Mysterious seeds from China being investigated by feds, universities to learn source of mailings

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Mystery solved? New info on seeds from China

Packets of mystery seeds from China have been popping up in American mailboxes for the Last few weeks. Now the USDA has released new information, identifying what some of them might be.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] is starting to identify some of the mysterious seed packets that have been popping up in American mailboxes from China.

Consumers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the EU have all received the unsolicited packages, prompting agriculture departments in several states to issue warnings against planting them. Officials are worried they may be an invasive species and could be tied to fake product review scams.

Recipients of the packages, like Michigan resident Scott McDonald, said the seeds were sent from China, contained Chinese lettering on the outside and posted a false product description.

People from coast to coast have been receiving unsolicited seed packages from China. The USDA is investigating, along with state and federal agencies. (USDA, APHIS)

“On the package it said 'door handle’... it obviously wasn’t a door handle in there,” McDonald told Fox News. “They look like sunflower seeds... they just showed up in the mail one day, and the next day, you know, it was all over Facebook.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services [APHIS] has been working alongside state and federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection to figure out what the seeds are and why they were sent. They’re asking recipients not to open or plant them, but to hand seeds over to the states’ local agriculture departments.

VIRGINIA, UTAH AMONG STATES RECEIVING UNSOLICITED PACKAGES OF PLANT SEEDS IN THE MAIL 

University specialists, some with the University of Arizona, have been lending a helping hand wherever possible.

“People around town here have been receiving seeds because they’ve been calling the university and asking what to do with them,” said Elise Gornish, a cooperative extension specialist with the University of Arizona. “Absolutely, do not plant them and don’t ingest them. Those are the two number-one things we tell people.”

Gornish said they’re asking recipients to hand the seeds over to them or to the Arizona Department of Agriculture. Police agencies said dozens of people in Arizona, in cities including Yuma, Tucson and Douglas, have all received the packages.

The USDA is quickly working to identify some of the seeds. So far, it's identified 14 species, including rose, sage, mint and lavender. (USDA, APHIS)

“Invasive plants, so that’s nonnative plants, plants that aren’t found here typically, can have a range of effects from absolutely no effect, you grew the plant, it just sits there and doesn’t do anything, to horrific effects where you’ve got plants that encourage wildfires that can actually harm people’s lives and their houses. You’ve got plants that can be toxic to people and livestock. You’ve got plants that can out-compete our native plants,” Gornish said.

Osama El-Lissy, with the Plant Protection program of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the agency has identified 14 different species of seeds so far including mustard, cabbage, morning glory, mint, sage, rosemary, lavender, hibiscus and rose. The programm is still actively testing others to determine if they contain anything that could be of concern to U.S. agriculture or the environment.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP] spokesperson told Fox News the “unsolicited packages of seeds may contain invasive species or other materials that could harm U.S. agriculture and the environment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection continues to work closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other partner agencies to target, detect, intercept, and thereby prevent the entry of these potential threats before they have a chance to do any harm.”

Recipients of the packages say the seeds were sent from China, contained Chinese lettering on the outside, and posted a false product description. (USDA, APHIS)

CBP’s agriculture specialists have been the front line in safeguarding America’s agricultural resources. On a typical day last year, agriculture specialists across the nation seized 4,695 prohibited plants, meats, animal byproducts and soils, along with intercepting 314 insect pests, according to CBP.

However, the USDA, along with several police agencies, have called this nothing but a brushing scam in which people received unsolicited items from a seller who then posted false customer reviews to boost sales. According to the Whitehouse Police Department in Ohio, it appears that this brushing issue has been happening for the last two years. There’s been a significant uptick recently in seed packages.

Michigan resident Scott McDonald tells Fox News that the package description said there was a door handle inside the envelope. When he opened it up he found what appeared to be sunflower seeds. Scott immediately put them in the garage and emailed the USDA. (Scott McDonald)

Police there told Fox News that once they posted on social media about the seeds, phone calls and messages from all over the U.S. came flooding in. Some people received seeds while others got a variety of items including “paint by number” sets. Whitehouse PD has been sending the seeds to the U.S. Postal Inspector; false product descriptions that turn out to be agricultural products could violate U.S. Customs law.

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As for McDonald, he’s now wondering why he was targeted and what may be delivered next.

“I don’t even know where it’s from, how did they get it? It is weird, are they going to be sending something else? ... Man, there’s just been so much crazy stuff happening in the world, I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”