'Brushing' Activies Envelopes with Seeds - Ministry Asks for Public's Help

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food asks the people who receive these envelopes to inform the Agriculture area of ​​the corresponding Government Delegation or the Plant Health services of their autonomous community to proceed with the destruction of the material.

The ministry informs that the introduction of this material – not requested/ordered and from third countries – without the corresponding phytosanitary certificate is prohibited and poses a risk both from the point of view of plant health – due to the danger of accompanying pests- as environmental -because they could be invasive species-.

There has been evidence of unsolicited seed envelopes being sent to individuals, since the person who receives it has not bought or requested samples of this material and the shipments are apparently random.

The authorities of Germany, France, Ireland and the Netherlands have informed the European Commission of these shipments, which have also been received in homes in the United Kingdom. Likewise, in the United States these types of shipments have been detected.

This practice, called brushing, seeks to generate false positive votes in Internet sales, since many sales platforms do not allow the issuance of these votes if the customer has not actually received the product. The companies, therefore, send them first and then falsify the vote of the recipient, in this case, of the seeds.

Please note: The information provided is based upon our understanding of current legislation. It is not legal advice but is provided freely to enable you to be properly informed. We recommend that if you are considering taking action, you should seek professional advice.