Did you get seeds in the mail? Do not throw them away or plant them, warns the Government

The Ministry of Agriculture has warned that postal packages of seeds from Asian countries have been sent, which have not been requested, asking that they not be sown or thrown away, but that they be sent to the agriculture directorates.

“The Ministry of Agriculture warns of the sending, by mail, of small packages of seeds, unsolicited, from Asian countries. This situation is also being denounced in several countries of the European Union and by third countries,” the executive stressed. , in a note released today by the General Directorate of Food and Veterinary Medicine (DGAV).

In addition to seeds of various species, the packages may contain soil, dead larvae, or fungal structures.

According to the ministry under the tutelage of Maria do Céu Antunes, the packaging, whose content is not specified, is not accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate that certifies the country’s requirements, which generates “serious risks from the phytosanitary point of view, due to the possibility of carrying pests and diseases or the danger of being harmful or invasive species “.

In this sense, the seeds should not be sown or thrown away, but must be delivered to a regional service of the DGAV or to a Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries.