I put a top quality texture and flavour first when it comes to making my beef jerky. I've never set out to make anything but a delicious satisfying experience with every pack of jerky. I don’t have any dietary restrictions myself so it wasn’t something on my mind when starting Original Beef Chief Jerky. It wasn’t until recently I even knew what a FODMAP diet was

FODMAPs are a group of sugars that are not completely digested or absorbed in our intestines. When FODMAPs reach the small intestine, they move slowly, attracting water. When they pass into the large intestine, FODMAPs are fermented by gut bacteria, producing gas as a result. The extra gas and water cause the intestinal wall to stretch and expand. Because people with IBS have a highly sensitive gut, ‘stretching’ the intestinal wall causes exaggerated sensations of pain and discomfort.

The FODMAP diet is the restriction of certain sugars to avoid IBS symptoms. FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. These are short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that the small intestine doesn’t absorb.

When people eat a low FODMAP diet they are avoiding the digestive issues caused by these fermentable sugars.

At a beer and BBQ festival at Bundalong a competition BBQ team tried Loaded Gunpowder Beef Jerky and compared it to a competition brisket - with more PEPPER KICK. There are only 4 premium ingredients that go into Loaded Gunpowder Beef Jerky:

Grass fed Australian beef. Himalayan rock salt. Cambodian black pepper. Cherry smoked Australian Redgum charcoal .

Yes, this has a real charcoal coating, cooked down from the native Australian River Red Gum.

We cook these logs down into charcoal before cold smoking them with more redgum and cherry wood. Because we "activate" our charcoal it's able to absorb a lot of the natural smoke. Customers have told me they can "taste the timber".

Our Loaded Gunpowder is salty. It's smokey. It's got a bitey pepper kick. There's a hint of sweetness from the cherry chips. The more you chew, the more flavour you extract. We make a dry beef jerky that you need to work at - but you are rewarded with long lasting flavour. Loaded Gunpowder beef jerky is the flavour that got Original Beef Chief Jerky onto the second season of Backyard BBQ wars with Dipper.

We've even had world famous Johnny Scoville (seen on the Netflix doco "Hot Pods") call it his favourite snack ever.

And if you've ever watched any 4 wheel drive content in Australia, you'll know Graham and the boys love tucking into our Loaded Gunpowder.

There are some common FODMAP ingredients found in beef jerky that should be avoided. I'll list the most common to avoid here, but there's a more in depth breakdown below.

Common beef jerky FODMAPS to avoid:

• BBQ sauce
• Garlic
• Onion
• Celery powder
• Honey
• Beef and Vegetable stock.

The amount of each ingredient will vary across different brands and flavours, so I've included more detail on certain ingredients below.

• Beef: Not a FODMAP! Woohoo, you can still eat the best thing on four legs. Now you just have to be mindful of seasonings.

• Worcestershire sauce: Low FODMAP. Worcestershire sauce has been laboratory-tested for FODMAPs by Monash University (the creators of the low FODMAP diet). Although typically made with higher FODMAP ingredients (like garlic or molasses), Worcestershire sauce is considered low FODMAP in servings of 2 tablespoons or 42 grams

• Soy sauce: Low FODMAP in servings of 2 tablespoons or 42 grams. Soy sauce contains small amounts of wheat so careful consideration should be taken when consuming beef jerky with soy sauce. A little can be ok depending on your sensitivity (a 50g packet of jerky for example), but don't binge out on half a kilo or you risk symptoms. If you're in the elimination phase avoid soy sauce.
  

• Salt: Non FODMAP. Salt is a mineral and not a carbohydrate, therefor is okay to eat.

• Pepper: Non FODMAP. There's no restriction here.

• BBQ sauce: High in FODMAPs. Contains a lot of sugar, molasses and some spices that are FODMAPs (onion and garlic).

• Tomato sauce: Can be low FODMAP in small servings(2 Tblsp). Best to be careful here. If you're in the elimination phase avoid tomato sauce.

• Garlic - High FODMAP. Contains fructans (oligosaccharides) and should be eliminated.
  

• Onion - High FODMAP. Contains fructans (oligosaccharides) and should be eliminated.

• Sweet soy sauce: Low FODMAP in small servings (1 Tblsp) but high FODMAP in 2 servings or more. Once again, be careful when you see this ingredient not to overindulge. If you're in the elimination phase avoid sweet soy sauce.

• Stock, beef and veg: High FODMAPs. One thing to consider is that most stocks contain garlic and onion. These ingredients vary among different companies and isn't something broken down in detail on product packaging. If you're in the elimination phase then avoid.

• Liquid smoke: No FODMAPs in lquid smoke, being only water and condensed smoke.

• Cumin: Not a FODMAP

• Honey: Honey is high in fructose and is high FODMAP and should be avoided.

• Ginger: Low FODMAP

• Lemon juice: Low FODMAP, you can enjoy without worry.

• Paprika: Low FODMAP

• Celery powder: Celery is a FODMAP in servings 1/3rd or more of a stalk. I would avoid. If you're in the elimination phase avoid celery.

• Coriander: Non FODMAP

• Chilli: Chilli is actualy low FODMAP, but the spicy compounds called capsacium can trigger IBS - so consider yourself warned.

Monash university who developed the FODMAP diet has much more extensive articles and knowledge than I do, so please check them out. They even have an app to make naviagting the FODMAP diet a little easier.

If you're ready to start your obsession with our Loaded Gunpowder beef jerky, check it out here.

Cheers