Seeds - treated v untreated

[garygc2008]

Hi everyone.
As some of you will know, i sell seeds online, but i've come up against a situation which i would like to share / discuss. I recently puchased some seeds which were treated.

Upon further investigation, i discovered that although some seed companies tell customers when their seeds are treated, there is no obligation on a Business 2 Consumer contract, only on a Business 2 business is there a legal obligation. This leads me to wonder, are we un-knowingly using treated seeds?

Furthermore, what are your thoughts on treated seeds?

[crazy_red]

I think if i'm going to eat it, I have the right to know what's in it, or on it.

Also as the chemicals used to dress seed can render normally 'safe' seed toxic, i.e. no harm done if your kiddie eats a packet of untreated pea seeds - well maybe tummy ache and some awful nappies - but if those seeds are treated with a fungicide, you've got a poisoned toddler and no idea of what the toxin is!

Furthermore, if a potentially irritant, never mind toxic, chemical can be ingested by skin contact, as seeds are 'handled' by the end user, there is a legal obligation to inform anyone whio may come into contact with them so that they can take appropriate precautions to protect themselves from exposure ie. HSE & COSHH regulations.

IMHO, for that reason, I would have thought that they actually do have a legal obligation to declare it.


Red

[Two_Sheds]

Although I wouldn't eat a seed that came in a planting pack, as opposed to an eating pack ... I still would like to know if they're treated.

I ordered some once that were bright blue when they arrived. I didn't like it.

[realfood]

There is another possible problem in planting treated seed. Some of the chemicals are so powerful that the toxins even appear in the flowers and apparently may kill bees. Because of this, I hear that some treated seed has been banned in France. Rape seed was mentioned.

[smallblueplanet]

I would prefer to be told whether seeds have been treated. Like realfood says some of the toxins used are very powerful.

[SarzWix]

I would rather not use treated seed, and if it says on the packet that it is then I generally wouldn't use it. Some cabbage seed i had from a certain supplier said on the packet that it had been coated & should only be handled with gloved hands. I threw it out. Similarly, some pepper seeds I had from the US arrived and they were blue! They were thrown on the fire...

[BarleySugar]

Seeds have managed to grow for a good number of years (probably several million, but I'm not googling to find out how many ), without having artificial chemicals plastered over them. I would not bother to grow a variety if it couldn't manage unless it was treated. The whole point to me of growing my own is to know exactly what I have put on my crops, it's my decision if I use chemicals or not, so I would definitely want to know if seeds were treated.