State Officials Warn Hoosiers Of Suspicious Seed Shipments From China

These packages should be properly repackaged and sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Photo by Purdue Extension Dearborn County. 

(Dearborn Co., Ind.) - The Office of the Indiana State Chemist at Purdue University is warning Hoosiers about suspicious packages from China containing unidentified seeds. 

Indiana residents have been receiving these unordered and unlabeled packages. State officials are asking anyone that received these unsolicited packages properly handle and repackage them to be sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Do not throw seeds in the garbage or plant them. It important Indiana Farmers and consumers are protected, and it is not known if these seeds are invasive or noxious. 

“It might be tempting to put this into some soil to see what happens, but there’s a lot of damage that can cause,” said Don Robison, seed administrator for the Office of Indiana State Chemist. “We don’t know what these seeds are, and there is potential for doing serious harm to everything from your backyard garden to the commodity and specialty crops that are such an important part of the agricultural economy. The last thing we want is to spread a weed, invasive species or disease, and that’s a real risk if people plant these or throw them in the garbage.”

State and federal authorities are working together to identify and dispose of the seeds and plant materials. 

Weed seeds, invasive species and disease pathogens rapidly spread that cost millions of dollars annually for a single plant or disease, and cause billions of dollars of impact each year. 

Purdue University's Agriculture Department says that these packages could be part of a "brushing" campaign, where online retailers send unsolicited packages and use the fake sales to improve the seller’s ratings in the marketplace. State agricultural and environmental leaders are not going to take any chances of this possibility. 

“Once a new disease or invasive species is out there, it’s a very costly problem,” Robison said. “It’s like trying to put a genie back in the bottle.”

If you receive unsolicited seeds, you should:

• Keep the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, but do not open the seed packet;
• Place all contents in a zip-top bag, then place the bag in an envelope or small box and mail it to:
  • USDA APHIS PPQ
  • State Plant Health Director
  • Nick Johnson
  • 3059 N. Morton St.
  • Franklin, IN 46131
• If you cannot mail the items, do not dispose of them. Keep the seeds, packaging and mailing label and contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology at 866-663-9684 or DEPP@dnr.IN.gov.
• Anyone who has already planted seeds should not dispose of the plants or soil. Contact the Indiana DNR Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology at the phone number and email address above.
• Never plant seeds of unknown origin.