The FDA is warning that a problem is cropping up as health providers use hydrogen peroxide sterilization to reuse N95 respirators amid the COVID-19 pandemic: There’s no standard color to show the process worked.
Specifically, staff at hospitals are facing a pink versus blue problem. The 3M Comply Hydrogen Peroxide Chemical Indicator 1248 uses blue to indicate an unprocessed device and pink to indicate a sterilized device. Meanwhile, the Aesculap MD334 Process Indicator Card uses pink/magenta to signal an unprocessed device and blue to indicate a sterilized device.