Although laboratory testing is the only way to confirm FODMAP content, reading food ingredient lists can give you a rough indication of FODMAP content. The following points will help you to interpret information on the ingredients list processed:
- Items on the ingredients list are listed in order of weight, from high to low. Therefore, if high FODMAP ingredients are listed among the first few ingredients, the product may be high in FODMAPs
- Even if only low FODMAP ingredients are listed, the product may still be high in FODMAPs due to the effects of food processing and serving size.
The following are high FODMAP ingredients, which if listed in the first few ingredients, may mean the product is high in FODMAPs:
Fructose
- High fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Fruit juice / fruit juice concentrate
- Fruit pieces^
- Crystalline fructose
- Agave syrup
- Fruit sugar
- Dried fruit
Polyols
- Sorbitol
- Mannitol
- Xylitol
- Isomalt
- Erythritol
- Prune juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Dried fruit
Fructans
- Garlic / garlic salt / garlic powder / garlic extract
- Onion / onion salt / onion powder / onion extract
- Wheat^
- Rye^
- Barley^
- Inulin (sometimes added as a fibre/prebiotic)
- Chicory / chicory root extract / chicory root powder
- Fructan
- Fructooligosaccharide (FOS)
^If a main ingredient