Who can apply?
This program is open to businesses and companies that sell their own products, and to suppliers of raw ingredients to the food industry. Anyone from around the world can apply.
How to get products certified
Get your product or raw ingredient certified in 5 easy steps.
Click here to download the application process
Have any questions?
Contact the certification team at certification@monashfodmap.com for support and advice on how to get your products certified.
Product Certification Program FAQs
What are the fees involved with certifying products?
The following fees apply to certify a product:
- Pre-assessment fee
- Laboratory testing fee
- Annual licence fee
The pre-assessment fee is a flat rate of $20 AUD ex GST / $16 USD per product to submit a pre-assessment application.
The laboratory and annual licence fees will depend on the number of products. Please contact us at certification@monashfodmap.com with your details and to request a quote.
How long does it take to complete the product certification process?
This will depend on how many and the type of products that are applying for certification.
As a general guide, it will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks to complete the certification process for one product. Note that this timeframe is an estimate only and relies on each step of the certification process being fulfilled in a timely manner.
Do I need to provide any proprietary information about my products?
The initial pre-assessment step requires submitting general information that can be found on product packaging, such as ingredients (ranked from highest to lowest quantity), serve size and nutrition information.
Any information that you provide will be treated as confidential. Read more on how we treat confidential information at our terms and conditions page.
I am an ingredient supplier for food manufacturers. Do you certify ingredients?
Yes, we certify raw ingredients supplied by ingredient suppliers and manufacturers under our product certification program.
Do you certify fresh produce?
Yes, we certify fresh fruit or vegetables for produce suppliers under our product certification program.
Do you certify supplements (such as nutritional foods or drinks or capsules) or medical grade food?
Yes, we do. However please note that we only test and confirm whether a supplement or medical grade food meets the low FODMAP criteria. We do not conduct any clinical trials or provide endorsements to support any claims made by a product other than it meets the low FODMAP criteria at the recommended serve size.
Medical grade foods (or foods that are accessible via healthcare practitioners only) cannot be listed in the Monash FODMAP app or on our social media pages which are reserved for non-medical grade foods and ingredients only. However these products can still carry the Monash certified trademarks on labels, online and in materials (e.g. informational sheets for health professionals).
Are there additional requirements for certifying nutritional products or supplements?
Nutritional products and supplements must carry an advisory statement on labels and in promotions to indicate that they have been tested for their FODMAP content only. The required advisory statements will be outlined in the style guide and confirmed at the time of notifying that the product has met the low FODMAP criteria.
What happens if formulation changes for a certified product?
Certified brands are responsible for notifying the Monash team of any changes made to an approved formula with the next steps to be considered on a case by case basis. For example, low risk or minimal changes can be approved in writing (e.g. supplier or manufacturer change for a low FODMAP ingredient). High risk or substantial changes may require laboratory testing to ensure that the product will continue to meet the low FODMAP criteria (e.g. removing and adding different ingredients, increasing the amount of a moderate or high FODMAP ingredient).
My product requires consumers to add their own ingredients (such as eggs, lactose-free milk, butter, oil, meat, or water) and bake or cook according to an on-pack recipe prior to consumption (see below examples). Can my product apply for certification and how will it be tested?
Examples:
- Flour mixes for breads, cakes, muffins, and pancakes
- Dehydrated / pre-packaged meals, such as instant noodles (that comes with its own noodles and seasoning) and instant vegetarian paella (that comes with its own rice, dehydrated vegetables, and seasoning)
- Recipe bases or store-bought meal kits, such as a beef casserole that requires consumers to add their own beef and vegetables
Yes, these types of products are welcome to apply for product certification. On the pre-assessment form, you must provide the full recipe (including the ingredients to be added and which are not supplied, plus the methodology) in the Food Preparation section. Note that the ingredients that you are required to individually list in this form should only include those ingredients found within your packaged product without the additional ingredients consumers are required to add (i.e., the ingredients as listed on the product label).
All products are tested in there "as consumed" state. This means that products that need to be prepared in order to be eaten will need to be prepared for the purposes of lab analysis. Depending on the complexity of the recipe and type of product, you may be required to prepare your product prior to sending samples for analysis. Please contact us at certification@monashfodmap.com if you would like to find out the specific sample requirements for your product.
If you offer multiple recipes for your product, please get in touch with us at certification@monashfodmap.com so we may provide further guidance on your application and testing requirements.
Do certified products get audited once approved? / Is there an audit process for certified products?
An audit of certified products will be conducted with products to be selected on a random basis. An audit will not occur during the first year of joining the program. Audit fees will apply.
My retail product includes a Monash certified ingredient. Can my retail product claim to be Monash certified?
No, only products that have that have gone through all the certification steps, including laboratory testing, can claim to be Monash certified.
Please note that using a Monash certified ingredient in a formulation will not automatically guarantee that the end product will meet the low FODMAP criteria. There are many other factors that can impact on the FODMAP content, including the combination and types of other ingredients used and manufacturing procedures (e.g., heating, boiling and cooling). This is why laboratory testing forms a critical part in determining whether a product does or does not meet the low FODMAP criteria.
How much sample do you require to perform the laboratory FODMAP testing on products?
The sample amount required depends on whether it is an existing product or is new to the market:
- For existing products: 3 samples from 3 different batches per product is required.
- For new products (i.e., not on the market): 2 samples of at least 50-100 g/mL each (or 100-200 g/mL) from the same batch per product is required. Ideally the samples should be split in two samples of 50-100 gram/mL each, however we can accept the sample combined into a single vessel.
What and how do you assess whether products will meet the low FODMAP criteria?
Product samples must undergo thorough laboratory analysis to quantity its FODMAP content and determine if it meets the low FODMAP criteria established by the Monash research team.
This means samples will be tested for the individual FODMAPs (glucose and fructose to calculate excess fructose, the polyols sorbitol and mannitol, total fructans, the galacto-oligosaccharides raffinose and stachyose, and lactose) using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC – the gold standard for carbohydrates testing) and an enzymatic assay.
Do you have any testing facilities outside of Australia?
Yes, we have partnered with an established and reliable commercial laboratory in the United States to test products applying for Monash certification from the US and Canada, making it simple, quick and cost effective to send samples for analysis from these countries.
Where do I send samples for FODMAP analysis?
This will depend on your location. For US and Canadian brands, samples can be sent to our US lab partner. All other brands will send samples to Victoria, Australia for FODMAPs analysis. We will provide shipping instructions once you have reached the testing stage of the process.