Kinder Egg Not Allowed In US
Chocolate Smugglers Busted at US/Canada Border Didn’t Realize They Were Chocolate Smugglers
Some people are hardcore smugglers. They might be trying to bring in dangerous drugs to the United States or Canada, such as heroin. Others might be trying to run guns. Still others might be involved in human trafficking and smuggling. Of course, few things are quite as dangerous as those who have been smuggling chocolate across the Canadian and US border in the form of Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs.
Recently, a group of travelers was stopped on the way back into the United States from Canada. They were found with a number of the Kinder Surprise eggs, and had no idea that they were not legal in the United States. It looked like they could be in some serious trouble. One of the customs agents let one of the members of the group go back to Canada and give their eggs to someone else. They had no clue they were doing anything wrong, and it is fortunate they did not get into more trouble
Why Are Kinder Surprise Eggs Not Allowed in the United States?
If you are unfamiliar with the little eggs, you might be wondering just why they are not allowed in the United States. In fact, even if you are familiar with the eggs, you might still be wondering why they are not allowed in the US. The real reason is because there is a toy inside of the chocolate egg. The eggs have a capsule, and inside the capsule is the toy. This has caused some in the United States to worry that it could be a choking hazard, and they do not allow them in the country.
Even though the eggs have plenty of warnings on them, and they could be kept away from children by their parents, they are still not allowed in the US. The only time that nonfood can be placed inside of a food in the United States is when it is visible from the outside.
For those who worry about the dangers of the eggs, there have only been three fatalities across 40 years. This is a very low chance of injury, especially when you consider the number of children who overdose from getting their hands-on medicine.
This was certainly not the first time someone has been in trouble for trying to smuggle these dastardly chocolate eggs into the United States. A woman was in trouble for bringing a Kinder Surprise Egg into the US in 2011. They threatened her with a fine of $300. She was then told that if she didn’t have the egg destroyed, she would have to pay $250 for storage. Others have said that the fine, if the agents and authorities of the border want to enforce it to its fullest, could be up to $2500.
Even though it is illegal to bring these eggs back over the border, that doesn’t stop people. As funny as it might be to talk about these eggs being so dangerous, mostly because they are not, smuggling them has become big business. There have been busts of smugglers trying to bring in up to 6,000 of these Kinder Surprise Eggs at once. There are estimates that around 800,000 of the eggs are brought into the US secretly each year.