Calf manna formula change?

I've been giving my chinchillas a few calf manna pellets each day for a few years. Back in January, I ordered a couple bulk pounds from an online vendor and was sent a product that seemed "different" --it was very light red in color and lacked the unmistakeable anise scent of calf manna. My chins wouldn't eat it so I asked the vendor about it and was sent a replacement that better resembled what I had been buying for years (i.e. dark red pellets smelling of anise). I assumed that the earlier package was just Animax sent by mistake. However, I just bought a 10 lb bag of calf manna in its original bag (from a different vendor) and again received pale, maroon-colored pellets with no anise scent. Because it is in its original package, there is no chance that I received Animax by mistake.

What is going on? Whatever it is I'm receiving, my chins don't like it at all.