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At The Sistine Chapel
Later, from our younger daughter who knows Kinder Eir better than anyone I know:
The Kinder Joys you see at the store, that are to resemble the Kinder Eir of Europe, may be by the same brand and they may have found a way to sell their egg shaped chocolate with a toy in it, but I can assure you it is NOT the same. I won't buy them anymore. I bought one and tried it, not the same. But when well meaning friends or family buy me it, I will eat it, but for the price they tend to be, not worth it when you know what the real deal is.
By the way, our older daughter says the same thing: the "American" Kinder Eggs are not the same and the chocolate is not as good.
Original Post
They noted that the US bans the Kinder Eir due to choking hazard (small plastic toy inside each Kinder Eir, much like Cracker Jacks) but the AK-47 is pretty much widely available in the US.
According to wiki:
United States. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits confectionery products which contain a “non-nutritive object”, unless the non-nutritive object has functional value. ... Kinder Surprise eggs are legal in Canada and Mexico, but are illegal to import into the US.The US fine for smuggling Kinder Eir into the states? $2,500/egg.
Apparently the Kinder Eir may now be available in the US. It seems like I've seen them. If so, this explains how Ferrero cracked the code, as they say.
On another note, we're getting updates on their sailing trip in the Aegean. They had six days of incredibly beautiful, breezy weather, perfect for sailing. On one of the days, an unexpected storm kicked up -- very, very quickly. They called it "hurricane winds." Probably not quite that bad but quite alarming. The boat turned sideways into the waves and was listing close to 45 degrees or worse. Quick thinking on the part of the skipper and great teamwork by the three saved the boat from capsizing.
