BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Residents across Central Texas are receiving unsolicited seed packets from China, prompting warnings from state agriculture officials who say the mysterious deliveries could pose serious health and environmental risks.
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Michelle Sholders, who runs Little Millican Farms, discovered the unexpected packages in her mailbox and immediately had questions.
"Where did this come from? What is this for?" Sholders said.
The packages arrived without identification or explanation, leaving recipients puzzled about their origin and purpose.
"Being a package, you wanna open it up and see what's in there. And then there's these seeds and you're like, where did these come from?" Sholders said.
Sholders has now received several packages, each one raising more concerns about the mysterious deliveries.
"There's no identification to know anything about them, so it's kind of scary," Sholders said.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the lack of information about these packages is exactly what makes them dangerous.
"We call those mystery seeds because we don't know what they are," Miller said.
Miller confirmed the seeds come directly from China, arriving unlabeled and unsolicited to Texas residents.
"It could have something in it that you can't see. It could be a COVID variant. It could be anthrax or ricin or cholera or some kind of other bacteria or virus that you can't see with the naked eye," Miller said.
Since February of last year, the state has collected more than 1,100 seed packets from concerned residents. Just this week, Miller's office confirmed three new reports involving 12 seed packets sent to residents in Waco.
The potential risks extend beyond human health concerns, according to Sholders, who worries about accidental exposure.
"What if your kids broke into it and or your dog broke into it and it was something that was poisonous? You don't know," Shoulders said.
The Texas Department of Agriculture is urging residents not to open, plant or throw away the mysterious packages. Instead, officials want people to report them immediately.
Miller believes there's an ulterior motive behind the seed deliveries.
"They're not sending these over so we can improve our crop system. You know, there's something behind it," Miller said.
State officials warn against throwing the packages in regular trash because they could end up in landfills and potentially introduce invasive species to Texas ecosystems.
Shoulders hopes authorities can determine the true purpose behind the mysterious deliveries.
"I hope we find out what it is. Prayerfully, it's not gonna be anything that's gonna be really detrimental to us," Sholders said.
Anyone who receives these seed packets should report them immediately to the Texas Department of Agriculture at 1-800-TELL-TDA.
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