The Sputterly Utter

Once and for all, why are there no Kinder Surprise eggs in the US?




According to an unofficial Kinder site, "In an informal conversation in August 1996 between one Kinder collector and a Marketing Manager at Ferrero Canada Limited, the collector was told that the US had two laws that prevented the sale of Kinder Surprise in the States.
The first was to do with the 'small parts regulations' that require the phrase "Not suited for children under three years of age" to appear on the product. The second states that an edible item cannot completely enclose a non-edible object.The Marketing Manager stated that, while the first law could be easily complied with, the fact that the chocolate egg completely surrounds the capsule inside prevented Kinder Surprise from being sold in the States.
He went on to say that Ferrero Canada Limited had been trying to persuade Ferrero to produce an "American" version with two half shells and the capsule.
It is hard to verify this, but Brazilian collectors will tell you that the Kinder Eggs marketed there are sold in two halves, with one half of the egg being a creamy chocolate confection, while the other half contains the toy, so it is possible that there may be other reasons for the non-apearance of Kinder on the American market."
In 1997, there was a recall.
As a side note, one site I read claimed that German Kinder Surprise toys are better than Italian ones. Toys for German Kinder eggs are made in Germany, and Italy makes the toys for the whole rest of the world.
Kinder Surprise eggs are of Italian, not German, origin.