FODMAPs (fermentable short-chain carbs and polyols) can worsen IBS symptoms. Many patients use a short or long low-FODMAP diet. Monash University tests foods and licenses a “low-FODMAP” mark. USDA and FDA still bar that wording on U.S. labels.

Ketan Vakil’s Gourmend sold Monash-certified broths and spices with the mark. In 2022 USDA pre-clearance of a beef broth said FODMAP claims were illegal—and so were earlier chicken and spice labels that had skipped USDA pre-approval. “Gut Loving” and “Deliciously Digestible” were also barred. The author’s concession: vague health slogans and possible “low = none” confusion are fairer fights; the agencies’ actual rule is a closed list of approved nutrient claims. FODMAP is not on it.

Vakil cut new products and, with a customer and the Institute for Justice, sued on truthful-speech grounds. A district court dismissed; an appeals court revived the case; it returns to district court on 24 September. IJ says an administrative fix was too costly and futile. The author: years in court to print a lab-backed diet fact is red tape in a “food freedom” era.

Knowing what’s in your food or whether what you’re about to eat comports with a medically prescribed diet can be difficult. There’s no reason why the government should make it harder. But that’s exactly what the United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration are doing when they prohibit companies from conveying information about FODMAP content on food labels.

Although not inherently harmful to most people, FODMAPs are a broad category of short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols believed to trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in individuals living with irritable bowel syndrome and possibly several other functional gastrointestinal disorders.

In technical terms, FODMAPs are fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. More practically, people with IBS might want to be careful around most standard dairy items, honey, several cereals and artificial sweeteners, and a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and spices.

When consumed, these items can lead to luminal distension by causing increased amounts of water to enter the gastrointestinal tract and increased gas production by bacteria living in the colon. In some individuals with IBS and other functional gut disorders, this may trigger or exacerbate certain symptoms of their condition (e.g., intense pain and changes in intestinal motility), possibly through neurons in the gut responding abnormally to these physiological responses to FODMAP consumption. 

Hence, some patients with........

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