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Keira Huang

About 120,000 fake face masks have been seized in Shanghai and investigators fear some may have been sold overseas, according to a news report.
The goods were copies of Chinese-made masks designed by the US-based conglomerate 3M, the China News Service reported.
READ MORE: Beijing under red alert for smog - and it’s going to get worse before it gets better
The counterfeit 3M N95 masks were poorly made and all have been destroyed, the report said.
3M was quoted as saying the fakes were made of low quality materials and could pose a threat to health as their filters would do little to keep out air pollutants.
The seizures were made as part of an ongoing campaign against counterfeit goods, the report said.
Suspects allegedly involved in the operation have been detained.
It is not clear if any of the fake masks were put on sale overseas, the report said.
READ MORE: Beijing’s smog clouds forming again as outdoor school activities cancelled
3M sells many of its Chinese-made masks in Africa.
Much of China has been shrouded in smog over the past week, but the report did not suggest that any of the fake face masks had been sold on the mainland.


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In choking pollution scare, 120,000 fake face masks seized in China 

Women wear masks in Beijing amid a heavy smog. Photos: AP

In this Dec. 1, 2015 photo, a woman wears a mask to protect herself from pollutants near Tiananmen Gate on a heavily polluted day in Beijing. Episodes of nauseating smog lasting several days has become part of wintertime in the Chinese capital, and for many Beijing residents face masks have become a routine cold-weather accessory, along with hats and gloves. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

A file picture of a woman wearing a face mask during heavy smog in Beijing. The authorities fear some fake masks may have been sold overseas. There was no suggestion in the report that some were sold in China. Photo: AP

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Low quality masks could pose threat to health 
