Development of a European FODMAP Database – EU-FODMAP

 

ABOUT EU-FODMAP (2025-1-BE02-KA220-VET-000358967)

Duration:  3 years, 31 August 2026 to 30 August 2028

Coordinators: EU-FODMAP is led by Odisee University of Applied Sciences, Belgium

Project Partners: The consortium consists of 5 beneficiaries from Belgium, Romania, Spain and Serbia

Source of funding: EU-FODMAP is funded through the Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Vocational Education and Training (KA220-VET)

 

AIM

 EU-FODMAP aims to develop the first open-access, EU-focused dataset providing quantitative information on short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols in European foods. FODMAPs are poorly absorbed by the small intestine poorly absorbs, leading to fermentation by gut bacteria and digestive discomfort in some individuals. These compounds include fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols, such as fructans, galactans, lactose, fructose, sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol. A low-FODMAP diet can help individuals with rritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other gastrointestinal (GI) conditions to manage symptoms, but its implementation is often challenging due to a lack of reliable, comprehensive and Europe-specific information. EU-FODMAP will combine existing information from scientific literature and food composition databases with newly generated analytical data. The resulting dataset will be standardised, harmonised and developed according to recognised food composition data standards, making it suitable for use by healthcare professionals, researchers, students and individuals managing GI conditions.

 

Role of EuroFIR AISBL in EU-FODMAP

EuroFIR AISBL contributes its expertise in food composition databases, data quality, harmonisation and data interoperability to the EU-FODMAP project. EuroFIR will support the review and assessment of existing FODMAP data, help identify data gaps and ensure that data meet appropriate quality and consistency requirements. It will also lead the harmonisation and integration of existing and newly generated FODMAP data, applying EuroFIR technical standards and supporting statistical comparison of datasets. A key responsibility of EuroFIR will be to integrate the EU-FODMAP dataset into FoodEXplorer as a specialised dataset, enabling direct access and future API-based reuse and facilitating links between FODMAP and other food composition information. EuroFIR will also support development of the user manual and usability testing to ensure that the dataset is accessible and practical for healthcare professionals, researchers and other users.