Kinder Eggs now for sale in US... sort of.
March 10, 2018 3:28 PM Subscribe
The Kinder Joy consists of two individually packaged halves, with one half containing the chocolate and the other containing the toy.
I've seen these in some European delis around town, and... they're Not The Same.
Handing them out to my sister's kiddies, they readily confirmed that these are Not The Same.
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:31 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Handing them out to my sister's kiddies, they readily confirmed that these are Not The Same.
posted by Capt. Renault at 3:31 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
My kid rejected these so hard. Bad toy, bad candy.
posted by uncleozzy at 3:39 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by uncleozzy at 3:39 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
The kinder surprise eggs we got in Slovenia had a chocolate egg-shaped shell around a plastic pill-shaped container about 2” long and an inch-and-a-half in diameter. There’s no way a kid can choke on that. So why is there a problem? Is there some other kinder surprise egg where the toy is just loose?
(My daughter bought one of these new fake-o kinder surprise “eggs” last week at the grocery store, and ... it was a disappointment. )
posted by leahwrenn at 3:46 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
(My daughter bought one of these new fake-o kinder surprise “eggs” last week at the grocery store, and ... it was a disappointment. )
posted by leahwrenn at 3:46 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
So why is there a problem?
They run afoul of a US law that boils down to "If you want to sell food in the US, it has to be made out of food."
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:52 PM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
They run afoul of a US law that boils down to "If you want to sell food in the US, it has to be made out of food."
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 3:52 PM on March 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
There’s no way a kid can choke on that. So why is there a problem? Is there some other kinder surprise egg where the toy is just loose?
The issue with Kinder eggs in the US isn't actually fear of kids choking, it's that there's a law (dating from the 1930s) prohibiting non-food items in confections.
posted by hoyland at 3:52 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
The issue with Kinder eggs in the US isn't actually fear of kids choking, it's that there's a law (dating from the 1930s) prohibiting non-food items in confections.
posted by hoyland at 3:52 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]
When I saw that, unlike the original, there were “boy” and “girl” versions of these new eggs, I decided that I wasn't even going to give them a chance.
posted by Ampersand692 at 3:52 PM on March 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
posted by Ampersand692 at 3:52 PM on March 10, 2018 [32 favorites]
I saw a pair of cute kids opening an all-toy version of these on public transit yesterday, and while I get the appeal they must hold for the young, the sheer amount of waste these things left in the wake of that fleeting delight was horrific. The packaging alone was a nightmare, since every component was individually wrapped in plastic that quickly turned into tiny tumbleweeds blowing up and down the aisles. The 'egg' itself was also huge, and plastic, and useless, and the treats within all cheap and forgettable plastic.
At least part of the Kinder egg is (semi)edible, I guess.
posted by halation at 4:00 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
At least part of the Kinder egg is (semi)edible, I guess.
posted by halation at 4:00 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
→ "If you want to sell food in the US, it has to be made out of food."
as a rebuttal, may I present White Castle?
posted by scruss at 4:16 PM on March 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
as a rebuttal, may I present White Castle?
posted by scruss at 4:16 PM on March 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
Kinder Joy [sic]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:17 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Tried this last week. Inferior to the original in every way. The candy itself seemed to be actively aiming for lowest-common-denominator-American-chocolate levels of bad.
posted by kreinsch at 4:30 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kreinsch at 4:30 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sucks so bad my kids didn‘t even want to finish theirs. We‘ll have to keep relying on contraband from Germany...
posted by The Toad at 4:44 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by The Toad at 4:44 PM on March 10, 2018
I saw these in the supermarket last week and was wondering what the deal was. Guess the overwhelming mefi consensus is "skip entirely" soooo roger that.
posted by potrzebie at 4:47 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by potrzebie at 4:47 PM on March 10, 2018
If you live in a city with a decently sized Eastern European and/or Russian/former-USSR contingent, you can find the real ones without much difficulty. Just head to whichever ethnic grocery those folks favor and you'll find them there.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:01 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:01 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Good story about it here that goes into the tragic impetus behind the 1938 law but be aware that there's a heartbreaking letter quoted.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:18 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:18 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
They run afoul of a US law that boils down to "If you want to sell food in the US, it has to be made out of food."
Yes, except that breakfast cereals have been doing the exact same thing all along, so...?
posted by Sys Rq at 5:22 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Yes, except that breakfast cereals have been doing the exact same thing all along, so...?
posted by Sys Rq at 5:22 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
The United States of America: Kinder Surprises are dangerous. Have a gun to protect yourself.
posted by Talez at 5:28 PM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
posted by Talez at 5:28 PM on March 10, 2018 [16 favorites]
I like a Kinder Joy more than a Kinder Egg; the candy tastes better. More like a Kinder Hippo than the flattened M&M that Kinder Eggs are reminiscent of. Let's face it, the toys in all Kinder variants are going downhill and have been for a long time now.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 5:34 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by lefty lucky cat at 5:34 PM on March 10, 2018
I feel like the actual toys got a bit better again in the last few years. But the pink or blue "girls' and boys'" eggs which seem to make up the majority of the eggs on shelves really hack me off. Children can't even have an actual surprise with their shitty chocolate in case they get something "belonging to" the "wrong" gender? Infuriating.
posted by howfar at 5:44 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by howfar at 5:44 PM on March 10, 2018 [10 favorites]
If all I'm missing because of a law specifying food must contain food is a shitty plastic toy wrapped in mediocre chocolate, I'm not gonna get my knickers in a twist over what "excitement" that law is costing me.
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 5:55 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by los pantalones del muerte at 5:55 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
The added bonus of kinder-egg 'smuggling' into the US is that you get to feel like a badass, that you are actively attempting to smuggle contraband into the country... And if you get caught, you have a piece of candy taken away from you.
We should be thanking them for this law.
Also, shitty candy, shitty prize.
posted by el io at 6:08 PM on March 10, 2018
We should be thanking them for this law.
Also, shitty candy, shitty prize.
posted by el io at 6:08 PM on March 10, 2018
I get that various economic factors in the US make it viable to sell terrible candy. But, why does this candy have to be made from terrible bad US chocolate?
Also: Kit-Kat bars are sold world-wide. But the license to produce them in the US is held by the Hershey company, meaning not only do we in the US miss out on the wide array of flavors of Kit-Kat sold around the world, but they also get made out of crappy Hershey's chocolate!
"Greatest country," feh.
posted by JHarris at 6:37 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also: Kit-Kat bars are sold world-wide. But the license to produce them in the US is held by the Hershey company, meaning not only do we in the US miss out on the wide array of flavors of Kit-Kat sold around the world, but they also get made out of crappy Hershey's chocolate!
"Greatest country," feh.
posted by JHarris at 6:37 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
See, the label of this product will also be a problem because it says “Joy” in big letters, but any kid who gets one will confirm there’s not a speck of real joy under that foil.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:40 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by wenestvedt at 6:40 PM on March 10, 2018
The United States of America: Kinder Surprises are dangerous. Have a gun to protect yourself.
Kid Ruki got all excited when she saw the word Kinder on an egg shaped object at the store the other day, which prompted me to say, a bit too loudly, "No, that's a Kinder Joy. We're still in the US, where guns are legal but chocolate eggs are banned because they might kill you." The poor cashier at CVS was visibly startled by my outburst.
posted by Ruki at 6:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
Kid Ruki got all excited when she saw the word Kinder on an egg shaped object at the store the other day, which prompted me to say, a bit too loudly, "No, that's a Kinder Joy. We're still in the US, where guns are legal but chocolate eggs are banned because they might kill you." The poor cashier at CVS was visibly startled by my outburst.
posted by Ruki at 6:58 PM on March 10, 2018 [8 favorites]
I read that voodoo donuts was putting chewable otc meds on their donuts when they 1st opened but were told to stop.
posted by brujita at 7:00 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by brujita at 7:00 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
→ Kit-Kat bars … made out of crappy Hershey's chocolate
UK Kit-Kats, back in the days when they were made in York, used a soured chocolate very like Hershey's to counteract the brackish overtones of the wafer. We used to get bags of factory rejects, and a solid-chocolate Kit-Kat finger was pretty nasty.
posted by scruss at 7:08 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
UK Kit-Kats, back in the days when they were made in York, used a soured chocolate very like Hershey's to counteract the brackish overtones of the wafer. We used to get bags of factory rejects, and a solid-chocolate Kit-Kat finger was pretty nasty.
posted by scruss at 7:08 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
"If you want to sell food in the US, it has to be made out of food."
Wouldn't have guessed, given the evidence. I mean, candy corn? Twinkies? Nah.
Anyway I used to smuggle a few kinder eggs into the US on my way back every time.... My friends who smoked weed liked the little yellow plastic containers. They also tended to get more excited about the chocolate. And the toys, come to think of it. Go figure.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:30 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wouldn't have guessed, given the evidence. I mean, candy corn? Twinkies? Nah.
Anyway I used to smuggle a few kinder eggs into the US on my way back every time.... My friends who smoked weed liked the little yellow plastic containers. They also tended to get more excited about the chocolate. And the toys, come to think of it. Go figure.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:30 PM on March 10, 2018 [2 favorites]
Nthing that these are just awful. Gave several to a nibling^ in the past couple of years and one package simply contained a bunch of plastic and cardboard pieces that didn't fit together into the supposed toy.
posted by XMLicious at 9:06 PM on March 10, 2018
posted by XMLicious at 9:06 PM on March 10, 2018
I'm surprised by all the negative reviews! It's not a real Kinder egg ("Kinder Surprise") and the amount of plastic sucks, but the actual confection, I think, is pretty tasty. Plus the appeal of Kinder eggs, to me, has always been less about the taste than about the experience, much of which is sensory: the thin chocolate shell in a perfect egg shape, trying to crack the shell perfectly in half (or, alternately, biting into it), admiring the contrast between the milk chocolate outside and white chocolate inside in such a thin shell, wondering what the toy's going to be, cracking open the yolk (which has been reengineered to be much less of an accomplishment these days), putting together the toy, admiring the (often ingenious) thinking behind it, keeping the yolk to store things in. The Kinder Joy loses some of that, but still offers a nice experience of its own (cracking the egg, peeling open the compartments, digging in with the little spoon, the contrast in textures, all the toy-related stuff). It's a different beast and not a replacement, but it's nice and is its own sensory experience.
It's also been around outside of the US for more than a decade, and when I first saw it I was sure the whole reasoning behind it was to qualify for sale in the US so I'm surprised it's taken so very long. Also the gender coloring is obnoxious but relatively new - I really hope they'll go back to the old gender-neutral version.
(Count me as another person who never understood how toys in breakfast cereal were any better. The article bonobothegreat posted is very interesting, but it really sounds like the FDA could have ruled that the yolk/toy have “practical functional value to the confectionery” and let the eggs be sold in the US - it's not like the law would have needed to be rewritten.)
posted by trig at 1:53 AM on March 11, 2018
It's also been around outside of the US for more than a decade, and when I first saw it I was sure the whole reasoning behind it was to qualify for sale in the US so I'm surprised it's taken so very long. Also the gender coloring is obnoxious but relatively new - I really hope they'll go back to the old gender-neutral version.
(Count me as another person who never understood how toys in breakfast cereal were any better. The article bonobothegreat posted is very interesting, but it really sounds like the FDA could have ruled that the yolk/toy have “practical functional value to the confectionery” and let the eggs be sold in the US - it's not like the law would have needed to be rewritten.)
posted by trig at 1:53 AM on March 11, 2018
another person who never understood how toys in breakfast cereal were any better
Or Cracker Jack. But it was my understanding that the anti-Kinder laws were state legislation, not federal. There were some states that allowed them, others not. Of course, as any Trumper will tell you, the US is slowly becoming a nanny-state. With guns.
posted by CCBC at 3:54 AM on March 11, 2018
Or Cracker Jack. But it was my understanding that the anti-Kinder laws were state legislation, not federal. There were some states that allowed them, others not. Of course, as any Trumper will tell you, the US is slowly becoming a nanny-state. With guns.
posted by CCBC at 3:54 AM on March 11, 2018
We tried them a couple weeks ago and they suck to a degree that I was not expecting. I will continue to ask my family in Italy to mail us the real shit.
The eggs must flow.
posted by lydhre at 4:06 AM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
The eggs must flow.
posted by lydhre at 4:06 AM on March 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
another person who never understood how toys in breakfast cereal were any better
Apparently the distinction that makes no real difference is that in cereal boxes or cracker jacks, the toy is just in the package with loose food instead of being contained in an actual prey item itself?
I wondered about king cakes, but googling seems to agree that they're actually illegal to sell too though obvs that's not enforced.
But it was my understanding that the anti-Kinder laws were state legislation, not federal
Federal Food, Drug, And Cosmetic Act of 1938.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:02 AM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Apparently the distinction that makes no real difference is that in cereal boxes or cracker jacks, the toy is just in the package with loose food instead of being contained in an actual prey item itself?
I wondered about king cakes, but googling seems to agree that they're actually illegal to sell too though obvs that's not enforced.
But it was my understanding that the anti-Kinder laws were state legislation, not federal
Federal Food, Drug, And Cosmetic Act of 1938.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:02 AM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
The first time I encountered a bay leaf in someone's homemade spaghetti, I tried to eat it, but was told I wasn't supposed to. They apparently didn't know it was illegal.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:08 AM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:08 AM on March 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
I wondered about king cakes, but googling seems to agree that they're actually illegal to sell too though obvs that's not enforced.
I see them sold with the baby sitting on top. Maybe you're meant to jam it in the cake from the bottom yourself. I don't know, it's not my cultural tradition.
posted by hoyland at 6:10 AM on March 11, 2018
I see them sold with the baby sitting on top. Maybe you're meant to jam it in the cake from the bottom yourself. I don't know, it's not my cultural tradition.
posted by hoyland at 6:10 AM on March 11, 2018
I've seen them with the baby enclosed in a tiny plastic bag.
posted by brujita at 6:57 AM on March 11, 2018
posted by brujita at 6:57 AM on March 11, 2018
I've seen them sold both baby-in and baby-out. Decades ago I took some visiting Brit friends to Mardi Gras World where everyone was given a slice of king cake at the start of the tour and one of them nearly choked on the baby because he had no idea there was the possibility of a plastic baby winding up in his mouth. Good luck and prosperity indeed!
posted by Hal Mumkin at 8:12 AM on March 11, 2018
posted by Hal Mumkin at 8:12 AM on March 11, 2018
There is also Toy Box, which has two chocolate halves that don't quite touch and is therefore legal for sale in the US.
posted by mosst at 8:10 AM on March 12, 2018
posted by mosst at 8:10 AM on March 12, 2018
Yeah well I think the candy or chocolate or whatever is in these is WAY BETTER than the old Kinder eggs.
posted by Polychrome at 1:13 PM on March 12, 2018
posted by Polychrome at 1:13 PM on March 12, 2018
I've seen them with the baby enclosed in a tiny plastic bag
... is a terrifying sentence to read without context.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:12 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
... is a terrifying sentence to read without context.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:12 AM on March 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
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