We’ve reported before (related) on the federal government’s ban on Kinder Surprise chocolate-wrapped toys, considered innocuous in many other countries but deemed an illicit choking hazard here. They’re back in the news [Lenore Skenazy, Katherine Mangu-Ward] with the key paragraph in the CBC’s report indicating how very frequently the candies are seized from bewildered travelers:
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.
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US Border Agents Silently Confiscating Kids’ Candy
http://nannystateliberationfront.net/2011/01/12/us-border-agents-silently-confiscating-kids-candy/
I bought some recently at a local grocery store with a large, very large, international selection of food.
This Kinder Surprise Egg was different than the ones with a toy inside a plastic capsule inside a hollow chocolate egg wrapped in printed foil.
This Kinder Surprise Egg was a plastic egg that opens in half lengthwise. The top has the toy inside and the bottom has a chocolate cream with a small “spoon” to eat it with.
I should go buy another and put up a post about it.
The toy in this new packaging was larger than the toy in the capsule inside the chocolate egg because the half plastic egg where the toy fits is larger than the plastic capsule.
This is a symptom of what the late Sam Francis called “Anarcho-Tyranny” — cracking down on ridiculous minutiae that’s within easy grasp while the rest society spins off into chaos. Twenty million illegal aliens can slip over the border, but NOT ONE CHOCOLATE TOY.
It’s a pity the government and the authorities couldn’t find a solution for their worries. The eggs could be positioned at stores at the higher level shelf and sold only to adults to ensure supervision. Additional label could be applied to the egg with clear instructions what to avoid when using.
at kimsh: The Kinder Surprise you bought was an “SUMMER” edition, made that way to ensure the chocolate won’t melt in high temperature environments.
More about the history of the Kinder Surprise Chocolate Eggs made by Ferrero could be found at my blog on wordpress.