← Health & Food Technology syllabus

ScotlandHealth & Food Technology

Area 3: Contemporary issues affecting consumer food choices

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do ethical and environmental concerns shape contemporary food choices?

Ethical and environmental issues: sustainability and food miles; food waste and packaging; ethical labelling and assurance schemes (Fairtrade, organic, free-range, animal welfare); food security; and genetically modified and novel foods, and how these issues influence consumer choice and manufacturing.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on ethical and environmental food issues, covering sustainability and food miles, food waste and packaging, ethical and assurance schemes (Fairtrade, organic, free-range), food security, and genetically modified and novel foods, and how each influences consumer choice and manufacturing.
12 min answer →

What factors shape the food choices people make?

Factors affecting food choice: physiological, psychological and lifestyle factors (income and budget, time and convenience, lifestyle and occupation, culture and religion, peer and family influence, advertising and marketing, health concerns, and the influence of technology and food trends) and how they interact to influence what consumers buy and eat.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on the factors affecting food choice, covering income and budget, time and convenience, lifestyle and occupation, culture and religion, peer and family influence, advertising and marketing, health concerns and the influence of technology and food trends, and how they interact.
12 min answer →

How does food labelling and consumer-protection law help people make informed and safe choices?

Food labelling and consumer protection: the mandatory and voluntary information on food labels (name, ingredients, allergens, nutrition declaration, date marking, storage and origin); front-of-pack labelling; the purpose of consumer-protection and food-safety legislation; and how labelling helps consumers make informed choices.
An SQA Advanced Higher Health and Food Technology answer on food labelling and consumer protection, covering mandatory and voluntary label information (name, ingredients, allergens, nutrition, date marking, storage and origin), front-of-pack labelling, the purpose of consumer-protection and food-safety legislation, and how labelling supports informed choice.
12 min answer →