← Northern Ireland Home Economics: Food & Nutrition
Northern Ireland · CCEASyllabus
Home Economics: Food & Nutrition syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the Northern Ireland Home Economics: Food & Nutritionsyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Being an Effective Consumer
Module overview →- What makes people choose the foods they do?The factors affecting food choice, including physical, economic, social, cultural and religious, ethical and sensory factors, and how they influence what people buy and eat.8 min answer →
- What must a food label tell us, and how do we use it to choose well?Food labelling, including mandatory and voluntary information, nutrition information, traffic-light labelling, allergen information, and date marks, and how labels help consumers make informed choices.8 min answer →
- Where does our food come from, and why does that matter?Food provenance, including where food comes from, food miles, local and seasonal food, organic farming, Fairtrade, animal welfare, and food processing and production.8 min answer →
- Will there be enough food for everyone, and how can we eat more sustainably?Food security and the sustainability of food, including food waste and how to reduce it, the environmental impact of food, seasonality, and ways consumers can make more sustainable choices.8 min answer →
Diet and Health Through Life
Module overview →- Which health conditions are linked to diet, and how can diet help prevent them?Diet-related conditions, including obesity, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, anaemia, dental caries and bone health (osteoporosis), their links to diet, and dietary ways to reduce the risk.8 min answer →
- What does the government advise us to eat for a healthy diet?Current dietary guidelines for a healthy diet, including the Eatwell Guide, the eight tips for healthy eating, and government recommendations on fat, saturated fat, sugar, salt and fibre.8 min answer →
- How do nutritional needs change from pregnancy through to old age?The differing nutritional needs of people at each life stage and of special groups, including pregnancy, babies and weaning, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly.8 min answer →
Food and Nutrition
Module overview →- Where does food energy come from, and what decides how much we need?Energy from food measured in kilocalories and kilojoules, the energy values of macronutrients, energy balance, basal metabolic rate (BMR) and physical activity level, and the factors that affect energy needs.8 min answer →
- What are carbohydrates, where do we get them, and why does the body need them?Carbohydrate as a macronutrient, sugars, starch and dietary fibre (NSP), their sources and functions, free and intrinsic sugars, and the effects of too much or too little carbohydrate.8 min answer →
- What are fats, where do we get them, and why does the body need them?Fat as a macronutrient, saturated and unsaturated fats, visible and invisible sources, the functions of fat, cholesterol, and the effects of too much or too little fat.8 min answer →
- What is protein, where do we get it, and why does the body need it?Protein as a macronutrient, its sources, functions and structure, high and low biological value protein, protein complementation, and the effects of too much or too little protein.8 min answer →
- What are minerals, and why do the body's small needs for them matter so much, along with water and fibre?Minerals as micronutrients, calcium, iron, sodium, phosphorus, fluoride and iodine, their sources, functions and deficiencies, and the roles of water and dietary fibre in the diet.8 min answer →
- What are vitamins, which ones matter, and what do they do?Vitamins as micronutrients, fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and water-soluble vitamins B group and C, their sources, functions and deficiency diseases.8 min answer →
Practical Food and Nutrition (Unit 2)
Module overview →The Science of Food
Module overview →- Why do we cook food, and how does heat get into it?The reasons for cooking food, the methods of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation), the main cooking methods, and the effects of cooking on the appearance, texture and nutritional value of food.8 min answer →
- How can we make food last longer, and how does each method work?The principles of food preservation and the main methods, including freezing, chilling, canning, bottling, drying, salting, pickling and using sugar, and how each prevents micro-organisms from growing.8 min answer →
- How do we handle, cook and store food so it is safe to eat?The principles of food safety and hygiene, including personal and kitchen hygiene, preventing cross-contamination, temperature control and the danger zone, food-poisoning bacteria, safe storage, and date marks.8 min answer →
- Why does food go off, and what makes micro-organisms grow?Food spoilage, the micro-organisms that cause it (bacteria, yeasts and moulds), the conditions micro-organisms need to grow, enzymic browning, and the signs that food has spoiled.8 min answer →
- What jobs do ingredients do when we cook, and why do recipes work?The functional and chemical properties of ingredients, including aeration, coagulation, gelatinisation, shortening, emulsification, denaturation, dextrinisation and caramelisation.8 min answer →