The version that appeared in the December 30 issue of the journal contained no derogations for nutrient profiles, no accelerated authorisation procedure, and no reference to claims referring to children's development and health - all of which have been flashpoints in hammering out the legislation.
Yesterday's publication means that the long-awaited, contentious law finally enters into force. However there remains much work to be done on how it will be implemented: from EFSA, which will be responsible for assessing claims; member states, which are presently drawing up their lists of proposed generic claims; and companies that must take a long, hard look at their science to ensure that proposed claims stand up.
Progress of the legislation in Brussels has also been hampered by the inclusion of the wrong comitology procedure in the adopted version.
The comitology procedure relates to enacting periods or amendments to agreed legislation that sketched out in the main body of the text, to be drawn up in full at a later date.
It was agreed in October that the regulation would be published, and amended as soon as possible once Parliament has rubber-stamped the new comitology procedure.
The comitology amendment is expected later this year, but the delay is not expected to have legal implications.
