More than 25,000 of the treats have been confiscated in 2,000 separate seizures, U.S. officials say.
"They have been determined to present … a choking hazard to young children," said Mike Milne, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, adding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration supports the Kinder Surprise ban.
The ban doesn't sit well with at least one Winnipeg woman whose innocent attempt to bring one of the $2 candies across the border nearly cost her a $300 fine.
"It's just a chocolate egg," Linda Bird said. "And they were making a big deal. They said 'if you were caught with this across the border you would get charged a $300 fine.'
"It's ridiculous. It's so ridiculous."
Bird said the U.S. government sent her a seven-page letter asking her to formally authorize the disposal of her seized Kinder egg or send $250 to cover storage costs if she desired to appeal.
"I thought it was a joke. I had to read it twice. But they are serious," she said.
