Why Kinder Surprise Eggs are Illegal in the U.S.
Kinder Surprise eggs are delicious chocolate egg-shaped treats with another treat inside in the form of a toy. That’s a happy now and happy later combo that you don’t get most places… but they’re also banned in the United States.
It’s a Trojan Horse attack!
Some of you might be saying, “Wait kinder eggs are totally a thing here in the United States!” and you’re technically right but also technically wrong.
See, Kinder Surprise Eggs are definitely banned in the United States but Kinder Joy Eggs are not. The difference is in the packaging of the toy, and the reason goes all the way back to 1938 when the United States passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
This act gave the Food and Drug Administration the power to oversee the safety of food and some other stuff, but that’s not important right now. The act also created a set of laws including one that essentially prevents non-nutritive items in food. There are exceptions, for example, if the “non-nutritive item has functional value” to the food; like a stick for a lollypop.
Now, if you’ve ever had a Kinder Surprise egg then you know that the toy is not providing any functional value except for fun, and the F in FDA does not stand for fun.
Due to the act, the Ferrero company (owner of the Kinder brand) has never advertised or sold Kinder Surprise Eggs in the United States. If you live in the United States and have ever had a Kinder Surprise Egg while there, those were illegally imported which apparently is a thing that happens sometimes… a lot.
This is my Kinder egg dealer
In 1997, a Chicago import company had to recall about 5,000 eggs because they were brought into the United States and in 2011, the U.S Customs and Border Protection Agency confiscated over 60,000 eggs from international packages.
In 2017 the Ferrero company released Kinder Joy eggs in the United States keeping the toy separate from the candy in the package. This has caused a lot of confusion, mainly people thinking that Kinder Surprise Eggs have always been legal in the U.S.
Related Article: 5 Dangerous Toys That Were Banned
Quick Facts
Kinder Joy Eggs were released in the United States in 2017 containing two separated compartments, one side has a toy and the other has the chocolate, thereby abiding with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Trying to bring in a Kinder Surprise Egg into the United States can have you facing fines up to $2,500 per egg. Since they are not illegal in Canada and Mexico, U.S Border Patrol will confiscate the eggs at the border.
The United States isn’t the only country to ban Kinder Surprise eggs, Chile has also banned them since 2016, and they were almost banned in the United Kingdom in 2000.
