Officials with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship are advising people to not plant mailings of unlabeled seeds.

IDALS Ag Security Coordinator Robin Pruisner says several individuals in Iowa are receiving unsolicited mystery seeds, which they believe are mostly from China. She adds there have been reports of individuals who have ordered seeds online and in some cases the recipients did not order any seeds. 

If someone receives these mystery seeds in the mail, Pruisner advises to not open, eat, or plant the seeds. The seeds could be perceived as an invasive plant species that isn’t native to the U.S., the seed could contain seed-borne diseases that don’t exist in this country, some packets appear to have an unknown seed treatment applied to them, and all seeds that are an agricultural commodity are regulated by the USDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

The Jefferson Police Department received a phone call Monday morning about this issue. Should someone receive a packet like this, they are to call 515-281-5321 and IDALS, the USDA and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service will collect, analyze and properly destroy the seeds.