Icare, we will only obtain the results of the breathability test.
For the rest of the results, we will have to wait a few days: “The masks bought in pharmacies are not at all compliant from a breathability point of view, by far!
», Indicates Christian Poinsot.
“This mask is unfit for use, because we will breathe badly.
Someone who wears this mask for more than 4 hours may not be well at the end of the day ”.
The same goes for the box of masks at 16.90 euros bought in a supermarket which is not compliant for medical use.
On the other hand, to our surprise: "The mask bought on the market is very effective, but be careful, maybe it does not filter at all", nuance Christian Poinsot.
Masks on the market, more effective than those from the pharmacy
It is remotely and a week later that the laboratory transmits the final result to us, and the constant is final: only the mask box purchased at 5 euros on the market conforms in every way: "On all the criteria that we have seen, this mask is 100% compliant ”, indicates the boss of the lab.
Test results, masks purchased on the market are more effective than those purchased in pharmacies and supermarkets.
Theodora Fragiadakis
“On the other hand, the three masks have super filtration efficiency.
Good quality surgical masks must filter more than 98%, these masks are almost 100% ”, continues the scientific director.
But breathability being poor, masks purchased in pharmacies and supermarkets are not considered "compliant".
“Poor breathability will encourage users to take it off more often, so the mask will not be effective.
"
"Price is not an indicator of quality"
For Christian Poinsot, “the price is not an indicator of quality.
"And for good reason, the laboratory has tested hundreds of surgical masks, some from platforms like Ali Express which have proven their effectiveness.
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Based on these results, we wanted to know a little more about the origin of the box of masks at 5 euros.
With the new confinement, only food stalls can set up in the Kremlin-Bicêtre market.
It was therefore impossible to find our exhibitor in person who sold these masks on his leather goods stand.
It was finally by phone that we were able to talk to him.
" It's incredible !
Ali rejoices upon the announcement of our results.
"I'm surprised because on the box it says they are
non-medical
."
This trader, who can no longer exercise his activity because of the confinement, tells us that these boxes were bought from wholesalers in Aubervilliers.
“Softened” standards due to the pandemic
However, if the masks bought in pharmacies and supermarkets are not 100% effective because of breathability, they are sold legally.
We contacted the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control, which provided us with the following information: “Surgical masks meet European health and safety requirements which are verified by the NF EN 14 standard. 683 or by foreign standards recognized as equivalent.
[…] But the interministerial instruction of June 9 also provides for two specific cases of masks that can be made available on the national market for the general public because they present a satisfactory level of protection for
barrier
masks
”.
In summary, protective mask standards have been relaxed for this period of epidemic crisis linked to the coronavirus: “Some masks do not comply with breathability requirements and others have labeling non-conformities.
These were tolerated in the context of dispensation in terms of labeling and instructions, the products in question effectively ensuring their protective function ”, concludes our counterpart for the repression of fraud.
We checked and the two boxes which failed the laboratory test do indeed meet the standards indicated by the officials of the DGCCRF.
VIDEO. Boxes of masks at 5 € more effective than those at 25?