Ministry suspects batches of Durex condoms fake

Health Ministry’s unit for pharmaceutical crime suspect condoms with incorrect labeling are counterfeit.

Durex condom 370 (photo credit: courtesy Health Ministry)
Durex condom 370
(photo credit: courtesy Health Ministry)
Durex condoms suspected of being counterfeit have been discovered by the Health Ministry’s unit for pharmaceutical crime headed by Mickey Arieli. The ministry announced on Thursday and further reported on Saturday night that packages with three condoms and labeled as the Durex company’s Fetherlite included a batch of counterfeit products.
The batch number appears on the package as 0010189831, but the wrapper of each condom was marked as belonging to the 001019032 batch, even though the two numbers should correspond.
Another anomaly was that the product also was marked “Word’s No.1 Condom Brand” instead of the original product’s “World’s No.1 Condom Brand.”
The ministry also said there was grease on the wrapper that should have been dry.
After making the announcement on Thursday, the ministry said it received additional queries from customers in various parts of the country, including Jerusalem and the Center.
Most of the fake Durex condoms were sold in street kiosks. Some had identical dates on the packages and inside wrappers, but they had other differences and spelling errors.
The ministry said that if the products were counterfeit, they were liable not to provide adequate protection from disease or pregnancy during sex.