The United States Government has sounded the alarm over mysterious parcels dispatched to its nationals from China.
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that hundreds of Americans received the seed packs in their mail.
Authorities have warned recipients not to plant them.
There are fears that some may be invasive species and could destroy native plants and insects.
A USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service member, Osama El-Lissy, said officials found 14 plant types included in the seed packets.
He disclosed that species identified include mustard, cabbage, morning glory, hibiscus and roses.
Others are herbs like mint, sage, rosemary and lavender.
In a statement, USDA said no evidence yet, “other than a ‘brushing scam’ where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales.”
The agency said it is currently collecting the seed from recipients and will test contents to determine if they contain anything that could be of concern to US agriculture or the environment.
The parcels mailed to addresses across America and Canada had shipping information printed in Chinese.
China has assured its mail service was working with the US Postal Service to have some of the packages shipped back for analysis.
The foreign ministry, however, claimed that the address labels on them were forged.
- DAILY POST
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