The Agriculture Department is looking into the origins of mysterious packages of seeds with Chinese mailing addresses delivered to recipients who say they never ordered them.
 
With tensions running high between the U.S. and Beijing on issues including defense and trade, some recipients of the seeds asked via Twitter and Facebook postings last week if there could be a nefarious intent like spreading invasive plant species.
 
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services said Tuesday that it's working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, other federal agencies and a handful of state Agriculture departments that have received questions from recipients about packets arriving in the mail, sometimes marked as jewelry but containing unidentified seeds.
 
“At this time, we don’t have any evidence indicating this is something other than a 'brushing scam,' where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales,” the agency said. “USDA is currently collecting seed packages from recipients and will test their contents to determine if they contain anything that could be of concern to U.S. agriculture or the environment.”
 
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