Prism may have debuted on top of the Billboard charts, but Katy Perry may have some more trouble moving units in Australia, where the international copies of album’s deluxe version has been declared a biohazard. Australian officials have been told to inspect copies of the CD coming in from overseas because of a seed paper used in the album’s artwork.
The Prism artwork is printed on a special seed paper and fans are encouraged to plant the paper and “spread the light.” Australian officials’ concerns stem — pun certainly intended — from the unknown source of the plant seeds used in the paper. “Seeds or plant material of international origin may be a weed not present in Australia or the host of a plant pathogen of biosecurity concern,” an Australian Department of Agriculture spokesperson said.
Australian copies of Prism contain seeds for the Swan River daisy, CDs sold in Australia are not subject to the same scrutiny.
“The Australian Government has a strong system in place to detect and respond to material of biosecurity concern,” the Department of Agriculture official said. “This includes the inspection of mail, cargo and baggage.”
The main reason someone would be bringing an international copy of Prism into Australia is that the CD costs less money in other nations, including the U.S.
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