Chinese Seed Packages Randomly Arrive In US; Warning Issued

Washington: As many as 27 US states have reportedly received mysterious seeds in packages from China and the citizens have been warned against planting them fearing that these can be of invasive species.

The US Department of Agriculture is investing the unsolicited packages and urged citizens to report if they receive such packages.

“Please hold onto the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, until someone from your State department of agriculture or APHIS contacts you with further instructions,” the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a press release. “Do not plant seeds from unknown origins,” it warned.

It could be “brushing scam,” in which consumers are sent packages and fake positive reviews are generated for the products.

“The reason that people are concerned is – especially if the seed is the seed of a similar crop that is grown for income and food or food for animals – that there may be plant pathogens or insects that are harboured in the seed,” Carolee Bull, a professor with Penn State’s Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology program, told The New York Times.