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Food Preparation & NutritionQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every Wales Food Preparation & Nutrition syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Area 6: Cooking and food preparation
- Factors affecting food choice: cost and income, lifestyle and time, health, religion and culture, ethical and moral beliefs, special diets, enjoyment and preference, and the influence of marketing and labelling.0Q&A pairs
- Food safety and hygiene: personal and kitchen hygiene, cross-contamination, the temperature danger zone, the bacteria that cause food poisoning, safe cooking and chilling temperatures, and date labels.0Q&A pairs
- Sensory evaluation: the senses used to judge food, why sensory testing is carried out, the main preference and discrimination tests, and how to set up a fair sensory test.0Q&A pairs
Area 3: Diet and good health
- Diet-related health: how poor diet causes obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, bone health problems and some cancers, plus food allergies and intolerances and how diets are adapted.6Q&A pairs
- Energy in the diet: the energy values of macronutrients, basal metabolic rate and physical activity level, factors affecting energy needs, energy balance, and the effects of taking in too much or too little energy.2Q&A pairs
- Planning a balanced diet: the Eatwell Guide, the current UK dietary guidelines, and how nutritional needs differ for different life stages and groups.0Q&A pairs
Area 1: Food commodities
- Bread, cereals, flour and potatoes as a food commodity group: their nutritional value, the value of starchy carbohydrates in the diet, the main types, their working characteristics, and how they are stored.3Q&A pairs
- Butter, oils, margarine, sugar and syrup as a food commodity group: their value and risks in the diet, the main types, working characteristics such as shortening, aeration and caramelisation, and storage.4Q&A pairs
- Fruit and vegetables as a food commodity group: their nutritional value, the five-a-day message, how they are classified, enzymic browning, how preparation and cooking affect vitamin C, and storage.0Q&A pairs
- Meat, fish, poultry and eggs as a food commodity group: their nutritional value as HBV protein foods, classification, working characteristics such as protein coagulation, the functions of eggs, and safe cooking and storage of these high-risk foods.1Q&A pairs
- Milk, cheese and yoghurt (dairy) as a food commodity group: their nutritional value, the main types, heat treatment of milk, working characteristics such as coagulation, and safe storage.2Q&A pairs
- Soya, tofu, beans, pulses, nuts and seeds as a food commodity group: their nutritional value as plant protein foods, protein complementation, their value in vegetarian and vegan diets, and their use and storage.0Q&A pairs
Area 2: Principles of nutrition
- Carbohydrate as a macronutrient: its function in the body, sugars (simple) and starch (complex), free sugars, dietary fibre, food sources, and the effects of too much or too little.0Q&A pairs
- Fat as a macronutrient: its function in the body, saturated and unsaturated fats, fatty acids, cholesterol, food sources, and the effects of too much or too little fat.0Q&A pairs
- Minerals as micronutrients (calcium, iron, sodium) and water: their functions, food sources, deficiency and excess effects, and the importance of hydration.4Q&A pairs
- Protein as a macronutrient: its function in the body, amino acids and essential amino acids, high and low biological value protein, protein complementation, food sources, and the effects of too little or too much.0Q&A pairs
- Vitamins as micronutrients: fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and water-soluble vitamins (B group and C), their functions, food sources, deficiency effects, and how cooking affects them.6Q&A pairs
Area 4: The science of food
- Why food is cooked and how heat is transferred: conduction, convection and radiation, and the main moist, dry and fat-based cooking methods with their effects on food.0Q&A pairs
- Functional and chemical properties of carbohydrates, proteins and fats: gelatinisation, dextrinisation, caramelisation, protein coagulation and denaturation, the Maillard reaction, foam formation, shortening, aeration, plasticity and emulsification.3Q&A pairs
- Microbiology and food spoilage: the micro-organisms that spoil food, the conditions they need to grow, signs of spoilage, enzymic action, and methods of food preservation.0Q&A pairs
- Raising agents: how they introduce gas to make mixtures rise, the main biological, chemical, mechanical and steam raising agents, and how each works.0Q&A pairs
Area 5: Where food comes from
- Food processing and production: primary and secondary processing, the effect of processing on nutritional value, fortification and additives, and how staple foods such as flour, cheese and yoghurt are produced.0Q&A pairs
- Food provenance and food miles: where food is grown, reared or caught, food miles and the carbon footprint, seasonality, local and organic food, and the environmental and ethical issues of food production.0Q&A pairs
- Food security and sustainability: the meaning of food security, the threats to it, sustainable food production including reducing waste and packaging, sustainable fishing and the impact of food choices on the environment.0Q&A pairs