Illegal Chocolate Eggs
January 14, 2011
The Italian chocolate company, Ferrero, maker of famous brands such as Ferrero Rocher, Mon Cheri and Nutella, also makes a famous brand of chocolate geared toward children. Kinder chocolate has been around for 60 years and one specialty item, Kinder Surprise Chocolate Egg, has sold over 30 billion eggs since 1974!
Kinder Surprise is sold internationally, but not in the United States. It is illegal to sell them, or as one woman found out, bring it into the U.S. for a gift.
Recently, a woman and her family were crossing into the U.S. from Canada when she was searched at the border and told to hand over her illegal contraband – the $2 chocolate egg – or pay a hefty $300 fine.
In 1938, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibited the embedding of "non-nutritive items" in confections, including chocolate, which could be a choking hazard for children. It wasn’t until 1997 that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission banned Kinder Surprise.
In 2009, U.S. customs seized over 25,000 chocolate Kinder Surprise eggs entering the country.
According to U.S. consumer groups, the Surprise Egg sends a mixed message about what is and isn't edible, confusing younger children and putting them at risk. Ferrero Group fully supports the ban but reassures all consumers that the Surprise toys “are designed and developed with safety in mind, rigorously observing international regulations as well as extra safety criteria voluntarily adopted by the Ferrero Group.”
Sadly, I never had the pleasure of receiving a Kinder Surprise as a child, living under the protection of the CPSC. Sounds like I missed out. I’ll have to find my way to Canada and wolf down a childhood’s worth of chocolate surprises. Just need to remember to come home EMPTY handed!
- BarkThins Dark Chocolate Coconut with Almonds - May 22, 2020
- Endangered Species Cacao Nibs + Dark Chocolate Review - May 15, 2020
- Mr. Dot Bar Review - May 7, 2020
I’ve been complaining about this for years now. Their reasoning is ludacris. I bet there was that ONE odd child that swallowed the toy, a lawsuit was initiated, and voilà, the egg is banned. This is so infuriating to me because in order to indulge in the joy of a tasting Kinder chocolate, I must pay $2.50 for ONE egg at a European store.
PS: You did miss out. Kinder makes the world’s best chocolate 🙂