Easter reminder: Kinder Eggs banned in the United States
April 21st, 2011
08:01 PM ET

Easter reminder: Kinder Eggs banned in the United States

Not all eggs are created equal in the eyes of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Kinder Eggs, a popular European chocolate egg that contains a toy inside, is banned from importation into the United States because it contains a "non-nutritive object embedded in it."

With the Easter holiday around the corner, the agency issued the reminder this week, warning that the candy is considered unsafe for children under 3. Last year, Customs and Border Protection seized 25,000 of them in 1,700 incidents.

The hollow egg, which is sold by the Italian confectioner Ferrero, is available in Europe, Canada, Australia and parts of Latin America under various names including Kinder Surprise and Kinder Sorpresa. It has taken on a cult status among adults who collect the toys, which vary from rings to animals and cartoon characters.

Kinder Eggs' scarcity in the United States has made them an object of desire: Various websites and online forums are dedicated to acquiring them.

Some are apparently hiding in plain sight. Earlier this week, DNAinfo.com, a New York City neighborhood guide, posted a story and slideshow showing stores where the coveted treats can be found.

"While there are some commercial-sized seizures that occur, most Kinder Eggs are seized in personal baggage or at mail and express consignment facilities," Customs and Border Protection said.

A Canadian woman reportedly learned her lesson the hard way.

The woman was selected for a random search at a border checkpoint in Minnesota when officials discovered she was carrying a Kinder Egg and took it from her, The Toronto Star reported.

A few weeks later, she received a 7-page letter asking if she wanted the egg back or if she was going to abandon rights to it, the Star reported.

"I was in disbelief," she told the newspaper. "It's a $2 egg."

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Filed under: Food • Holidays • U.S.
soundoff (690 Responses)
  1. toast

    KINDER EGG... WONDERBALL... those have a toy in the middle!!! Made here in America!

    April 19, 2012 at 3:27 am | Report abuse |
    • RL

      wonderballs have little candies inside them, not toys..

      June 25, 2012 at 2:38 am | Report abuse |
    • Samantha

      Wonderballs were stopped a long time ago :c The government has a vendetta against chocolate and toys (or little candies) coming in the same package apparently... Why stop drugs and terrorism when you can stop responsible adults from eating candy and getting a toy....

      September 3, 2012 at 9:15 pm | Report abuse |
  2. shammalammadingdong

    @toast- Wonderballs are no longer manufactured.

    April 23, 2012 at 9:35 am | Report abuse |
  3. GagaScrewer

    Banned in the United States because it contains a "non-nutritive object embedded in it." The stupidest remark I've seen in a while!

    When I'm eating a frosty pop or a corn dog, there's always a non-edible object embedded in it. A wooden stick!! And they have been pretty legit so far!

    April 23, 2012 at 2:17 pm | Report abuse |
    • Akimuno

      FDA allows stuff like that because there are regulations for making exceptions. Plus, unlike the Kinder Eggs, children have not died because they choked on the wooden stick. In the 1990's, a couple of children died hecause they swallowed the plastic toys inside.

      July 15, 2012 at 1:30 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Dmitry

    This is the most stupid reason to ban a chocolate egg imaginable. What's next? Are they going to ask you if you are carrying any chocolate eggs whe you go through customs??

    June 2, 2012 at 2:28 pm | Report abuse |
  5. FFC

    Kinder eggs banned. We live in a very, very sad world.

    June 19, 2012 at 9:13 am | Report abuse |
  6. Nixxie

    wow, that's an excuse. i bet they just banned kinder eggs because they wanted people to buy american during easter.

    July 16, 2012 at 3:20 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Sarah

    This is the most surprising thing I have EVER heard about. Why ban these chocolate eggs? Are you serious? You let kids play with fake guns, and fake knives, but a chocolate egg? Really now? Thats absurd.....

    July 17, 2012 at 9:59 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Adriana

    How about banning all the other small piece toys? Like Legos for example! Kids can choke with pretty much anything. Including coins and candies. Let's ban it all!!!! Really sad... And ridiculous. How about patent supervision and care? Don't give your children a toy that's not meant for their age!

    July 18, 2012 at 10:22 am | Report abuse |
  9. Brad

    Land of the FREE eh? What a sick joke. As a Canadian living in the US this sort of crap makes me want to move home more than ever – just easier said than done when one has ties. It is not just Kinder eggs – Americans cannot have the 'new' MG sports car that we can finally enjoy in Canada after our slightly less nanny state government made us wait 15 years for it. Government in North America is out of control. Drastic measures are probably the only way to correct it.

    July 19, 2012 at 10:11 am | Report abuse |
  10. -_-

    They could've had more common sense, think about it, if i had a Kinder egg, ate it, and realize that theres a toy inside, IM NOT GOING TO EAT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    July 30, 2012 at 8:08 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Robert

    Really? This is what our tax dollars go to? We, the taxpayers, have paid for every step of this, from beaurocrats' salaries to the salaries of the people watching for Kinder eggs at the border.

    August 8, 2012 at 4:57 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Robert

    You know what else contains a “non-nutritive object embedded in it"?
    Peaches. And other fruits with pits or large seeds. They going to ban those next?

    August 8, 2012 at 5:30 pm | Report abuse |
  13. bclay1114

    now they put the toys in plastic capsules inside the egg that are too large to put into your mouth so i think the whole being banned things is a little ridiculous now

    September 3, 2012 at 2:16 pm | Report abuse |
  14. We use common sense

    In USA you can carry a gun but not a Kinder-egg. Who says the egg is for the kids..?!

    September 14, 2012 at 5:42 am | Report abuse |
  15. mankind

    Oh man I should give my kids loaded guns instead of these pure evil Kinder eggs, at least they can play with the guns without a worrying about danger. "Hey kiddo sorry I can't get Kinder eggs for ya, because they are very very dangerous, paly with this shotgun instead, you are allowed to do whatever you want just aim at your brother and pull the trigger than a nice suprise will happen, but don't try to get these dangerous Kinder eggs from anywhere, remember you can do drugs but definitely no Kinder eggs, understand me?" "Yes we did, cmon let's play "shoot da people" brother!"

    October 5, 2012 at 4:21 am | Report abuse |
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