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Topic 4: Food Production and Sustainability

5 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

How does food spoil, and how do preservation and safe handling keep food fit to eat?

Explain how food spoils and how preservation methods and safe food handling protect food quality and prevent foodborne illness

Food spoils through the action of microbes and enzymes. Preservation methods control these by removing the conditions microbes need, while safe handling and the temperature danger zone prevent foodborne illness.

7 min read →

How do food processing and emerging food technologies affect the quantity, quality and safety of food?

Describe methods of food processing and preservation and evaluate the impact of food technologies on nutrition, safety and the food supply

Food processing and preservation extend shelf life, improve safety and add variety, but can change nutritional value. New food technologies bring both benefits and concerns.

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How do methods of food production and distribution affect the quantity and quality of food?

Explain how methods of food production and distribution affect the quantity, quality and availability of food

Methods of food production, from intensive to organic farming, and the systems that distribute food shape how much food there is, its quality and where it is available, with trade-offs for nutrition and the environment.

6 min read →

How can food systems supply enough safe, nutritious food now without harming the ability to do so in the future?

Explain the concepts of food security and food sustainability and evaluate factors that affect the supply of safe, nutritious food

Food security means reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food, while sustainability means meeting today's needs without harming future supply. Many factors threaten both.

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How do genetic modification and emerging food technologies affect food and its production?

Evaluate genetically modified foods and emerging food technologies, including their potential benefits, risks and ethical issues

Genetic modification and emerging technologies such as cultured and plant-based proteins can improve yield, nutrition and sustainability, but raise safety, environmental, economic and ethical questions that must be evaluated.

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