Kinder Surprise egg seized at U.S. border

[arikara]

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.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2011/01/10/man-kinder-surprise-border.html#ixzz1AkjCfjUI


No... this is not the Onion. Just a commentary on how truly bizarre our society has become.

[slackmaster]

1. Why are Canadians trying to murder our children?

That's what I want to know.

[arikara]

4. Assault weapons yes

kinder eggs no

[laundry_queen]

27. lol

I nearly wrote that exact sentiment on a friend's facebook posting, but wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not so I erased it. That's what just floors me in this whole thing. What a fucked up society we all live in!

[Last_Stand]

5. LOL

Seriously, if it's not that, it's them with their poutine.

[maritimer]

7. They make a great fish stew up in Vancouver

but they can keep the poutine.

Free the egg!!!

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

2. I am addicted to Kinder Eggs

I'm Italian and they represent some of the happiest memories of my childhood, but I've been unable to find them in the U.S. recently. When I went to Italy a couple of months ago, I gorged on Kinder eggs. It pisses me off that U.S. parents can't be trusted to keep these away from kids.

After all, you don't hear about many European kids choking on the toys inside.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

22. You can get them in Mexico too, and their kids don't choke on them either.

[uppityperson]

3. good grief, I bring these home for friends when I travel overseas

Idiots.

[JVS]

6. You're also not supposed to bring food items over the borders.

[uppityperson]

10. yes, you can. Esp packaged food and alcohol.

[sharp_stick]

12. Most of it you can

they generally concern themselves with meat, dairy and produce. Prepared food is generally allowed, I bring candy bars back all the time for myself and co-workers who need a Coffee Crisp or Crunchie fix.

Kinder Surprise was specifically banned here a few years ago because of paranoia over the little toy inside the chocolate shell. My daughter insists I get her one every time we head up to Canada for a visit.

[timo]

14. thats not true

there are certain foods you cant bring like avacados with the seeds, but cut open and de seeded is no big deal, I cross the mexican border all the time and you can bring a multitude of foodstuffs back.

[Enrique]

8. i feel safer

keep up the good work, Customs! :patriot:

[TwilightGardener]

9. Have we banned Cracker Jack yet? I remember the little toy was mixed right in there

with the popcorn and peanuts.

[uppityperson]

13. How about animal cookies? It teaches The Children that it's ok to eat animals raw

[TwilightGardener]

16. Oh man, I loved animal crackers when I was a kid. That cool little box

with the string handle, zebras and lions on it. The cookies themselves...bland and not really worth eating, of course.

[uppityperson]

17. There was always a mystery animal, what was it? Turn it this way, that, looks sort of like

a hippo, but with claws and are those wings?

Sometime santa can still find them for us.

[Sinistrous]

20. Fun fact re: animal cracker box --

It was intended to be a Christmas tree ornament.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_cracker

[TwilightGardener]

23. Cool--did not know they had such a long history behind them.

[Cleita]

21. I remember them being about the size of a ring or

a bracelet charm. We used to buy Cracker Jacks when we were kids for the prize no so much the product.

[Ikonoklast]

26. Unfortunately, everybody that was going to complain

tipped the box on end in order to get to the prize quicker and ended up swallowing the magnifying glass and croaking before they could write the letter.

[brooklynite]

11. Hmm, can you take a Cadbury Creme Egg on a plane...

...if it contains more than 3 oz of "creme"?

[uppityperson]

15. only if it is in a quart sized zip lock baggie

[JBoy]

18. They'll get my Kinder Egg when they pry it from my cold, dead hands

[arikara]

19. LOL!

:rofl:

[CraftyGal]

24. *Shaking head*

Wow! :rofl: As a Canadian I can categorically say that this is idiotic! I guess the US government believes that parents cannot protect their children. This and the McDonald's toy thing...wow! :sarcasm:

CraftuGal

[laundry_queen]

28. McDonald's toy thing?

Do tell, I missed that.
As a Canadian parent who has children that eat Kinder surprise eggs all the time, this just cracks me up! American children must be protected from kinder surprise eggs I guess. lol There are so many comments I want to make here, but it would get moved to the gungeon, I'm sure.

[CraftyGal]

31. Yes there is a current lawsuit happening regarding McDonalds.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/23/business/la-fi-0623-happy-meals-20100623">McDonald's faces lawsuit over Happy Meals.

Weeks after a Silicon Valley county became the first in the nation to ban toys from McDonald's Happy Meals and other food promotions aimed at children, a public health watchdog group called on the fast food giant to remove the playthings from all its meal packages.

Citing toys aimed at promoting the latest "Shrek" movie, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said that the plastic promotions lure children into McDonald's restaurants where they are then likely to order food that is too high in calories, fat and salt.

Crazy! Whatever happened to accountability and responsibility, never mid common sense?

CraftyGal

[surrealAmerican]

25. Hmmmm ....

... a woman named "Bird" smuggling an illegal egg?


How many other birds cross our borders concealing eggs?

[ehrnst]

29. The kinder egg made this blog post about the Top 5 Least Surprising Toy Recalls

http://www.cracked.com/article_15764_5-least-surprising-toy-recalls-all-time.html


Kreiner Imports of Chicago sold the Kinder Egg to stores in the South and Midwest from March to August 1997, just in time for another Christ-based holiday that finds children eating candy-filled chocolate eggs with as much thought and chewing as Pac-Man in attack mode. Unfortunately, Kreiner's chocolate eggs were actually tiny plastic toys with a delicious chocolate shell wrapped around them.

Like a Trojan horse for the Heimlich maneuver, approximately 5,000 death eggs were recalled. The toy manufacturer, the Ferrero Group, blamed the import company for the snafu, claiming that they didn't market their toys in the United States or to children ages 3 and under. These were apparently the toy-filled candy eggs for the discerning adult.

Why they should have known: It's an edible treat wrapped around an inedible mound of plastic with even tinier bits of choke-tastic plastic encased inside. The edible treat is chocolate, the closest thing children have to heroin. The toy might have been safer on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, but America's childhood obesity and early on-set diabetes rates should have been a huge red flag to the import company that Americans kids probably wouldn't even take the time to unwrap the thing before shoveling it into their mouths.

And, if there were any warnings about the surprise toy inside, not only would our children's low literacy rates prevent them from reading, but even the parents wouldn't know about it. The label encasing the egg was still written in German when it landed in America, so the product would have been about as safe if the packaging had been in English and read, "Warning: There are no small parts for your children to choke on in here. Viable substitute for baby food."

[Liberal_in_LA]

30. omg,. I would not have known

[Duer 157099]

32. OK, now imagine that briefing session where the agents were instructed, specifically, about these

I hope there was a huge WTF circulating around the minds in that room.

But clearly, at least one of them took it really seriously, enough to remember and act on that info.

THAT is what is amazing!