The prunes I see now seem to be a lot less dried. The outsides seem wetter.
Not really. I think they’re quite good in their own right - certainly not in any significant way inferior to other dried fruits that might be eaten as a snack.
Well, when you get a constipation emergency, buster, then you’ll be sorry you don’t have an individually wrapped prune!! 
And you’ll be suffering all the more since you don’t have any water either. 
Actually though, I did go to the market to check them out but didn’t buy any. They had potassium sorbate in 'em and no freshness date. I don’t buy stuff that already looks stale and have no pull-date on them, so no prunes for me. 
Happily though, I don’t need them. 
I did see Paul Newman’s brand and they didn’t have preservatives and did have a pull-date but they needed to be refrigerated.
ETA: :o Just thought I’d add one more smilie in case I didn’t have enough.
I’ve never even heard of a constipation emergency, but I’ll take you word that there is such a thing.