Mysterious packages of Chinese seeds are showing up at doorsteps across the country again — and anxious officials warned they could “devastate” American agriculture if opened.
Most of the packages have been arriving in Texas — with 126 deliveries being reported since Jan. 1, the Texas Department of Agriculture announced Thursday.
“These packages are pouring in faster and further than ever before,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said. “They may look innocent, but the danger is real,”
“One invasive species, pest, or pathogen could devastate Texas farms, ranches, natural resources, and food supply. We cannot gamble with Texas agriculture,” he added.
The packages typically include clear envelopes full of seeds, sometimes with no branding and sometimes with Chinese labels.
But they arrive at homes that haven’t ordered them — and officials urged anybody who receives any not to open them, but contact authorities for collection.
“Texans need to stay sharp,” Miller said. “Report every suspicious package. We can’t take any chances that might jeopardize our producers, the environment, or food security.”
Most of the deliveries have been grouped in eastern Texas, but the current wave has been seen across the country from Florida to New Mexico.
The deliveries, however, are probably not a nefarious plot to poison American crops — but are likely part of a “brushing scam” where a businesses sends worthless products to real addresses, and then write reviews in that resident’s name to boost sales of their phony products.
Similar strange seed deliveries coming from China swept across the the US in 2020, which were believed to be part of a similar scam.
But the seeds appear to be slipping the US customs — which monitors all organic goods that enter the country to avoid the risk of invasive species making it in — prompting official to caution Americans to remain vigilant and help keep the threat level down.
“We’ve got a flaw in our security system,” Miller told News 4 San Antonio. “These things are coming direct ship. Customs is not picking this up.”
“Some of these seeds have been invasive species, noxious weeds that we don’t want to get started in our agriculture crops,” he added. “It could ruin agriculture production.”
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