Kinder Egg: why even though it has four black stamps it still comes with a surprise

"Kinder Surprise is the delicious chocolate egg that connects adults and children, generating family moments that invite imagination to awaken," says the brand's website and warns: "We are improving our site to adapt it to Law 27,642

and its regulatory standards”.

“And its regulatory standards”

is the key part.

As of the entry into force of the law, better known as "frontal food labeling", and contrary to what was believed, the application would not finally impact the iconic candy that has four black seals and

a

for boys.

Thus, the local scenario would end up contrasting with what happened in Chile.

There -as it had been announced in 2016-, it is enough to look today in any supermarket for the Kinder egg to verify that it

.

Only branded chocolates are available, which do not come with a toy.

From the Ministry of Health of the Nation, the law enforcement authority in Argentina,

on the subject despite repeated inquiries from

.

The law, it was said, seeks to limit the consumption of foods that have black seals on their packaging, to

.

One of the strategies to achieve this end is to avoid associating this type of food with gifts that make them

.

But between the law and its regulations there were clarifications that limit the margin of action of the norm.

Specifically, the passage of the decree that explains how to implement article 9: that of the

.

The new packaging of the famous egg manufactured by the Ferrero company.

The letter of the law originally voted by Congress speaks of

and details: "They are prohibited from including children's characters, animations, cartoons, celebrities, athletes or pets, interactive elements, the

gift delivery, prizes, gifts, accessories”.

But the regulation made a change that would be decisive.

Annex 1 states: “Prohibitions on packaging.

For the purposes of applying this standard, the prohibitions detailed in article 9 of the Law that is regulated

and non-alcoholic beverages”.

Labeling, according to the Argentine Food Code, is "any inscription, legend, image or any descriptive or graphic matter that has been written, printed, stenciled, marked, embossed or gravure or adhered to the food container".

In other words, no prohibition would interfere

the egg.

Ferrero -the company that manufactures the Kindergarten- would have already complied with the law with a

, so that there is not even a "delivery promise" of the toy -as article 9 says-, when changing in the label “Kinder Surprise” for “Kinder Egg”.

That is, the literal promise of a surprise

.

Or it would be in the process of doing so, since in the process there is still a stock of units in outlets that preserve the

: without black stamps, the word "surprise" present and the promotion of the toy it brings.

The big difference from the Kinder egg box before the law, with the word "surprise" and the promotion of the toy.

Anyway, when the façade of the candy is homogenized, it will continue to include, without announcing it, a toy to assemble.

learned

, from the brand they argue that it is not really a "gift", nor a "prize", "gift" or "accessory", but rather something constitutive of the product.

That is where the idea of

appears .

A unit, according to this criterion, would mean that

, nor the toy without the candy.

That is to say that -always according to the company- both elements were born together and one thing was not used as bait for the other.

In other words, what is argued is that if the Kinder egg did not bring a toy,

.

In 2016, when Kindergarten was banned in Chile, Ferrero released a statement saying: “The reason for the ban is that the toy contained in the chocolate egg is

.

The company emphasizes that, since its inception more than 40 years ago, the small toy in the Kinder Surprise is an

and integral part of the product, which constitutes a single unit”.

Then he continued: “The surprise is the very essence of the chocolate egg and in no case can it be considered a hook for its consumption.

Therefore, Ferrero reserves the right to activate national and international institutions to obtain a legal solution to this situation, which affects the reputation of one of its most popular and highest quality products."

The Kinder egg is a particular situation within the wide world of sweets.

It will be necessary to repair in each specific case, but the relaxation of the norm could

of other brands that eventually come with a surprise and do not announce it on the label.

Kinder was inspired by the classic Easter eggs to develop its most famous candy.

Photo: Jose Gutierrez

As for the classic Easter eggs, some are handmade, are sold in sweet shops and are outside the labeling law.

The industrialized of other brands, under the same criterion of "unity", should enter the

: an Easter egg without surprise would not be an Easter egg.

The difference between the words

-in the law- and

-in the regulations- constitutes the argument put forward by both Ferrero and the Coordinadora de las Industrias de Productos Alimenticios (COPAL) so that Kindergarten, despite have four black seals,

.

The evidence confirms this.

can be drawn from the foregoing

: the first, that the "shortcut" of the "product unit" would consolidate in Argentina the continuity of this and other similar sweets,

, even if that was against the spirit of the healthy eating law;

the second, that many boys will surely be happy with the news.

PS

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