Food Product Development: overview of SQA National 5 Health and Food Technology Area 2
An overview of Area 2 of SQA National 5 Health and Food Technology, Food Product Development, covering the functional properties of ingredients, factors affecting development, the stages of development, sensory testing and food packaging, with study tips and links.
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Food Product Development is the second of the three areas of SQA National 5 Health and Food Technology. It develops your knowledge of the functional properties of ingredients and how they are used to develop new food products. This page maps the area and shows how the parts fit together, from why a product is developed to how it is tested and packaged.
The key topics in Food Product Development
- Functional properties of ingredients
- The jobs ingredients do, including aeration, binding, bulking, coating, dextrinisation, emulsification, gelatinisation, shortening and thickening, and how they are used.
- Factors affecting food product development
- Why new products are developed, including consumer demand and lifestyle, healthy eating, cost, technology, and environmental and sustainability concerns.
- Stages of food product development
- The ordered process from identifying a need and writing a specification, through generating ideas, prototyping, testing and evaluating, to the final product and launch.
- Sensory testing and evaluation
- The senses used, the main types of test (preference, discrimination, ranking or rating), and how to test fairly for reliable results.
- Food packaging
- The functions of packaging (protect, preserve, inform, attract, transport) and the environmental issues it raises.
How the topics connect
The functional properties of ingredients are the science a developer uses to make a product work. The factors affecting development explain why a product is made in the first place, and the stages of development are the process that turns an idea into a product. Sensory testing is the key tool used during the testing stage, and packaging is the final piece that protects and sells the finished product. Healthy eating and sustainability run through the whole area, linking back to Food for Health.
How to study Area 2
- Learn each functional property as a definition plus an example dish. Most marks come from naming the property and where it is used.
- Be able to list factors and stages in order. Four-mark questions reward four distinct factors or stages, so memorise a clear list.
- Match the sensory test to the question. Know which test answers "is there a difference?" and which answers "which is preferred?", and how to keep a test fair.
- Connect packaging to sustainability. Be ready to explain both the functions of packaging and how to reduce its environmental impact.
For the official course specification
The SQA publishes the full National 5 Health and Food Technology course specification, specimen question paper and past papers at sqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and SQA past papers.