What could cause the change in a chocolate bar?

[Darienne]

Well, I guess I am more curious than embarrassed.  Although I use fairly good quality chocolate to make dipped citrus peels, bonbons and so on, I also use a lot of less than good quality chocolate to make toppings on pies and cakes, particularly for friends and neighbors who think that Merkens is delicious.  Well, that's unkind, but you know what I mean.  In Canada, we have a chocolate called 'World's Finest' and it is truly awful.  Oh well.

 

So here is the situation.  I have purchased from Canadian Wal-Mart for a good number of years now a bar, Waterbridge Imported Belgian, 400 grams, in Milk, Dark and Extra Dark varieties.  And my topping is invariably 4 oz of chocolate and 1/2 cup of half and half or whipping cream.  And it always sets just fine.   Perfect. 

 

About 3 months ago, I made a Milk chocolate topping for a friend who loves milk chocolate.  It didn't set.  It was soup.  OK.  But the Dark and Extra Dark still worked fine.  Two days ago, both of those were soup.  

 

I wrote to Wal-Mart noting the change, and also that the ever-present gold cardboard is now missing from the bars.  They apologized profusely and offered me my money back.  (In the meantime, I figured out that 1/4 cup of cream would work perfectly.)  

 

The ingredients are: for the Extra Dark: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin and the Dark: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and soya lecithin. 

 

What do you suppose they did to the mix to make it so different?

[Kerry Beal]

I know when presidents choice added extra cocoa power to theirs it went to shit

[Darienne]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

I know when presidents choice added extra cocoa power to theirs it went to shit

Somehow I knew I could count on you for an answer.  

[chromedome]

Hmmm. I'll have to bear that in mind. I usually buy one or the other of those to make a few things at Christmas time.

 

I've not had any problems, but neither did you until this time.

[Darienne]

5 hours ago, chromedome said:

Hmmm. I'll have to bear that in mind. I usually buy one or the other of those to make a few things at Christmas time.

 

I've not had any problems, but neither did you until this time.

As noted...and not very clearly...using half the cream of the normal ganache worked perfectly...so far....  

[Darienne]

Just to close this topic off.  I wrote to Wal-Mart and received two messages back and a phone call also.  They offered to give me back the purchase price of the bars I had not used yet with the store receipt.  I told the caller that I had figured out how to use the bars, using half the liquid, and did not want my money back.

 

I had mentioned in posts above that the bars were now of poorer quality and that the gold cardboard was missing.  To those you may now add a cheapening of the outer wrapper.  It now rips very easily, as do some potato chip and nacho bags, whereas before it did not do this at all.  

 

That's it.  I hope.  What next can Waterbridge cheapen?