Meet the Choco Surprise

As more and more childhood memories slowly disappear, Kinder Surprises, or kinder eggs as they're sometimes referred to, were created by Ferrero, who also created the popular spread Nutella. They were banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 1938. They were banned under the right that "a confectionery product with a non-nutritive object, partially or totally embedded within it, cannot be sold within the United States, unless the FDA issues a regulation that the non-nutritive object has functional value", otherwise known as the 1938 Food and Drug Act. There have been few cases of people smuggling them in over the Canadian border to sell in the United States of America, as a woman from Winnipeg found out after paying a $300 fine. 

Smugglers, be gone. There is now a much safer, legal alternative, and you can thank the genius minds behind 

it.

They're called "Choco Treasures", and are produced by Candy Treasure LLC, a candy producer is New Jersey. They cost between $1 to $1.49, and they're sold on Candy Treasure's website (www.chocotreasure.com), Target, and a candy store in Lower Manhattan called Economy Candy.

Kevin Gass, the creator, reported to ABC News that "he worked with the FDA and a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission certified lab to make sure the product was safe for children of all ages." To wit: The egg is designed that each egg contains a capsule that separates the two halves of the chocolate. The capsule also has expands around the side, so all children can tell there's something there by the edges.

Kinder Surprises were banned for the reason that the candy was not eligible for kids under 3 to eat, due to choking hazards from the toys. Most Kinder toys had to be assembled. However, Gass and the FDA had created a bigger egg so that no assembly was required.

Squirty toys, hand-painted figurines, full decks of mini playing cards, 3D puzzles and spinning tops are just a number of kid-friendly toys a Choco Surprise could hold. His motivaton behind which toys to enclose was because if they were for kids, why not add toys adults could love, too? Gass revealed that one of the biggest challenges was finding a toy that appealed to adults and kids alike, even though children are the target audience.

The best part? The eggs are being released just in time for this year's Easter. There are also 2 special edition eggs:  Sport eggs, containing a sport related toy, and a Spiderman version, licensed by the comic giant, Marvel.

Candy Treasure LLC is also sponsoring multiple Easter Egg hunts around America, and the proceeds will help donate Choco Surprise eggs to St. Jude’s Children’s Ranch & Hospital, the L.A. Zoo, the NY City Parks Dept, Chicago Parks Dept, Glazer Children’s Museum, and the Drumthwacket Foundation.

While there’s finally a legal alternative, fans of the original Kinder Surprise have set up a Facebook page for the Kinder eggs and have also started a petition trying to get the ban lifted.