GTA woman mystified by bag of seeds in her mail so are federal officials worried about invasive species

The small grey package struck Java D'Ignazio as unusual it was very thin, had no customs documentation and a strange scribble over where the sender is supposed to sign. She thought maybe one of her children sent her a gift in the mail.

It had her correct name, address and phone number and said the contents were one studded earring valued at $4.91. But when she opened it, she found a small bag of tiny, reddish-brown seeds, apparently sent fromSingapore.

D'Ignaziois just one ofhundredsCanadians who have received similar packages of seeds. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it knows of at least 350 cases and it believes there are many more. The agency is worried the seeds might belong to an invasive species or introduceharmful pests to the country, and that makes D'Ignazio uncomfortable.

"It's the unknown," she said, holding the package as she spoke to CBC News outside her home inMississauga, Ont.

"I have them in my hand, but I've double bagged them and I'm going to wash my hands again. But there's an uncertainty."

D'Ignazio confirmedwith her children the package, which she received late last week,wasn't from them.They told her it reminded them ofsomething they had read about in U.S. news reports residents in all 50 U.S. states receivingdifferent types of seeds in the mail, largely from China.

After discovering the seeds, she followed advice she'd read from U.S. authorities to bag the package and wash her hands.

'Too many steps'

Then, desperate to get answers, D'Ignazio says she contacted the CFIA,but no one answered and the mailbox was full. She called thelocal post office, the federal agriculture and agri-food ministry and Peel police.

She says no one gave clear instructions on what to do. One official told her not to bring the seeds in, andthat someone would contact her. Another told her to throw them in the garbage, she says.

D'Ignazio still hasno answers. She's been keepingthe seeds in a third bag on her balcony in the meantime.

"It made me feel like there's too many steps for when there is an immediate issue," she said.

The CFIA released a statement on Wednesday of this week, fivedays after D'Ignazioreceived the package,saying it's investigating reports of the unsolicited packages of seeds and warningpeople not to plant them.

The statement saysif people receive a package they should contact the regional CFIA office immediately, and keep the seeds, package and mailing label until a CFiA inspector contacts themwith further instructions.

"It's almost a week after I received the package," D'Ignazio said of the statement. "I wonder how many people out there have received it, planted [the seeds] or discarded it."

She says she still hasn't been able to contact the CFIAabout her case.

"There should be a very simple protocol if it's so important for agriculture and the environment," she said.

Seeds could be invasive,harmful

The CFIA is warning people not to plant seeds from unknown origins.

"These species can invade agricultural and natural areas, causing serious damage to our plant resources," the agencysaid.

Sarah Rang isthe executive director of the Invasive Species Centre, a non-profit organization based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. that aims to protect the country from plants, animals and other organisms from outside its borders. She says invasive species often don't have local enemies, can multiply quickly and cause problems foragriculture, forestry, recreation and tourism.

"We are very concerned about invasive species, not only from the damage that they can have to our beautiful landscapes, but also economically it costs a lot of money to try to control their spread," she said.

Rang says it's estimated damage from invasive species costs Ontario alone $3.6 billiona year with much of that coming from insects damaging agricultural landand forests.

Fake labels used, China's postal service says

The CFIA says the origin and nature of the seedshave yet to be confirmed, butChina's Foreign Ministry spokesperson was asked about the U.S. packages ina newsconference earlier this week.

Wang Wenbin said China's postal servicediscovered the address labels used were fake and that itcontacted the United States Postal Serviceasking for the packages to be sent back to China for investigation.

Canada Post confirmed to CBC News Thursday that China's postal serviceasked it to "set aside suspicious mail for authentication," adding the request has been made to otherpostal services around the world.

As for D'Ignazio, all theinternational attention the problem is getting has herconcerned.

"That to me seems like it's a bigger issue than just a fake package."