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January 8, 2020

Update on Unsolicited Seeds

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) continues to get reports of unsolicited seeds arriving at homes across the state. To date, the MDA has received phone calls and emails from more than 800 Minnesotans that have received packages since July 2020.

Some of those receiving seed packets have stated they ordered seeds online, did not receive their original order, and instead received a package of unlabeled seeds. Others had not ordered any seeds online and the packages were unexpected.

Thanks to the help of County Ag Inspectors, the MDA has collected 663 of those packages. 

Residents sent in mystery seed packages to the MDA in July 2020, where the first packages were received during the week of July 26. While packages have continued to come in each week through the week of December 13, the peak of packages were from July 30 through August 20.

The packages have come from across the state, with the majority of seeds from Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, and St. Louis counties. The MDA’s Seed Laboratory examined 178 seed packets and identified many kinds of agricultural seeds, flowers, herbs, vegetables, grasses, trees, and some weed seeds.

Number of county residents that sent in packages containing mystery seeds to the MDA. Darker shaded counties had more residents send packages into MDA than lighter shaded counties. Counties with the lightest shade did not have any residents send in packages.

Since residents in every state have reported receiving unsolicited seeds, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investigating and continues to work with Customs and Border Patrol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Service. Seeds collected by the MDA have been sent on to USDA as part of this investigation. You can find updates about the case on the USDA website.

The USDA has determined these packages are most likely the result of a “brushing” scheme where people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false customer reviews to boost sales. Fortunately, the USDA has not identified any serious threats in these packages. One e-commerce vendor, Amazon, will no longer sell seeds from foreign countries on their platform to help prevent these schemes going forward.

Thank you for submitting the packages that you received. The MDA continues to collect these packages on behalf of the USDA and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

By contacting the MDA, you are protecting agriculture and natural resources in Minnesota. You can continue to help by always looking for the label on any seed that you purchase. The label provides important information to you, and all seed is required to be labeled for your protection.

If you any questions, contact the MDA’s Arrest the Pest line at 1-888-545-6684 or arrest.the.pest@state.mn.us.

Number of county residents that sent in packages containing mystery seeds to the MDA. Some residents sent in multiple packages.