Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson asks anyone receiving packages of unsolicited seeds from China, or any foreign country, to immediately contact the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce’s Bureau of Plant Industry by phoning 662-325-3390.

Those receiving the seeds are instructed to hold onto the seeds and packaging, including the mailing label, until someone from MDAC’s Bureau of Plant contacts them with further instructions, according to a news release from the department of agriculture and commerce. The seeds should not be planted. 

“We are aware that citizens in Mississippi, as well as other states, have received unsolicited packages of seed appearing to be from China over the last few days,” Gipson wrote in a statement. “We are working closely with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on this issue. … I don’t want to scare people because there is no indication these seeds pose a danger to human health. But any foreign seeds can have a negative impact on our environment as a threat to plant and animal health, and to agriculture. Also, foreign seeds could carry fungi or pests which could cause great destruction to our native ecosystem.”

The USDA does not 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, according to the news release. That scam can involve many different random products, but foreign seeds could be an environmental threat.