I’m still enjoying my vacation on Prince Edward Island, as part of attending the National Basketball League of Canada’s All-Star Weekend.
And today is Easter Sunday. Happy Easter to all of my blog readers.
On the drive up to P.E.I., I stopped at a gas station. By the way, gas in Canada is pretty expensive, and don’t believe the price of $1.39 at the pump. That’s actually $1.39 per litre, and you’re looking at $50-$60 to fill the tank.
Anyways, I made a quick trip to the gas station’s convenience store. A bottle of diet cola? Sure. Some peanuts? Of course. A Kinder Egg?
I had to try one. At least while I’m in Canada, and with the understanding that I’m not bringing a Kinder Egg back to the states.
At least not if I don’t want to get arrested at the border.
Let me explain.
Kinder Eggs are milk chocolate candy eggs, and after you chew through the chocolate coating, you’ll find a little plastic capsule inside. The capsule contains a miniature toy or puzzle. Here’s a commercial for the product.
Now there’s a couple of reasons why these treats are banned in America. The first is that the little plastic toys are possible choking hazards, especially for kids under the age of three. The second is that the Food and Drug Administration bans the importation of food in which a non-nutritive substance is completely coated in an edible substance. This rule has been on the books since 1938.
Now someone could make the argument that fortune cookies have non-nutritive interiors (the fortunes themselves) inside the cookies, but that argument doesn’t work – you can actually SEE the paper fortune inside the cookie, and the fortune isn’t completely encased inside the food. Same thing with Tootsie Pops. You know there’s a stick inside because the stick is visible outside of the candy treat.
So here I am in Canada. It’s legal and acceptable to purchase and consume Kinder Surprise Eggs. What the heck. I’ll try one.
I ate the outer candy-chocolate shell. It was okay I guess…
And then I found the plastic toy capsule inside. And the capsule’s contents? A small plastic puzzle that looked like a little red fence for a plastic toy farm. Meh.
So what if I brought back a pack or two of Kinder Eggs for my friends? It’s not like I haven’t brought candies back over the border before – mostly packs of Smarties for my trivia teammates and a can of poutine sauce for that homemade poutine goodness. 🙂
I will say this. Importing a Kinder Surprise Egg from Canada to the United States is punishable by a fine of $2,500 PER EGG. And there are documented cases of people who have been detained at the border for hours. I know it’s easy to say, “Hey, you can have guns and drugs and stuff in the United States, but a little chocolate candy egg can get you detained at the border?”
Well, yeah. A rule is rule.
So you can enjoy Kinder Eggs for as long as you want this Easter – so long as you don’t bring them back into the United States. Fair warning.
Besides … I have other gifts to bring back to the States.
And trust me. Those gifts I bring will be appreciated for a longer time than will a foil-wrapped toy chocolate egg.
Chuck The Writer 