Maybe contact the supplier about the growth, in case it is something unpleasant they should not have sent you. I wouldn't cut the blanched shoots back, I would plant with a board next to the plant from behind which the shoots can grow up into the sun.

Bboy, I took your suggestion and called the supplier. They said it was nothing to worry about and to rub it off with my thumb or spray with the garden hose prior to planting.

Ruth