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NASDA: contact state ag officials and state APHIS director about seeds
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture is urging Americans not to open unsolicited and unlabeled seeds that appear to be from China.
Barb Glenn is the CEO of NASDA.
“If you receive a package like this just don’t open it, keep all the packages, keep the mailing information, and contact your state department of agriculture or contact your APHIS state director,” she says. “They’ll give you advice on how they would like to collect that package and analyze it.”
USDA has indicated it could be a brush scam to obtain fake reviews for products, but Glenn says the seeds should still be taken seriously.
“There could be a potential impact on agriculture on horticulture and on forestry with a seed of any kind that we haven’t identified,” she says.
Glenn says it’s illegal to send seeds to the US without proper permits and NASDA is working with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security to understand the origin of the seeds.
Audio: Barb Glenn
