R.G. Edmonson | Apr 22, 2011 2:36PM EDT
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reminding travelers that a toy that’s popular on Easter in the rest of the world is banned in the U.S., and subject to seizure at the border.
The Kinder Egg, or Kinder Surprise Egg, is a chocolate egg, according to the Food and Drug Administration, embedded with a “non-nutritive object:” a small toy that poses a choking hazard. Customs said it seized 25,000 of the eggs in 2010. That included commercial shipments, but most were taken from individuals.
Kinder Eggs were developed by the Italian confectioner Ferrero in 1972, and first marketed in Germany, according to Wikipedia. Ferrero first applied unsuccessfully to market the egg in the U.S. In 2008, it was banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The online source said at least seven children have died of ingesting the toy since 1991.
-- Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com.
