Fla. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried issued a warning last week: If you get seeds in the mail that you didn’t order, don’t open them – or plant them.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than 600 Floridians reported seeds showing up in the mail – seeds they did not order or know anything about. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it a “brushing” scam.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried last week raised concerns about unsolicited packages of seeds bearing Chinese characters and the name China Post. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services asks Floridians to report the “suspicious seed packages,” which might be labeled as jewelry or something else.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says the packages appear to be part of a ploy to draw false customer reviews and boost online sales. The federal agency is also testing the seeds to evaluate their content and determine if they pose a risk to agriculture or the environment.
The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by at least 631 Floridians reported receiving seeds as of last Tuesday. The state agency told people not to open the packages or throw the seeds away. Instead, the packages should be put in a sealable plastic bag and reported to the state’s Division of Plant Industry, (https://www.fdacs.gov/Divisions-Offices/Plant-Industry) Fried’s office said.
“Plant seeds from unknown sources may introduce dangerous pathogens, diseases or invasive species into Florida, putting agriculture and our state’s plant, animal, and human health at risk,” Fried said in a media release.
Similar packages have been reported in Virginia, Kansas, Washington, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Utah.