PARENTS have expressed outrage over the "racist" design of a limited edition Kinder Egg toy, with one mum saying that she was "sickened". The popular chocolate treat contained a plastic cartoon egg holding three balloons with a "K" stamped on each one. 4 The cartoon egg holds three balloons with "KKK" printed on them Kimberley, from Victoria, Australia, said that she immediately felt sick at the thought that her 15-month-son could have played with the toy. She told parenting website Kidspot: "This is a massive oversight that anyone could have seen. "It's also hard to find something to say as the initials of Kinder Surprise aren't KKK. "It raises questions as to what the company supports and if this is subliminal marketing." 4 Kimberley wrote to Kinder after she saw the toy inside Alexander's chocolate egg 4 Kinder's response to Kimberley's complaint 4 The company denies having anything to do with the American hate group Credit: Rex Features Also bemused by the toy, one woman shared a picture on Facebook with the comment: "Look what my niece (of mixed race) just found in her Kinder Surprise - KKK... what on earth Kinder? " Another said: "Ku Klux Klan: Kinder Surprise edition" The confectionery company, who claim that they never intended the toy to be offensive said that it had been part of the limited edition collection to celebrate 50 years. Ferrero has said that the stock of toy, which is not available in the UK, has been destroyed and withheld from other markets. MOST READ IN NEWS BETRAYAL OF TRUST Woman, 22, 'lured off street by paramedic and gang raped in ambulance' Latest FERRY DISASTER More than 150 feared dead after overloaded ferry 'breaks in two' and sinks CLINGING TO LIFE Hotel owner left critical after catching deadly from Aussie mouse plague CRYPTO KILLER Bondage-obsessed Bitcoin trader ‘went crazy’ & strangled lover to death SLIPPERY CHARACTER Massive deadly snake lurks in Aussie back garden... can YOU spot it? LIVES DESTROYED 3 women die and pal loses baby in crash while celebrating end of lockdown A Ferrero spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise for any offence caused due to the inference of how the three Ks read together on this toy. "To offer some explanation of how this toy came to be, initially it was designed with one balloon with a ‘K’ on it. "However, two more were added to provide a more robust structure, as the safety and quality of our toys is of the utmost importance. "We had absolutely no intention to make any other associations and we truly apologise to our consumers for any unintentional offence caused. "We do not support this organisation in any way. The K on the balloons was solely meant to represent Kinder.We are revisiting our internal processes to ensure something like this cannot happen again. M&M mini-eggs are now a thing and you can get them now We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>A chocolate treat for children emblazoned with the letters ‘KKK’ has sparked outrage among parents, with one mother saying she felt sickened after her son got the surprise gift. Kinder Surprise, with its iconic hidden toy, has been a popular candy for children for decades but Ferrero, the Italian company behind the sweet, seem to have made a massive gaffe in a batch of limited edition toys released to celebrate 50 years of Kinder. Kimberley, an Australian mother, bought the candy for her 15-month-old son and was shocked to discover that it contained a white Kinder Egg figure holding three balloons, bearing the letters ‘KKK’ – the same initials as the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group. READ MORE: 'Complete idiot’ cop gets high after stealing chocolate cannabis during pot shop raid Kimberly said she felt sick at the thought of her young son playing with the toy and wondered if it was “subliminal marketing.” “This is a massive oversight that anyone could have seen,” she told parenting website Kidspot. “It’s also hard to find something to say as the initials of Kinder Surprise aren’t KKK... It raises questions as to what the company supports and if this is subliminal marketing.” Bought myself a Kinder egg (don't judge) and here's what I got. I mean I know you can't get these in the US, but why make kids the target audience of this active measures/disinformation/sharp power campaign? Foul play, KKK! pic.twitter.com/hwy8Tn78Kv — Anton Tsvetov (@antsvetov) October 21, 2018 A picture of the toy was shared on Facebook by another woman along with the comment: “Look what my niece (of mixed race) just found in her Kinder Surprise – KKK... what on Earth Kinder?” However, not everyone was convinced that the three Ks were problematic. Another woman wrote: “[It’s] nothing to do with the KKK. It isn’t the KKK; it is the KKKK – Knights of the Klu Klux Klan. FOUR ‘K’s! Get a life and quit trying to find something RACIST in EVERYTHING PEOPLE TRY TO DO.” A Ferrero spokesperson apologized for any offence caused by the toy and sought to explain how it came to feature three Ks. My son got this as the toy in a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg! White pointy shaped character.Donald Trump hair.“KKK” balloons.Make chocolate great again?? @colbertlateshow@iamjohnoliver@kindersurprisepic.twitter.com/07HwyHVjIc — Liz Cameron (@lizjohnson6) November 3, 2018 “Initially it was designed with one balloon with a ‘K’ on it. However, two more were added to provide a more robust structure, as the safety and quality of our toys is of the utmost importance,” the spokesperson said. “We had absolutely no intention to make any other associations and we truly apologize to our consumers for any unintentional offence caused. “We do not support this organization in any way. The ‘K’ on the balloons was solely meant to represent Kinder. We are revisiting our internal processes to ensure something like this cannot happen again,” the spokesperson added. Ferrero said that the remaining stock of the toys is being destroyed and it was withheld from other markets. Like this story? Share it with a friend!<doc-sep>An Aussie mum says she was left in shock after opening up her little boy's Kinder Surprise to find a 'racist' toy. Mum Kimberley, from Victoria, said she picked up the egg for her 15-month old son Alexander last weekend, but when she opened it up, she found a white Kinder Egg figure holding three balloons, collectively bearing the letters 'KKK' - the same initials as white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan. The mum said she was in 'shock' after seeing the toy. Credit: Madeline Cox Kimberley told Kidspot: "Initially we laughed in shock. It was kind of like, 'Are we seeing and reading this right?'" Advert 10 However, once the initial shock wore off, Kimberley said she 'felt sick' at the thought her son could have played with the toy. She continued: "As soon as you open the package the toy comes in two parts. "One is the egg and the other is the balloons with 'KKK' written on them. "As soon as you see them - you notice it." Advert 10 I mean, you do have to wonder who on Earth would sign off on this? Yes, of course K is also the initial of Kinder, but it does seem faintly ridiculous anyone could have opted for three balloons, all with K on them, without anyone else flagging up that it could be problematic. "This is a massive oversight that anyone could have seen," Kimberley added. "It's also hard to find something to say as the initials of Kinder Surprise aren't 'KKK'." "It raises questions as to what the company supports and if this is subliminal marketing." Advert 10 So, Kimberley decided to write to Kinder Eggs' parent company Ferrero Rocher to ask about the meaning behind the toy. She was told that the toy was part of a limited-edition run to celebrate 50 years of Kinder Eggs, which had since been 'withheld from the market' and 'destroyed'. A statement from the company read: "We sincerely apologise for any offence caused due to the inference of how the three Ks read together on this toy. Loading… Advert 10 "As detailed in the note to our consumer, initially it was designed with one balloon with a 'K' on it. "However, two more were added to provide a more robust structure, as the safety and quality of our toys is of the utmost importance. "We had absolutely no intention to make associations with the Ku Klux Klan and we truly apologise to our consumers for any unintentional offence caused. "We do not support this organisation in any way. The K on the balloons was solely meant to represent Kinder. We can inform you this toy, which was part of a limited edition for Kinder's 50th birthday, has been discontinued. Advert 10 "Stock from this toy range has also been withheld from the market and destroyed. "Rest assured, we are revisiting our internal processes to ensure something like this cannot happen again. It was never intended for this toy to be offensive, and we would like to extend our sincerest apologies again.<doc-sep>
A mum was left 'feeling sick' when she discovered a 'racist' toy inside her son's Kinder Surprise Egg. Kimberley was horrified after buying the chocolate as a special treat for her 15-month-old son Alexander on Saturday. When she opened up the chocolate egg she noticed the toy was holding balloons with the letters 'KKK' - the initials of notorious white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan. Kimberley, , from Victoria, Australia, said she initially "laughed in shock" but then 'quickly realised the serious implications it could have.' While Alexander was too young to realise what the writing on the the toy inside the egg actually meant, Kimberley feared it could be an attempt at "subliminal marketing." She told parenting website, Kidspot : “This is a massive oversight that anyone could have seen. “It’s also hard to find something to say as the initials of Kinder Surprise aren’t ‘KKK’.” “Even to this day, the KKK do exist. “It raises questions as to what the company supports and if this is subliminal marketing.” Another customer, Ivca Lipenska, from Brno, Czech Republic, also spotted the toy and shared it on Facebook, writing: "KKK...held by white egg...good job kinder surprise." (Image: Getty) After Kimberley contacted Kinder they told her the toy - which was part of a limited edition for Kinder's 50th birthday, from shelves - had been "destroyed" and the remaining range "withheld from the market." Kinder said the toy was initially designed with one balloon with a K on it, but two more were added "to provide a more robust structure." In a full statement, a spokesperson from Kinder's parent company Ferrero Rocher said: "We sincerely apologise for any offence caused due to the inference of how the three Ks read together on this toy. (Image: AFP) "As detailed in the note to our consumer, initially it was designed with one balloon with a 'K' on it. "However, two more were added to provide a more robust structure, as the safety and quality of our toys is of the utmost importance. "We had absolutely no intention to make associations with the Ku Klux Klan and we truly apologise to our consumers for any unintentional offence caused. "We do not support this organisation in any way. The K on the balloons was solely meant to represent Kinder. We can inform you this toy, which was part of a limited edition for Kinder's 50th birthday, has been discontinued. "Stock from this toy range has also been withheld from the market and destroyed. "Rest assured, we are revisiting our internal processes to ensure something like this cannot happen again. It was never intended for this toy to be offensive, and we would like to extend our sincerest apologies again. "In addition, any consumer who has received the toy in question can contact our consumer services to arrange a replacement, if they wish."