File photo: Amazon.com logo Japan on August 8, 2016 at the Amazon Japan office fee building in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters / Kim Kyung-hoon
(Reuters) – The Amazon.com company says thousands of Americans have banned overseas sales of seeds in the United States after receiving unwanted packages of seeds in their mailboxes, mostly postmarked from China.
U.S. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) identified more than a dozen plant species, ranging from morning glory to mustard, in July. Americans were warned not to plant seeds.
According to botanical experts, seeds from other parts of the world may be non-indigenous varieties that damage crop crops.
“Going forward, we’re only allowing the sale of seeds by sellers in the U.S.,” Amazon said in an email statement on Saturday.
The company on Wednesday changed its policy on seed sales. The policy change was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The company added that vendors who do not follow its guidelines will be subject to action, including possible deletion of their account.
According to Amazon’s policy web page, the ban extends to plants and plant products.
The USDA said in July that the packages were potentially part of a “brushing” scam, in which people get unreasonable items from sellers who post false positive customer reviews to sell.
In an update on Aug 11, Osama al-Lisi, deputy administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), said experts analyzing some of China’s seeds have found few problems. Al-Lisi added that the two countries are working together on an investigation.
Reported by Shubham Kalia; Edited by Jonathan Otis
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