Amazon has banned foreign sellers from selling seeds in the US following deliveries of ‘mystery seeds’ reported over the summer.

The e-commerce giant, in an email to foreign sellers, stated that effective from September 3, foreign sales of seeds within the US will be barred, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“Moving forward, we are only permitting the sale of seeds by sellers who are based in the US,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement quoted in the report.

People across the US and other parts of the world including the United Kingdom had reported receiving unsolicited packages, mostly marked from China, containing ‘mystery seeds’ raising security concerns amid authorities leading to international investigations into their origins.

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In the US, people from over 27 States reported receiving the seeds in late July according to The New York Times.

Though the US Department of Agriculture said it is investigating the matter, it believes that this could be a ‘brushing scam,’ and has issued a warning in all 50 states urging people not to plant the seeds.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been investigating the shipments reported in the UK.

Though no such seeds have been found in the Indian market so far, the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) has also issued a warning on the basis of an International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) warning on the entry of suspicious seeds in the Indian market.

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