I spoke with Skip Nemecek at Tweeten, maker of Master chalk. He informed me that there was never a formula change in master chalk. He stated that the American flag was put on the chalk as a 9-11 tribute. He also stated that there is a lot of counterfeiting going on overseas. This conversation occurred because I found a box of "Tweeten's Dragon Cue Tips" that came from overseas. Nemecek had never heard of these. So if you are spending extra on supposedly better formula Master chalk, feel free to ask Mr. Nemecek... he says you are wasting your money on the same product. I played with an old piece of pre-flag Master, and it was awful. I'll take new, thank you.