Fla. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried issued a warning previous week: If you get seeds in the mail that you did not buy, really don’t open them – or plant them.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than 600 Floridians documented seeds showing up in the mail – seeds they did not buy or know anything about. The U.S. Division of Agriculture phone calls it a “brushing” rip-off.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried previous week lifted issues about unsolicited offers of seeds bearing Chinese characters and the name China Post. The Division of Agriculture and Client Services asks Floridians to report the “suspicious seed offers,” which may well be labeled as jewellery or something else.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Support states the offers seem to be section of a ploy to attract false shopper reviews and increase online product sales. The federal company is also screening the seeds to assess their written content and ascertain if they pose a chance to agriculture or the surroundings.
The point out Division of Agriculture and Client Services by at least 631 Floridians documented obtaining seeds as of previous Tuesday. The point out company instructed persons not to open the offers or toss the seeds absent. As a substitute, the offers should be put in a sealable plastic bag and documented to the state’s Division of Plant Sector, Fried’s office explained.
“Plant seeds from unfamiliar sources may possibly introduce harmful pathogens, conditions or invasive species into Florida, placing agriculture and our state’s plant, animal, and human health and fitness at chance,” Fried explained in a media release.
Related offers have been documented in Virginia, Kansas, Washington, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Utah.
Resource: Information Support of Florida