Amazon Bans Foreign Suspicious Seeds in USA

Amazon banned foreign sales of seeds in the U.S. after Americans across the country received suspicious seeds packages from China.

The USDA damanded anyone who receives an unsolicited package of seeds to file an online report and to mail the product to an agency office in their state. Alternatively, people may contact local APHIS officials to arrange for seeds to be picked up or dropped off.

According to the company, they are only permitting the sale of seeds by sellers who are based in the U.S., Sellers who don't comply with the restrictions could have their account shut down.

Amazon Bans suspicious seeds 

The company added that sellers who do not follow its guidelines will be subject to action, including potential removal of their accounts. According to Amazon’s policy web page, the ban extends to plants and plant products.

In July, the USDA explained that the packages were most likely part of a “brushing” scam, in which people receive unsolicited items from a seller who then posts false positive customer reviews to boost sales.

On other hand, the policy change comes as multiple agencies, including the U.S. Agriculture Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Postal Service and state departments of agriculture, are investigating the mysterious seed shipments, according to marketwatch.