Mold, insects and stains: a Japanese company removes the masks that are distributed in homes after complaints

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The Japanese company Itochu has announced this Thursday that it will withdraw from the market its cloth masks and will reinforce controls after several reports alerted to defects in these products that the Japanese Government distributed in homes, although it is not known if Itochu products were among the contaminated.

The government's effort to distribute cloth masks in its battle against the coronavirus has been marred by complaints about the presence of mold, insects and stains on products, something that fuels a greater concern of the population about the government's management of the pandemic.

Just a few days after two washable and reusable face masks began to be supplied to each household, with an investment of $ 430 million ( almost 400 million euros ) to contain the virus, the government was forced to replace some face masks as it rose. numerous complaints.

Three manufacturers

The Japanese Ministry of Health has asked three companies, Kowa , Itochu and Matsuoka Corporation to make face masks, but does not know who the defective ones are, according to a Ministry official. "We have asked all three companies to tighten inspections," he said.

Itochu will remove the masks that have not been distributed and will reinforce the inspections with triple controls on all products to respond to the request from the Ministry, the company has said in a statement. Kowa and Matsuoka declined to comment.

Japan already has more than 11,500 cases and nearly 300 deaths from coronavirus . The pandemic has caused a shortage of face masks in Japan, where items made from paper or cloth are common, especially in winter and spring.

Electronics maker Sharp halted online mask sales after overwhelming demand collapsed its website or website shortly after receiving orders on Tuesday. Sharp reported Thursday that it will sell the masks through a lottery to prevent further accidents. The first lottery will be held on April 28.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Coronavirus
• Covid 19
• Masks
• Japan
• Science and health

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