The version that appeared in the December 30 issue was, in fact, the Council common position and not the final & agreed text. As such, it contained no derogations for nutrient profiles, no accelerated authorisation procedure, and no reference to claims referring to children's development and health.

In drawing up the regulation there were certain flashpoints of disagreement between the Parliament and Council - and the three omissions were amongst the main points of contention.

Although a compromise was reached last May, progress was then 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.

The correct version of the regulation, meanwhile, will be published without further ado in the next few days.