Masks can be divided into medical/non-medical categories.
Medical masks are mainly used for medical protection, which can be subdivided into three types: medical protection, medical surgery and disposable medical treatment.
Medical masks and non-medical masks can be visually distinguished from each other in appearance.
The most intuitive way to distinguish between medical masks and non-medical masks is through the structure of masks. First of all, it can be distinguished by the filter valve. The mask with the filter valve is generally not a medical mask. For example, Article 4.3 of the standard GB 19803-20 10 of China Medical Protective Mask clearly stipulates that "the mask should not have an exhalation valve" to prevent droplets and microorganisms from exhaling through the exhalation valve and endangering others.
However, civil masks are allowed to have exhalation valves, which can reduce exhalation resistance and facilitate workers to work for a long time. In addition, mask products sold through formal channels can also be distinguished by the information on the outer packaging. According to the regulations, the minimum unit packaging of masks should have information such as product name, implementation standard and protection level. The information expressed by these businesses can be used as a distinguishing point. For example, the product name has the words "medical" or "surgical" and "medical" in English, which can generally be judged as a medical mask.
There are three standards for medical masks in China.
Non-medical masks exported to the EU do not belong to medical devices, but they must meet the requirements of EU personal protective equipment regulation EU20 16/425(PPE). CE certification will be issued by an authorized announcement agency, and the corresponding standard is EN 149. Both medical and non-medical masks exported to the EU need CE mark, but the applicable standards are different. Medical masks belong to a class of devices in the European Union, which can be divided into non-sterile devices and sterile devices. CE mark shall be affixed according to EU Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC(MDD) or EU Medical Device Regulation EU20 17/745(MDR), and the corresponding standard is EN 14683. The masks exported to the European Union have the above contents on their outer packaging, test reports and certificates.
There are three standards for medical masks, namely GB 19083-20 10, YY 0469-201and YY/T 0969-20 13. These three standard masks can all be judged as medical masks.