"The U.S. takes catching illegal Kinder candy seriously"

**twitchy2.0** · January 11th, 2011, 03:18 PM

Kinder Surprise egg seized at U.S. border

Monday, January 10, 2011

The inner contents of the Kinder Surprise have led U.S. officials to ban them from the country over safety concerns. (CBC)

A cross-border kerfuffle over a popular chocolate treat nearly cost a Winnipeg woman a $300 fine and saddled her with a bureaucratic headache.

Lind Bird was recently stopped at the U.S. border and selected for a random search of her vehicle. She was warned she could have faced a fine after the customs official found — and seized — her $2 Kinder Surprise egg as illegal contraband.

Bird learned U.S. authorities have banned the candy because they come with a plastic toy inside that could, if eaten, choke a small child.
"It's just a chocolate egg," Bird said. "And they were making a big deal. They said 'if you were caught with this across the border you would get charged a $300 fine,'" she said.

"It's ridiculous. It's so ridiculous," she added.

In Canada, however, officials said the eggs are so difficult to get into there's little chance they could harm anyone. As such, they are legal.
The U.S. takes catching illegal Kinder candy seriously, judging by the number of them they've confiscated in the last year. Officials said they've seized more than 25,000 of the treats in 2,000 separate seizures.

"They have been determined to present … a choking hazard to young children," said Mike Milne, a spokesman for the U.S. department of customs and border protection. Milne said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration supports the Kinder Surprise ban.

As trivial as the border seizure may seem, Bird said the U.S. government has sent her a seven-page letter asking her to formally authorize the destruction of her seized Kinder egg.

"I thought it was a joke. I had to read it twice. But they are serious," she said.

The letter states if Bird wishes to contest the seizure, she'll have to pay $250 for it to be stored as the two sides wrangle over it.
A comprehensive list of items Canadians can't import into the U.S. can be found here.

Source of lol: CBC News - Consumer Life - Kinder Surprise egg seized at U.S. border

**fgg** · January 11th, 2011, 03:22 PM

WTF? i love that ms. bird had her egg confiscated!

**MontanaMama** · January 11th, 2011, 03:23 PM

Oh FFS, we can't stop the illegal drugs and illegal people, but by god we are on top of that nefarious candy threat. H/T to US Customs.

**OrangeSlice** · January 11th, 2011, 03:33 PM

Where's that double facepalm picture when I need it?

And this, this is what taxes are being spent on.

**faithanne** · January 11th, 2011, 03:35 PM

So I take it anything that's small enough for a toddler to swallow is illegal in the US now, based on this logic.

**Rondette** · January 11th, 2011, 03:39 PM

They've stopped reporting about the THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of children choking on Kinder toys in the UK because it happens SO often....

Good to see America is taking the threat seriously....

**twitchy2.0** · January 11th, 2011, 03:40 PM

Good thing Canadian kids don't swallow the eggs whole.

**McJag** · January 11th, 2011, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by faithanne

So I take it anything that's small enough for a toddler to swallow is illegal in the US now, based on this logic.

Lack of logic! This is just crazy.

**Sunshine** · January 11th, 2011, 07:37 PM

I brought a ton of them back from Austria knowing they were illegal because they were so much fun. 20 year olds are not going to eat the toys.

**Just Kill Me** · January 11th, 2011, 07:46 PM

I buy these in Houston ALL THE TIME! My son and I love putting the little toys together.

**SuriCruise** · January 11th, 2011, 09:08 PM

I love Kinder Surprise! The chocolate layers are so yummy and the toys are so nifty. Wouldn't it be more logical to ban them because it would be easy to smuggle things in using the plastic part inside the egg where the toy is?

**minime7** · January 11th, 2011, 09:36 PM

Kinder surprise is illegal in the USA? lol
You learn something new everyday...

**Tati** · January 12th, 2011, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by SuriCruise

I love Kinder Surprise! The chocolate layers are so yummy and the toys are so nifty. Wouldn't it be more logical to ban them because it would be easy to smuggle things in using the plastic part inside the egg where the toy is?

That's what I was expecting to read here! But no...

**sluce** · January 12th, 2011, 12:35 PM

The answer is to have the Mexicans bring them into the USA. They know how to cross the boarder un-noticed. LOL It sound like our boarder patrol catches more kinder eggs than illegals.