The FDA said Oct. 29 it is investigating certain medical gloves imported to the U.S. and is advising healthcare facilities not to purchase or use imported gloves from companies it has placed on import alert.
Companies on the import alert list have products that appear to be in violation of the FDA's laws and regulations and that create potential risk to healthcare professionals and patients.
The agency is also asking providers to report if they have purchased gloves that are visibly soiled, a different color than they were supposed to be, appear to have been used or otherwise seem fraudulent.
The move comes after CNN reported Oct. 25 that tens of millions of fake, secondhand nitrile gloves have been imported to the U.S. during the pandemic. U.S. Customs and Border Protection told CNN it has seized about 40 million counterfeit masks and hundreds of thousands of other counterfeit personal protective equipment, and some of the gloves were visibly soiled.