This is how the Antitrust Authority unmasked the U-Masks
Antitrust fine of 450 thousand euros to U-Earth Biotech and Pure Air Zone Italy, the companies that produce U-Mask masks. All the details
Big bill for U-Earth Biotech and Pure Air Zone Italy companies. The companies that produce the U-Mask will have to pay 450 thousand euros, as decided by the Antitrust.
At the end of January, the Milan Public Prosecutor had ordered the seizure of the U-Masks to carry out analyzes on their effective filtering capacity. The investigation, as Start Magazine wrote , had started from "a complaint from a competing company, which also attached to the complaint the laboratory analyzes that would prove that the filtering capacity of the biotech mask with the filter lasting 150-200 hours it would actually be 70-80% compared to 98-99% officially declared ”.
THE REASONS FOR THE FIN
According to the Antitrust Authority (Agcm), the companies U-Earth Biotech Ltd. and Pure Air Zone Italy srl have wrongly equated the U-Mask with FFP3 devices, as well as boasting a non-existent approval from of the Ministry of Health.
THE BUFFALOUS OF THE TWO COMPANIES
For over a year, according to the Antitrust website , U-Earth Biotech and Pure Air Zone Italy have promoted U-Mask biotech surgical masks on the internet, equating them unduly to devices of superior protective efficacy, such as FFP2.
They even attributed virucidal properties and a duration of 200 hours certified on the basis of tests carried out independently. Characteristics, writes the Agcm in the press release, "not duly proven".
Furthermore, until the end of February 2021, the general contract conditions were available only in English and a non-existent approval of the mask was claimed by the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health.
DECEPTIVE AND AGGRESSIVE MODES
According to the Authority, what has been described is "a practice carried out in a deceptive and aggressive manner, as they are likely, on the one hand, to deceive consumers about the effective protective capacity of the mask, endangering their health and, from 'other, to leverage the health emergency situation to unduly induce the latter to purchase the product ”.
THE SENTENCE
Considering the severity and duration of the violations of the Consumer Code and also the high number of consumers involved due to the use of the internet, the Antitrust has fined U-Earth Biotech Ltd. and Pure Air Zone Italy Srl with an administrative sanction equal to 400,000 euros for unfair commercial practice and another of 50,000 euros for unlawful conduct relating to consumer rights in contracts.
WHO ARE U-EARTH BIOTECH AND PURE AIR ZONE ITALY
The startup U-Earth, as reported by Start Magazine , was founded by Betta Maggio.
Born in Italy, she was then transferred to London. The innovative company is active in the development, production and marketing of unique biotechnologies for the decontamination and treatment of air, water and soil in medical, industrial and commercial applications. With the onset of the pandemic, it began producing over 20,000 masks a day in Italy.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/ecco-come-antitrust-ha-smascherato-le-u-mask/ on Fri, 22 Oct 2021 11:26:22 +0000.