Officials in at least 28 states are urging residents to report any unsolicited seed packets that appear to have been shipped from China because they could be harmful.
Agriculture departments in those states have issued statements in recent days saying residents have reported receiving seed packets in the mail that they have not ordered.
“According to the information provided by the constituents, the packages were mailed and may have Chinese writing on them,” the Delaware Department of Agriculture said in a statement Monday. “They all contained some kind of seed packet, either alone, with jewelry or another inexpensive item.”
Agriculture officials in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey issued public notices about unsolicited shipments of seeds from China . North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Some of the seeds have been mailed in white packages with Chinese letters and the words “China Post”. Others, such as those mailed to people in Ohio, have been shipped in yellow envelopes.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture is working with the United States Office of Customs and Border Protection and state departments of agriculture to investigate.
The USDA said in a statement that it had no evidence that this was more than a “brushing scam,” where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales.
“The USDA is currently collecting seed packets from recipients and will test their contents and determine if they contain anything that may be of concern to US agriculture or the environment,” the statement said.
Authorities warned people not to plant the seeds.
“If you get seeds from China, DON’T PLANT THEM. And don’t throw them away,” Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said in a statement on his Facebook page.
The Montana Department of Agriculture said in a statement Monday that the seeds have not yet been identified.
“They could be invasive, which means they may have the potential to introduce disease into local plants, or they could be harmful to livestock,” the statement said.
Steve Cole, director of the Regulatory Services unit at Clemson University in South Carolina, said: “If these seeds must have invasive species, they can be a threat to our environment and agriculture. We don’t want unknown species planted or dumped. where they can end up sprouting in a landfill. “
