While Kinder eggs have been available in Canada since 1975, the product has never been allowed into the US for several reasons. In 1993 the Ferrero Group (the maker of Kinder eggs) applied to have the eggs sold in the USA, but was turned down because of a prohibition against having an inedible item inside an edible object. Products like Cracker Jack that contain inedible toys in the same package are not subject to the ban because the toy is in the box, not in the food. More recently, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission determined in 2008 that the product did not meet the small-parts requirement for toys for children under the age of three, creating a choking and asphyxiation hazard in young children. Since 1991, at least 7 children worldwide have died of choking after swallowing the toy inside the Kinder egg.

On January 10, 2011, it was reported that a Kinder egg was seized from a woman's car during a random inspection while entering the United States from Canada. She was informed that bringing the egg into the United States could result in a $300 fine. Seizures such as that one, and even the prohibition of the product itself, have been cited on political blogs and web forums as an example of an overzealous application of law and an intrusion upon personal liberty. The rationale against a ban of the product also takes the form that deaths have been too few for it to be considered a serious danger. Additionally, the argument is made that there should be a consistent standard in place, as several worse dangers are not regulated.