see also: in January 2009:   CBP Officers Discover 957 Pounds of Marijuana in Concrete Pipes   CBP Canine Detects $600,000 Worth of Marijuana at Douglas Port   CBP Officers Seize $80,000 of Marijuana at Naco Port of Entry   Border Patrol Stops Vehicle, Leads to Meth Seizure   CBP Officers at Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge Seize Fake $20’s Found during Outbound Inspection   Border Patrol Agents Rescue Woman Injured in Car Accident   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Arrest Wanted Sex Offender ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Newark, N.J. - U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Jersey City International Bulk Mail Facility continue to intercept shipments of Kinder chocolates which contain a surprise toy within a plastic capsule. Kinder chocolates are widely sold throughout the U.S. however, this particular candy has been banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission because the toy surprise hidden inside can pose choking and aspiration hazards to children younger than three. The chocolate eggs also violate the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 which prohibits embedding non-food items completely inside food items.

The Kinder Surprise Eggs are hollow milk chocolate eggs about the size of a large hen's egg in an orange, white and blue foil wrapper. The toy within the egg is contained in an oval-shaped plastic capsule. Each egg contains a different toy that requires assembly.

Alert CBP officers have been discovering the banned chocolate eggs during mail inspections using non-intrusive X-ray machines. More than 500 seizures have been made containing more than 6,000 chocolate eggs since last October. Most of the shipments that have been intercepted appear to be individual importations from Germany and Austria.

“One of CBP’s roles as the unified border agency is to protect American children from these potentially dangerous toys,” stated Robert E. Perez, CBP Director of Field Operations. “The popularity of Kinder Surprise Eggs has generated an increase in mail importations but consumers should be made aware of the danger that these products pose to small children.”

The Ferrero Group, which manufactures Kinder chocolate eggs, does not market this product in the United States. However, Ferrero does market the product in other countries solely for children three and older. They design these toys to be assembled by older children and consider the product safe for children ages three years and up.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.