To have only just noticed this about Cadbury chocolate??

[TrueFriendsStabYouInTheFront]

I have seen a lot on Mumsnet previously about Cadbury chocolate changing and not being nice, but I still thought it was nice up until literally now!

Last week I bought a creme egg, which was seriously horrible, but put it down to a bad batch maybe? Just opened a bag of mini eggs and they are foul! They even smell strange.

So have they changed the recipe yet again?

Sorry, I should have read the link before commenting.

All I can say, having read it, is

Why were they not brought to book about this?

How ?

Was it the government's way of showing that they're powerless or just that they make special 'arrangements' for very big companies?

Like I said previously, it's the price of being "open for business". If you allow governments to stick their noses (even more) into the business of commerce, all you do is send a clear signal that it might be better to do business elsewhere. Which is pretty much what "Cadbury" did anyway.

Don't forget, ultimately it was the shareholders that approved the sale.

I'm not saying the UK has corporate governance sorted - far from it. But them's the rules.

Why were they not brought to book about this?

How ?

What was the point of the Commons committee, then, if all they were doing (and able to do) was to suggest that it might be playing nicely if they kept the Somerdale factory open?

They do have power when they want to if it's in the national interest, like when they bar valuable paintings and the like from being sold to overseas buyers. Weren't Sainsburys and Asda blocked from merging as it wouldn't have been in the interests of consumers?

I bought one of those new Dark Milk bars this afternoon - for research purposes, you understand.

I thought it was nice and a bit more like the old Cadbury's Dairy Milk (only a bit darker, obviously), but still a pale imitation. It doesn't appear to contain palm oil.

I suppose they had to add the 'dark' angle, specifically choosing something more likely to appeal to older customers who remember the original stuff and also to deter children from 'unlearning' what chocolate supposedly should taste like based on the rubbish that they've grown up with.

It wouldn't have been very good PR for them if they'd sold it as 'PROPER Cadbury's'

Also, whilst we're at it, however did they get away with the 'glass and a half of milk' slogan for all these years? You've no idea if they mean pint glasses or dolls' house glasses. They might as well have stated that the bars were 'one and a half lengths of string' long.

I bought mini eggs for the first time in years the other day, I used to love them. I was firstly shocked by how small the bag was then by how crap they tasted. Cadbury’s is a no go for me now, truly shit chocolate.

They do have power when they want to if it's in the national interest, like when they bar valuable paintings and the like from being sold to overseas buyers. Weren't Sainsburys and Asda blocked from merging as it wouldn't have been in the interests of consumers?

That's before the event. Once the sale has gone through, how do you hold the owners to account ? Particularly when they may never step foot in the UK ? You could seize their UK assets as a fine. But then you'd have no business, no factories, and consumers would be even worse off.

That's before you consider the social and health aspects of confectionery manufacture and whether it's something any responsible government should be assisting .

I have a very cynical and jaundiced view in general though, so I have no doubt that any government doesn't give a shit about the consumer.

S.C. Johnson is a colossal multinational company that's still owned by one family.

I think the Cadbury family were a massive part of the brand. They established it and created the village of Bournville to house their workers. They ran things strictly according to their Quaker beliefs (whether you agree with them or not), to the extent that you couldn't legally buy alcohol in the village until just 5 years ago. I don't know all the ins and outs of it, but they seemed to care about their workers and their product and growing rich as a result of their investments and the chocolate's popularity rather than as their primary and only motivation.

Once it was sold and ceased to be associated with the family, 'Cadbury' became just another brand name and completely lost its raison d'etre of representing premium quality, family pride, tradition and solid reputation. Now, I bet they'd happily move out of Bournville as well if they didn't believe the historical associations to be highly monetisable.

Not quite the same thing, but a bit like happened with The Body Shop and Innocent drinks - not just sold, but completely sold out.

SerendipityJane

Nail on head

And, as if to prove my point that consumer protection isn't really a thing in the UK ...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51413724

Apple has been fined €25 million (£21m, $27m) for deliberately slowing down older iPhone models without making it clear to consumers.

The fine was imposed by France's competition and fraud watchdog DGCCRF, which said consumers were not warned.

so unless it was specifically French iPhones that were targetted (which raises far more questions than it would ever answer) the questions is what was the UK consumer body doing over this ? Presumably making sure their Twitter feed looked nice or something ?

Godiva salted caramel is nice, but not thick. I'll try Tony Chocoloni next .. they have it at Sainsbury's. Agree Cadburys is awful these days. Mini eggs definitely not as nice as they used to be.

Montezuma's and Hotel Chocolate does not contain palm oil. Some of the fillings do but the stand alone chocolate - milk, dark etc does not appear to. I'm pretty sure Prestat, Charbonnel and Walker and Godiva don't contain palm oil. Although I think Godiva are pretty soapy. Most of these are really quite nice and easily available.

Agree Cadbury’s is rank. Now I have Galaxy or Lindt. Occasionally Green and Black’s but that’s usually DH that buys that.

Also agree Cadbury’s is disgusting.

My fave indulgence is Riesen chocolate toffees- the chocolate is gorgeous and they’re only 40 calories each (and take ages to eat!)