Food watchdogs in Belgium and the Netherlands warn against seed packets sent unsolicited from addresses in China and other Asian countries. Those who receive such a package are urged to throw away the contents and not to put them in the ground.
There is a chance that plant diseases will be brought into circulation in this way. Another danger is that the foreign, uncontrolled seeds produce plants that can be characterized as invasive plant species that can destroy the existing flora.
Unsolicited seed
In various European countries, such as Belgium and Germany, but also in the United States and Canada, cases of unsolicited seed have been reported. Nobody has reported in the Netherlands yet.
It is unclear why the seeds are shipped, even though nothing has been ordered. According to the NVWA, they come from foreign web shops. The authority carries out checks at Schiphol together with customs, but so far no invasive or pathogenic seed has been found.
The Belgian FAVV, comparable to the NVWA, advises people to throw received parcels in a double closed packaging in the rubbish bin. The FASFC does ask people to first take a photo of the packaging and send it. the NVWA also asks people to report an unwanted shipment.
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