Mysterious seeds sent from China to the US identified by the USDA

Graig Graziosi

The mysterious seed packs from China that hundreds of Americans received in the mail have been identified, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Federal officials warned those who received the seeds not to plant them over fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects.

Osama El-Lissy, a member of the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said officials had identified more than a dozen plant species included in the seed packets.

"We have identified 14 different species of seeds, including mustard, cabbage, morning glory and some herbs, like mint, sage, rosemary, lavender, and then other seeds like hibiscus and roses," he said.

Authorities believe the seed packets may be part of an online money-making scam that likely originated in China.

"At this time, we don't have any evidence indicating this is something other than a 'brushing scam' where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales," a USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said.

The USDA is working alongside the US Department of Homeland Security to investigate the packages.

"USDA is currently collecting seed packaged from recipients and will test their contents to determine if they contain anything that could be of concern to US agriculture or the environment," the statement said.

Packages have been mailed to addresses in all 50 states as well as to addresses across Canada.

Many of the packages had shipping information printed in Chinese characters on the bags, some of which were misprinted and described objects like bracelets or rings.

Most of the packets appear — according to the address labels — to have come from the Chinese cities of Suzhou.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said last week that the Chinese mail service was working with the US Postal Service to have some of the packages shipped back to China for analysis.

The spokesperson claimed that the address labels on the package were forged.

Despite many of the seeds being identified, the USDA is still asking anyone who receives the seeds not to plant them. They recommend storing the seeds away from dogs and children and reporting them to the agency.

据美国农业部称,数百名美国人从邮件中收到了来自中国的神秘种子包。

联邦官员警告那些收到种子的人不要种植它们,因为他们担心某些种子可能是入侵物种并可能破坏本地植物和昆虫。

美国农业部动植物健康检查局的成员奥萨马·埃尔西(Osama El-Lissy)表示,官员们已经查明了种子包中包括的十几种植物。

他说:“我们已经鉴定出14种不同的种子,包括芥末,卷心菜,牵牛花和一些草药,如薄荷,鼠尾草,迷迭香,薰衣草,以及其他种子,如芙蓉和玫瑰。”

当局认为,种子包可能是源自中国跨境电商卖家的刷单行为。

美国农业部动植物卫生检验局说:人们从卖家那里收到不请自来的物品,然后卖家发布虚假的顾客评论以促进销售。”

美国农业部正在与美国国土安全部合作调查这些包裹。

声明说:“美国农业部目前正在从接受者那里收集包装好的种子,并将对其含量进行测试,以确定它们是否包含美国农业或环境可能关注的任何东西。”

包裹已邮寄到所有50个州的地址以及加拿大各地的地址。

许多包裹的包装袋上都印有汉字的运输信息,其中一些印刷不当,并描述了诸如手镯或戒指之类的物品。

根据地址标签,大多数数据包似乎都来自中国苏州市。

中国外交部发言人上周表示,中国邮政局正在与美国邮政局合作,将一些包裹运回中国进行分析。

发言人声称包装上的地址标签是伪造的。

尽管发现了许多种子,但美国农业部仍在要求接受种子的任何人不要种植它们。他们建议将种子存放在远离狗和儿童的地方,并将其报告给代理商。

2020年8月5日 07:25
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