I worked at a chocolate shop, and we would store most chocolates at least a few months after they were dipped before they hit the shelf, creams in particular, because they dip a dough like substance into chocolate and it turns into a liquid after like 5 months of aging. That white stuff on old chocolate doesn't mean that it is going bad, it is just the cocoa butter separating from the chocolate. I had to brush the stuff off of most chocolates before I brought them from storage to the shelf. After a really really long time if it gets really white it may make the chocolate less "melty" and kind stale, but it is nothing that will make you sick.
God I hated that job.