When listed on respiratory equipment, ‘FFP’ stands for ‘filtering facepiece’. The ‘3’ refers to the level of protection.
You may also see additional letters, including ‘FFP3V’ and ‘NR’. These stand for ‘valved’ and ‘non-reusable’. This means the masks are single use only.
Most P3 facemasks are valved to make them more comfortable for the wearer, which means the exhaled breath is unfiltered.