USDA Identifies Mystery Seeds, Suspects Selling Scam
The mystery seeds that arrived in mailboxes throughout the U.S. earlier this summer are a little less mysterious today.
The USDA identified 14 varieties in the packets. Among them: rosemary, sage, mint and hibiscus.
A spokesperson for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, an agency of the USDA, said the seeds identified represent ājust a subset of the samples we have collected so far.ā
The agency continues to urge recipients of the packets to not plant the seeds.
āOur main concern is the potential for these seeds to introduce damaging pests or diseases that could harm U.S. agriculture,ā the service said.
The strange seeds began appearing in Americansā mailboxes at least two months ago, often arriving in packages marked as containing jewelry.
Reports say the majority of these mysterious seed packets have been shipped from China, although China foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the China Post shipping labels found on the packets had been forged.
The USDA says thereās no evidence to suggest the fraudulent packages are anything other than a ābrushing scam.ā
Brushing is when an e-commerce seller boosts their ranking by falsifying reviews and sales. Mailing cheap products to unsuspecting customers is one way to do that. The practice is common in China.
Source: Forbes

