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# Safety Alert About Online Test Strip Sellers
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/safety-alert-about-online-test-strip-sellers/
- Published: 2019-04-08T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T01:19:00.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Devices, #legacy-id-D5143808

FDA has issued a [safety alert](https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm635478.htm?utm%5Fcampaign=040819%5FPR%5FFDA%20warns%20about%20risks%20of%20using%20pre-owned%20home%20use%20test%20strips&utm%5Fmedium=email&utm%5Fsource=Eloqua) about online marketers selling pre-owned test strips or test strips not authorized for sale in the U.S. to consumers. The agency says the test strips may not be safe to use because they might not have been stored properly or their expiration dates might have been changed or covered up. “If a user receives an inaccurate result from a test strip and uses this result as a basis for their treatment, they could take too much medication or not enough medication, potentially leading to serious injury, including death,” the alert says. The strips may also have small amounts of blood from the previous owner on them, which can put users at risk of infection from potential cross-contamination, it says.