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  • #863884

    You can get Irn-Bru imported from Scotland to the US through Great Scot International (they’re out of NC). The reason the original is banned is because it uses a food colorant that is banned in the US, because it’s considered carcinogenic by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Something else is used instead of Ponceau 4R for coloring for the stuff imported here.

    Interesting. I just ate my last kinder egg (I brought back about 10 of them from Prague this summer, though some arrived a little misshapen from walking around with a bag of those and several pounds of bottles of alcohol one day from a grocery store there in the sun). A bunch of us brought them back and way more than 2L of alcohol (you’d think I was a lush, but I still have most of it, and it wasn’t all for me! Pack lots of socks… they come in handy on the return trip!). The only thing they cared about was if I had any meat products. I even brought back a rabbit hide (for costuming.. it was the perfect color and size I needed) and carved eggs, all declared. They didn’t care. It seems like every so often someone gets them confiscated coming into the US, but I know many people who bring them in, at least by flying, without an issue. Depends on the border person and how they interpret the law, because it isn’t evenly interpreted (1938 law that doesn’t allow for non-food items to be INSIDE food, but in the box or same container is ok, and as of 2008 it was ruled that the toys don’t meet safety standards because of small parts), ie. can bring it in for personal use, but not for sale, or can’t bring it in altogether. I have a decent collection and stock up whenever I travel to Europe. 🙂 Guess I won’t try to drive any in from Canada and just eat the chocolate beforehand!

    I agree that it is quite sad that they can’t be sold in the US.

    #863902
    scenceable
    Participant

      I believe I’ve seen a maple icewine… and maybe even had some, but that was a long time ago.

      ice wine is a canadian thing anyway isn’t it? Apparently it’s disgusting though! I don’t drink wine much so I have nothing to compare it to.

      I swear I read a story about some lady getting fined for taking kinder eggs over the border. The kinder bueno bars are fine though since they don’t have toys in them, and they’re pretty delicious.

      #863924

      scenceable, you aren’t imagining it. In January 2011 someone was threatened with a $300 fine (Google search), but I’m not sure if she was actually fined for sure. Either way, it seems like it’s a law that is enforced differently, depending on who you are dealing with.

      I would love to get one of the larger eggs at Easter or the ones that come out on Christmas Eve! My first and favorite Kinder toy is the chameleon I have that, when you roll him around, his tongue sticks out! If I ever got questioned about them, I’d probably sit right there and smash all of them, just to get the toy, so I’d at least have that (the chocolate isn’t the best in the world, though not horrible by any means, so I wouldn’t cry over the loss!).

      #863925
      Rachel
      Participant

        I believe I’ve seen a maple icewine… and maybe even had some, but that was a long time ago.

        ice wine is a canadian thing anyway isn’t it? Apparently it’s disgusting though! I don’t drink wine much so I have nothing to compare it to.

        I swear I read a story about some lady getting fined for taking kinder eggs over the border. The kinder bueno bars are fine though since they don’t have toys in them, and they’re pretty delicious.

        I LOVE ice wine. I’m not sure it’s entirely Canadian, but it seems that a lot of it originates there. They use the grapes after a frost to make the wine, so the sugar is concentrated. It’s quite sweet, so you don’t want a big glass. Of course, it’s pretty expensive, so that’s another reason you don’t want a big glass (it comes in skinny bottles, too).

        #863930
        Azurielle
        Participant

          Hmmm…my friend brings Kinder Eggs from Germany for us all the time…
          Oh, and they also have ice wine in germany, so I don’t think it’s just a canadian thing…

          Keeper of the Fledgings

          #863935

          Oregon and Washington make ice wines as well.

          If you don’t like sour/sweet, it’s pretty awful. 🙂

          #863940
          Melody
          Keymaster

            Is it illegal to mail alcohol to the states?

            I think I read somewhere that it’s illegal to send any sort of food across the border, but I’ve sent and received tons and never had an issue. Has anyone done it? I mean I’m not saying I’m doing to mail windstone a ton of booze or anything I’m just curious now!

            We have these chocolate eggs in canada called kinder eggs, apparently not only do they not sell them in USA, but it’s illegal to, they’re considered “contraband” and someone got a huge fine for taking them over the border. Because they have a toy inside, and in the states you can’t put toys inside food or something.

            Now I’m wondering if they make maple flavoured alcohol. XD

            Oh my god you’re kidding!! The US doesn’t have kinder eggs!! Kinder eggs bring so much happiness to my life, to those who don’t know you have the toy comes all in pieces rolled up in the instructions and they all get curled up into a little egg pod. I got an albatross once when I was little and it had a tiny set of cogs in it, so when you rolled it along the table it’s wings flapped. It was the best.

            Incidentally I think the US has Irn Bru on the banned list too because Scotland refuses to give up the ‘secret ingredient’. (It’s GIRDERS!)

            (Not really.)

            I want a kinder egg for Christmas and a naff 70s jumper with reindeers on it.

            We have Kinder eggs in the US, we would get them from a German import place. I still have a few toys from them.

            #863942
            Kiera
            Participant

              I can answer a couple questions – I believe that the kinder toy chocolate eggs are not allowed into the USA, not so much because it is a toy contained in chocolate, but because it is a TINY toy contained in food, and is considered a choking hazard. Technically, you could choke on one of those plastic eggs if you tried hard enough. 😛

              And you may NOT mail food to the USA, unless it is home made. If it is home made, you have to list all of the ingredients on the customs form. If it is store bought or pre-packaged, then you have to get a ‘prior notice’ thingy from the FDA. This was put into effect after 911, to prevent ‘bioterrorism’.

              Follow linky. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104×882807

              That said, I mail stuff to the USA frequently, and I haven’t had a problem mailing things like candy bars. Though I did avoid doing so until 2007, I figured that enforcement of that law would get more relaxed, and it did. Generally speaking, unless you are a business, it isn’t worth the hassle and cost of getting permission. Just do it, and claim ignorance if an issue comes up.

              As for alcohol, the answer is just plain ‘no’. It is considered a ‘hazardous good’ and can’t be mailed locally or abroad. If you try, it will get confiscated. (True Story) American friend of mine tried to mail me a bottle of amaretto and some chocolate wafers as a surprise. Ten days later, I thanked him for the wafers. He asked if I liked the amaretto. I said… ‘what amaretto’? He went to the post office, and found out that the staff there had opened the package and removed the bottle so that the package could still be mailed. He did get the bottle back, and was…. well, I would have paidmoney to have been there to witness his reaction to the staff. 😛 B

              #863982

              People send stuff to us all the time. The best stuff is made out of chocolate.

              What! Alcohol is the best present.

              Do they make chocolate flavoured alcohol?

              CHOCOLATE FLAVORED VODKA!!!!! it’s yummy!!!

              #864305
              chrisherself
              Participant

                Is it illegal to mail alcohol to the states?

                I think I read somewhere that it’s illegal to send any sort of food across the border, but I’ve sent and received tons and never had an issue. Has anyone done it? I mean I’m not saying I’m doing to mail windstone a ton of booze or anything I’m just curious now!

                We have these chocolate eggs in canada called kinder eggs, apparently not only do they not sell them in USA, but it’s illegal to, they’re considered “contraband” and someone got a huge fine for taking them over the border. Because they have a toy inside, and in the states you can’t put toys inside food or something.

                Now I’m wondering if they make maple flavoured alcohol. XD

                Oh my god you’re kidding!! The US doesn’t have kinder eggs!! Kinder eggs bring so much happiness to my life, to those who don’t know you have the toy comes all in pieces rolled up in the instructions and they all get curled up into a little egg pod. I got an albatross once when I was little and it had a tiny set of cogs in it, so when you rolled it along the table it’s wings flapped. It was the best.

                Incidentally I think the US has Irn Bru on the banned list too because Scotland refuses to give up the ‘secret ingredient’. (It’s GIRDERS!)

                (Not really.)

                I want a kinder egg for Christmas and a naff 70s jumper with reindeers on it.

                We have Kinder eggs in the US, we would get them from a German import place. I still have a few toys from them.

                Yeah, if any of you are missing Kinder eggs, look up shops in your area that import German or maybe Italian products. Or just have a lot of imports. I used to work at a German deli/shop and we had Kinder eggs and all kinds of imported candy. No one ever came to fine my boss. 🙂

                We opened one at the shop one day. I’ve had tastier chocolate, but the toy inside was way fun to assemble. Choking hazard for sure though, I guess I can understand the ban a LITTLE. Silly litigious society.

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