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>I don't think anyone is arguing for more dangerous products or safety precautions for toddlers. Maybe some people think that way. Colloquially, I've heard abo

>I don't think anyone is arguing for more dangerous products or safety precautions for toddlers. Maybe some people think that way. Colloquially, I've heard about a million times Europeans laugh at how ridiculous they think some laws are in that regard, such as Kinder eggs being banned in America.

ghaff 8y ago
As with many things, there's probably a lot of focus on edge cases about which reasonable people can disagree. Bucky balls were another recent case. And then there's the sheaf of safety warnings that come with every product and no one ever reads. But, mostly, getting rid of small parts in toddler toys, avoiding sharp edges, baby monitors, etc. are probably significant net positives for safety without a whole lot of downside.
- astura 8y ago
  The ban on bucky balls was overturned in court. https://www.popsci.com/buckyballs-are-back-on-market https://www.popsci.com/buckyballs-are-back-on-market
JackCh 8y ago
Are kinder eggs actually a dangerous product, or are they just getting swept up by broader American legislation? It's my understanding the American law preventing the importation of kinder eggs is a law against inedible objects from being embedded inside edible objects, which seems generally reasonable. Generally. But are Kinder eggs actually dangerous? Are many European children dying because of Kinder eggs specifically?
- ghaff 8y ago
  Very unusual but apparently it can happen: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kinder-egg-toy-death-france-three-year-old-french-girl-chokes-a6822626.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kinder-egg-t...
  - Luc 8y ago
    Note she choked on the toy, not on the egg. That could have happened with a US-friendly 'chocolate egg with toy not inside it' packaging as well. The egg has been redesigned some years ago. The two parts now stay attached together.
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  Kinder eggs are something that were swept up in a generally well-meaning legislation. It improved safety overall, but generally disallows such products to be sold lest there be a choking hazard. All that said, I think there are ways to get exceptions, but they are shy to give them away. And it really is a shame in this case: though there have been perhaps a handful of suspected choking cases in children, overall they have been quite reasonably safe (based on years and years of them being sold to children elsewhere). It simply winds up being a silly ban done for a good overall reason.
- koide 8y ago
  I would dispute the reasonableness of that law... Does it apply to cherries, olives, avocado, apples, pears, etc.?
  - JackCh 8y ago
    As I understand it, it applies to corporations deliberately manufacturing foods that way. It would be ridiculous if the law applied to fruits, but it doesn't. And nobody would earnestly call for the law to be applied in that way except in an attempt to make some sort of rhetorical argument for allowing corporations to put inedible plastic objects inside of food.
    - koide 8y ago
      The point is why it doesn't apply to fruits. People already feed their children with food that naturally contain inedible things in them. The law would make sense to force labelling so parents can tell if there's inedible things in a specific food item and also to make sure those things are non-toxic. Anything more reeks of overreaching to me. Then again, I'm not as creative as USA food corporations, so I could be having trouble imagining what they'd do if the law was as I'm describing it.
civilitty 8y ago
It's not the eggs that are banned, the FDA bans the practice of putting inedible objects fully encased in edible things in general. I loved me my Kinder Surprise when I was a kid but I don't think that's an unreasonable restriction when it comes to products marketed towards children (I don't know if it applies across the board or only to things marketed at children). Kinder has introduced an American version now where the egg is split vertically into two halves - one half has the chocolate and the other half has the toy so that there's no risk of accidentally eating it. I'm not sure if they do the assembly required toys for the American version but I see the eggs everywhere now.
- repsilat 8y ago
  Huh, I guess I have never seen "fake bone-in chicken". Interesting that food can contain inedible objects, but you're not allowed to put them there. At this point I guess it would be helpful to know the letter of the law/regulation, but it's also probably not important enough to bother. Do big American Easter eggs sometimes come with plastic bags of smaller candies inside? Those seem less likely to be a choking hazard, but similar enough that they could fall afoul of the law that hits the Kinder eggs.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  How do tiered cakes work in USA? Wedding cakes, for example, in UK often have hidden 'pillars' inside the lower tiers to provide structural strength. Perhaps there's a size limit on embedded non-edible components.
  - 5DFractalTetris 8y ago
    I could tell you but it'd void your cake's warranty.
  - seandougall 8y ago
    That happens here too, but a lot of the stricter regulations apply only to prepackaged foods; I expect this is one of those. King cakes are another example — commonly enjoyed despite how many baby Jesuses have been swallowed or choked on.

ghaff 8y ago

As with many things, there's probably a lot of focus on edge cases about which reasonable people can disagree. Bucky balls were another recent case. And then there's the sheaf of safety warnings that come with every product and no one ever reads. But, mostly, getting rid of small parts in toddler toys, avoiding sharp edges, baby monitors, etc. are probably significant net positives for safety without a whole lot of downside.

astura 8y ago
The ban on bucky balls was overturned in court. https://www.popsci.com/buckyballs-are-back-on-market https://www.popsci.com/buckyballs-are-back-on-market

JackCh 8y ago

Are kinder eggs actually a dangerous product, or are they just getting swept up by broader American legislation? It's my understanding the American law preventing the importation of kinder eggs is a law against inedible objects from being embedded inside edible objects, which seems generally reasonable. Generally. But are Kinder eggs actually dangerous? Are many European children dying because of Kinder eggs specifically?

ghaff 8y ago
Very unusual but apparently it can happen: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kinder-egg-toy-death-france-three-year-old-french-girl-chokes-a6822626.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kinder-egg-t...
- Luc 8y ago
  Note she choked on the toy, not on the egg. That could have happened with a US-friendly 'chocolate egg with toy not inside it' packaging as well. The egg has been redesigned some years ago. The two parts now stay attached together.
Broken_Hippo 8y ago
Kinder eggs are something that were swept up in a generally well-meaning legislation. It improved safety overall, but generally disallows such products to be sold lest there be a choking hazard. All that said, I think there are ways to get exceptions, but they are shy to give them away. And it really is a shame in this case: though there have been perhaps a handful of suspected choking cases in children, overall they have been quite reasonably safe (based on years and years of them being sold to children elsewhere). It simply winds up being a silly ban done for a good overall reason.
koide 8y ago
I would dispute the reasonableness of that law... Does it apply to cherries, olives, avocado, apples, pears, etc.?
- JackCh 8y ago
  As I understand it, it applies to corporations deliberately manufacturing foods that way. It would be ridiculous if the law applied to fruits, but it doesn't. And nobody would earnestly call for the law to be applied in that way except in an attempt to make some sort of rhetorical argument for allowing corporations to put inedible plastic objects inside of food.
  - koide 8y ago
    The point is why it doesn't apply to fruits. People already feed their children with food that naturally contain inedible things in them. The law would make sense to force labelling so parents can tell if there's inedible things in a specific food item and also to make sure those things are non-toxic. Anything more reeks of overreaching to me. Then again, I'm not as creative as USA food corporations, so I could be having trouble imagining what they'd do if the law was as I'm describing it.

civilitty 8y ago

It's not the eggs that are banned, the FDA bans the practice of putting inedible objects fully encased in edible things in general. I loved me my Kinder Surprise when I was a kid but I don't think that's an unreasonable restriction when it comes to products marketed towards children (I don't know if it applies across the board or only to things marketed at children). Kinder has introduced an American version now where the egg is split vertically into two halves - one half has the chocolate and the other half has the toy so that there's no risk of accidentally eating it. I'm not sure if they do the assembly required toys for the American version but I see the eggs everywhere now.

repsilat 8y ago
Huh, I guess I have never seen "fake bone-in chicken". Interesting that food can contain inedible objects, but you're not allowed to put them there. At this point I guess it would be helpful to know the letter of the law/regulation, but it's also probably not important enough to bother. Do big American Easter eggs sometimes come with plastic bags of smaller candies inside? Those seem less likely to be a choking hazard, but similar enough that they could fall afoul of the law that hits the Kinder eggs.
pbhjpbhj 8y ago
How do tiered cakes work in USA? Wedding cakes, for example, in UK often have hidden 'pillars' inside the lower tiers to provide structural strength. Perhaps there's a size limit on embedded non-edible components.
- 5DFractalTetris 8y ago
  I could tell you but it'd void your cake's warranty.
- seandougall 8y ago
  That happens here too, but a lot of the stricter regulations apply only to prepackaged foods; I expect this is one of those. King cakes are another example — commonly enjoyed despite how many baby Jesuses have been swallowed or choked on.