CBP Rochester seizes counterfeit COVID-19 test kits

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the recent inspection of express-consignment shipments at the Rochester New York Airport yielded seizure of counterfeit COVID-19 test kits.

“I’m proud of the continued efforts of our CBP officers here in Rochester,” Rochester Port Director Ronald Menz said. “They work day in and day out to protect our community and prevent illicit items, like these test kits, from entering where they could cause harm or give false results.”

Officers conducting express-consignment shipment inspections selected a package for further examination. It was discovered the 25 COVID-19 test kits had not received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval upon secondary inspection.

Since March, CBP officers at the Rochester Airport have discovered more than 600 COVID-19 test kits that had not garnered FDA clearance.

CBP officials acknowledged while the FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to about 50 companies enabling them to develop and distribute COVID-19 test kits, the companies responsible for creating the test kits in the shipments in question were not given FDA authorization to sell them here.

The kits were seized for violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, according to authorities, who indicated the seizure occurred in what is the latest in several shipments that have contained counterfeit test kits.