China and other foreign countries have been sending unsolicited seed packets. In Utah alone, more than 125 households have reported receiving seeds for roses or a mint in the Asian family. Robert Hougaard, who is the director for The Plant Industry Division within the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, is among a team of people who are investigating these packages. So far, the state agency has identified nine different species of seeds sent to Utah residents that first started being reported July 23.
Residents can mail the packages to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, attention seed lab, at P.O. Box 146500, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6500, or drop them off at the agency, care of the seed lab 350 N. Redwood Road in Salt Lake City.
If residents cannot get the material to the state agency, they are asked to kill the seeds by baking them at 200 degrees for 40 minutes. After they have been cooled, they should be discarded — but not through green recycling.
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