The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is asking people to turn in unsolicited seed packages that have been arriving via the mail from China. So far, U.S. recipients have sent in a wide variety of the packages.
“The seeds we have already identified are not uniform or of any particular type. They include a mixture of ornamental, fruit and vegetable, herb, and weed seeds,” APHIS said in a statement Friday. “It is important that we collect as many seeds as possible to determine whether they could introduce damaging pests and diseases that could be harmful to American agriculture.”
If you received any of the seeds that are arriving at doorsteps across the country, you can check out a fact sheet published by USDA and then turn them over to APHIS, which says it’s working with Customs and Border Protection, state governments.
