Food Technology 2019 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• be confident in using and interpreting syllabus terminology
• read the question carefully and respond to all components, including any key words
• use the allocated space provided for each question.

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• correctly identify two separate reasons for developing a new food product
• provide appropriate food examples such as specific brands and/or product names
• include innovative examples in the ‘new to the World’ category such as green banana flour.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying the reasons for developing new food products
• providing an appropriate example when required.

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• outline two consumer issues related to food packaging, for example, ease of opening the package for the elderly, package able to be resealed for later use,the package protects the food product from breakage or maintains the safety of the product with the use of tamper evident packaging (a)
• describe strategies that the food retail sector has used to respond to consumer concerns about the environment, for example, Woolworths and Harris Farm sell at a reduced price ‘Odd Bunch’ and the ‘Imperfect Pick’ that are fruit and vegetables that are not uniform in size, shape and colour in order to respond to consumer concerns about food waste and landfill
• establish clear links and/or the relationship between legislative requirements and food labelling and the features of food labels, for example, products that contain ingredients such as nuts would have an allergen warning statementsuch as ‘product may contain traces of nuts’ which warns people with a nut allergy to avoid the product in order to prevent an anaphylactic reaction (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing specific examples to support their responses, for example, specific allergens that should be labelled to meet legislative requirements
• recognising course terminology in questions and incorporating it into responses related to packaging, consumer issues, the environment, labelling information and legislative requirements
• providing characteristics and features of specific strategies used (the how) by the food retail sector to address consumer concerns about the environment (b)
• making the connection between strategy/ies used by the food retail sector regarding the environment and consumer concerns about the environment (b)
• providing detailed characteristics and features of food labelling requirements and labelling features (c)
• establishing clearer links and/or relationships between legislative requirements and food labelling and the features of food labels (c).

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• correctly outline nutritional considerations for a specific group (a)
• recognise course terminology and include specific foods, nutrients and dietary diseases related to their specific group (a)
• provide characteristics and features of a strategy to improve health outcomes, for example, education programs, government subsidies, cooking classes, social media apps (b)
• provide strategies suited to the specific group chosen such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, adolescent girls, elderly (b)
• link the strategy back to health outcomes citing dietary diseases prevalent, for example diabetes, anaemia, osteoporosis (b).

Areas for students to improve include providing:

• strategies rather than nutritional advice for a group (b)
• a range of relevant examples (b).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly name two gender issues relevant to a sector in the Australian Food Industry such as pay equality/pay gaps between males and females in restaurants or lack of female representation at the management level of food services and catering ventures (a)
• clearly provide characteristics and features of how an organisation has responded to a lifestyle change, for example, supermarkets are offering convenience options for families with busy lifestyles by extending trading hours, online shopping, self-serve checkouts and home delivery (b)
• make relationships evident between how an organisation they have studied has affected the Australian economy such as how supermarkets can affect the Australian economy positively as they provide jobs and support the local economy by choosing local produce where possible (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• communicating a clear understanding of gender issues relevant to a sector in the Australian Food Industry, for example, part-time or casual positions may be more commonly filled by women (a)
• referring to an appropriate organisation within the Australian Food Industry (b)
• recognising a relevant lifestyle change such as both parents working, shift work (b)
• providing relevant examples (c).

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• correctly identify a target market providing specific examples such as gluten intolerant, type 2 diabetes, people with irritable bowel syndrome (a)
• support their chosen target market with specific examples such as gluten free bread (a)
• demonstrate a detailed understanding of what genetic modification is and define the process, for example, genetic modification is the transfer of genetic information from one organism to another in order to modify existing characteristics (b)
• explain the examples given such as seedless tomatoes (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing accurate examples of genetic modification used in the Australian food industry.

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to provide:

• a definition for malnutrition that included both over and under nutrition (a)
• more than just a description of dietary supplements (b)
• at least two clear examples of using dietary supplements in the body and the benefits and/or risks of these such as a vegetarian taking iron supplements to reduce the risk of anaemia or how overconsumption of vitamin A can lead to skin discolouration.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing clear and specific links between the benefits and/or risks such as pregnant women being advised to take folate supplements to reduce the risk of birth defects.

In better responses, students were able to:

• apply their knowledge to the scenario of the strawberry contamination incident
• correctly identify and outline two sectors of the Australian Food Industry and for each sector provide a relevant effect/impact of the event, for example, the agriculture and fisheries sector was affected as there was an oversupply of strawberries that could not be sold (a)
• provide characteristics and features for a range of quality management considerations such as WHS procedures to ensure worker safety, for example, workers handling the raw product during sorting, before manufacturing and processing (b)
• provide a detailed response with the how and/or why of two preservation processes that would assist in waste management of the excess strawberries, for example, strawberries could be frozen and safely stored for later use as the strawberries would be inspected, washed, sliced and frozen at minus 18 degrees Celsius to prevent microbial growth and extend their shelf life (c)
• include relevant examples – dehydrated, cooked into a product, made into ice-cream.

Areas for students to improve include:

• taking note of specific syllabus terms, for example, the specified Australian Food Industry sectors, quality management considerations as mentioned in the syllabus (HACCP, WHS), preservation processes (not preservation products).

In better responses, students were able to:

• explain the relationships between the manufacturer’s response to consumer concerns for health, and diet-related disorders such as the fortification of a range of commonly consumed products, for example, breads, milk and breakfast cereals, to address mineral and vitamin deficiencies in consumers
• provide a range of manufactured food product examples that improve health such as the use of active non-nutrients to improve nutritional value of processed foods and target diet related disorders (eg heart active milk, plant sterols in margarine for cardiovascular disease)
• use correct terminology and structured responses that were logical and cohesive.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating a thorough understanding of diet related disorders, including heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, allergies and intolerances
• using of a range of relevant product examples such as low fat products, low salt, high calcium products.