Kinder Eggs Are Out To Kill Us

A killer inside every egg (Photo from PhysicsChick.com)

In light of all the awesome post-Easter candy sales going on at Duane Reades and bodegas across the city, just a quick PSA that yes, delicious Kinder Eggs are still illegal, and the feds have been raiding the stores that carry them.

Last week, DNAinfo.com posted a slideshow pointing shoppers toward "contraband Kinder Eggs," and a few days later ran a follow up about officials from the Consumer Produce Safety Commission vetting several of the Manhattan stores, like Economy Candy and Jin Market, that were mentioned in the original article (um, duh).

The Italian-made candy, which features a plastic-encased toy inside of a hollow chocolate egg, are considered to be a choking hazard and are banned across the entire US. They also happen to be quite tasty, and are something of a cult candy item for junk-food enthusiasts, some of whom have announced plans to start a campaign to petition the government to "stop this nanny state garbage."

"It's a bloody chocolate with a toy inside. It's not smuggling crack cocaine," said Jigs Patel, owner of the Upper East Side's London Candy Co. He's right, and anyway, shouldn't we be more concerned with the shocking news that candy is making us fat?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jamie Feldmar in Food on April 25, 2011 5:24 PM

Comments [rss]

sevenkids

so why can this be sold here https://www.facebook.com/choco... I don't see any danger to the kinder eggs I have 7 kids ,we did get them when I was little and so did my kids....it does say on the label not for children under 3 years old, I don't see people having little fits about the happy meal toys they are not safe for little kids.......
if you pay intention to your kids they cant choke on them...or on any other toy !!!!! Use some common sense but a few people have to ruin the fun for everyone

sevenkids

so why can this be sold https://www.facebook.com/choco...

sevenkids

well why can this be sold then
https://www.facebook.com/choco...

Amela Osmic

I can not find out why they are so dangerous sure as a child to got the toy out i would bite the center of the tiny container to pop it open but i'm still alive and free of any medical complications. Did anyone try kinder joy yet?

Crafty Fox

im so glad im in Ireland, I grew up on Kinder eggs, theyre a european chocolate but the kind that isnt all over europe because its that tasty you dont want to share it too much. was in denmark a couple of weeks ago and to be honest it is all about the marabou chocolate now. youll be fucked when you discover it, its really hard to find. but i suppose i can always stroll to the shop for a kinder egg, make the toy, sell the toy, save the money, go to denmark.

Inconcievable de Impublishable

European candy doesn't make you fat.

dogbertt

Dollars to donuts, Bloomberg has a secret stash, right next to his Four Loko cellar.

Professor Von Nostren

Can you still get cereal with a toy in the box? This is the same sort of thing.

PhotoR

Sure, if you're like me and you eat cereal boxes because they're made out of delicious cardboard. mmmmmm cardboard.... ;)

Yishai

Pathetic. I don't like them, but making them illegal. I wonder what the possession charge is for selling these chocolates, 2 years?

Steven Drescher

At least put an 18+ age limit on them so I can still buy them. I love those things

-- I just smirked at the idea of getting carded for chocolate --

Steven Drescher

Soooo, let me get this straight... In the US it is pretty easy to legally buy a gun. It is pretty easy to go out and buy unlimited amounts of hard liquor. It is pretty easy to join the military and risk your life for your country. However, it is illegal to buy a chocolate egg. Something just does not add up.

PhotoR

We also give tax breaks to millionaires, give grants to multi-billion dollar corporations and pollute public water supplies in search of natural gas and oil. All this while cutting social services, taxing the poor, and making soldiers risk their lives invading other countries for their oil and natural resources. Welcome to America, land of the freebie and home of the hypocrisy.

DTSU

I normally don't throw my hat in with the whole "the guv'ment is a nanny state!" refrain, but I do have to say that this ban seems ridiculous. Why is it that kids in Mexico, Canada, Europe and Australia can manage to safety eat Kinder Surprise eggs if they're so dangerous?!

Unkle_Bob

How do you know they do?

Wunderweib

All across Europe, kids and adults eat these...and LIVE THROUGH IT. Gasp! We have an odd thing here (Europe)...it is called CHILD SUPERVISION...and common sense.

DTSU

They haven't banned Kinder Surprise eggs anywhere else. There's a first clue. A second is that in all the years I lived overseas I never once heard a parent protest about them, and I never once saw a news story about a child killed by a Kinder egg.

Parents oveseas buy these things for their older kids. And they trust that their kid is going to be smart enough to know not to swallow a giant plastic egg that is impossible to be taken for anything other than a giant plastic egg.

Rocknrope

They should replace the toys with benwah balls, then people will realize that it's for adults who won't be stupid enough to eat a huge plastic toy.

That doesn't really make sense. I probably just wanted to say "benwah balls."