Where what Forko says comes from

Calories and macros

Calories and macronutrients are per serving and approximate. The newest recipes in the catalogue are calculated ingredient by ingredient using food composition tables. Older ones were estimated by an artificial intelligence model, checking that the figures add up. For your own recipes, artificial intelligence estimates them from the ingredients.

• BEDCA, the Spanish Food Composition Database (BEDCA network and AESAN)
• USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

How calories are counted

Calories come from the macronutrients using the factors in the EU food labelling law (Annex XIV): 4 kcal per gram of protein, 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate and 9 kcal per gram of fat.

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (BOE, Spain’s Official Gazette) (in Spanish)

Allergens

Forko works with the 14 allergens that the law requires to be declared (Annex II). It filters recipes by their ingredients, but it does not control traces or cross-contamination: if you have a severe allergy, always read the label of what you buy.

• Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (BOE, Spain’s Official Gazette) (in Spanish)
• AESAN (Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition), labelling of substances that cause food allergies and intolerances (in Spanish)

Fish eaten raw

Recipes with raw or lightly cooked fish ask for it to have been frozen beforehand, to kill anisakis.

• AESAN, anisakis campaign (in Spanish)
• Royal Decree 1021/2022 on food hygiene (BOE, Spain’s Official Gazette) (in Spanish)

Diet styles and your week

What Forko aims for in your week —fish three or more times, pulses four or more, a cap on meat— and the Mediterranean style follow the dietary recommendations of AESAN and the World Health Organization.

• AESAN, dietary and physical activity recommendations (with its Scientific Committee report) (in Spanish)
• WHO, “Healthy diet”

The Fitness, Light and Healthy treat labels

These are Forko’s own criteria, not official categories. Fitness: at least 30 g of protein per serving and at least 30% of its calories from protein. Light: 400 kcal or less and 20 g of fat or less per serving. Healthy treat: up to 750 kcal per serving. The protein reference is the one from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

• EFSA, Dietary Reference Values

“Omega-3”, “protein”, “low carb” in the recipes

The short lines that come with some recipes rely on the nutrition and health claims regulated by the European Union.

• EU Register of nutrition and health claims (European Commission)
• Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims (BOE, Spain’s Official Gazette) (in Spanish)

Your shopping budget

The reference spend per person that Forko suggests comes from the Household Budget Survey of Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

• INE, Household Budget Survey, table 73806 (in Spanish)

What Forko is not

Forko is not medical or nutritional advice: everything you see is a general suggestion. Talk to a healthcare professional about any health condition, pregnancy, severe allergy or ongoing treatment.

Terms: “Forko is not medical advice”