Imagine this - you're coming back into the U.S. after a trip to Canada. You get picked out for a random search. Of course you're not bringing back anything illegal.

Or so you thought until the inspectors get to the Kinder Surprise candy in your bag and you're suddenly detained for smuggling. 

And just in case you think that I'm making up an unlikely scenario, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has confiscated tens of thousands of the chocolate candies illegally crossing the border over the years.

Kinder Surprise, also known as Kinder Eggs and Kinder Joy, have been beloved treats around the world for a generation. Originally introduced in Italy in 1974, and known for both their novelty value and their super creepy TV commercials, the chocolate eggs with a toy inside have been banned in the U.S. for just as long. 

In their original form, the candy was a large chocolate egg with a toy inside of the chocolate shell. But it was a no-go in America because of a regulation outlawing food with a "non-nutritive object embedded" inside. 

But late last year, the parent company Ferrero altered the design to conform to American laws.

Now, instead of the toy being inside of the chocolate egg, the package is separated into two individually sealed halves, with one half being the chocolate-cream candy and the other half containing the small toy. 

Photo by Justin Louis
Photo by Justin Louis
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In just the last week alone I've seen Kinder Joy displays everywhere from Walmart to QuickChek. In fact, the associate I spoke to at QuickChek told me that they can barely keep them in stock. As soon as they get a new supply, the eggs fly off the shelves.

I guess we have a lot of years to make up for missing out on one of the most popular kids' treats in the world!

Have your kids discovered Kinder Joy yet? 

 

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