Teacher License – Family Education Complete Review Guide 2026–2027

4. The acceptable split of energy sources for adults is 45–65% carbohydrate, 20–35% fat and 10–35% protein of total calories (6.23.5/2).
5. Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K are stored in the body; water-soluble vitamins (B-complex and C) are mostly not stored and the excess is excreted (6.23.4/2).
6. Digestion: starch digestion begins in the mouth with amylase, protein in the stomach with pepsin and hydrochloric acid, and the digestion of fat, protein and starch is completed in the small intestine, where the products are absorbed through the villi (6.23.4/3).
7. Enzymes are proteins that speed up biological reactions without being used up; hormones are chemical messengers secreted by glands (some protein-based, some steroid); nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, are built from units called nucleotides (6.23.4/5).
8. Nutritional status is assessed in four ways: anthropometric (weight, height, BMI), dietary intake (24-hour recall), clinical examination, and laboratory tests (for example for anaemia) (6.23.4/11).
9. BMI = weight in kilograms ÷ height in metres squared. 18.5 to 24.9 is a healthy weight, 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or more is obesity (6.23.5/2).
10. On the plate model, half the plate is vegetables and fruit, a quarter is grains (preferably whole) and a quarter is protein. The exchange system lets you swap one food for another in the same group with a similar nutritive value (6.23.5/4).
11. Read a nutrition label in order: serving size and servings per pack, then calories, then fat, sodium, sugar, fibre and protein, then percent daily value. The ingredient list runs in descending order by weight (6.23.5/7).
12. Food safety: the temperature danger zone is about 5 to 60 °C. Keep chilled food below 5 °C and frozen food at -18 °C or lower, and cook poultry until the centre reaches 74 °C (6.23.6/3 and 5).
13. HACCP is a preventive system built on seven principles: hazard analysis, identifying critical control points, setting critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification and record-keeping (6.23.6/8).
14. Heat travels in three ways: conduction (the pan touching the food), convection (moving hot water or air, as in boiling) and radiation (grilling over coals, or a microwave) (6.23.6/11).
15. Steaming keeps more water-soluble vitamins than boiling because the food is not immersed in water. High-heat grilling can form harmful compounds if the food chars (6.23.6/10).
16. Preserving with salt or sugar solutions relies on osmotic pressure: a high concentration draws water out of microbial cells so they cannot grow. Concentration by weight = weight of solute ÷ total weight of solution × 100 (6.23.6/7).
17. Factors that affect bacterial growth: food, acidity, time, temperature, oxygen and moisture. The shapes are spherical (cocci), rod-shaped (bacilli) and spiral (6.23.4/12).

Common mistakes in this chapter

• ✕ Carbohydrate and protein give 4 kcal per gram and fat gives 9 kcal. Swapping the numbers or giving fat 4 kcal leads to a wrong calorie count.
• ✕ Water-soluble vitamins (B-complex and C) are lost in boiling and long storage. Vitamins A, D, E and K dissolve in fat and are stored in the body.
• ✕ Carbohydrate digestion starts in the mouth with amylase, protein digestion starts in the stomach with pepsin, and fat digestion is mainly completed in the small intestine. Most nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, not the stomach.
• ✕ A food-guide serving is a standard amount set by a food guide, while the serving size on a label is the amount the listed values are calculated for. A label serving is not necessarily a recommended serving.
• ✕ The temperature danger zone is between chilling and hot holding (about 5 to 60 °C), not above 60 °C. Chilling slows bacterial growth without killing bacteria, and freezing stops growth without sterilising the food.
• ✕ Conduction passes heat through contact (pan base to food), convection through moving hot liquid or air (boiling, a fan oven) and radiation through waves with no medium (grilling over coals). Students often mix up the examples.
• ✕ Highly perishable foods (meat, dairy, fish) differ from semi-perishable (bread, potatoes, eggs) and non-perishable or stable foods (rice, dried pulses, sugar). A common error is placing eggs or bread in the first group.
• ✕ Not all bacteria are harmful: some, like those in yoghurt, are useful and others, like Salmonella, cause disease. They are classified by shape (cocci, rods, spirals) and by oxygen and temperature requirements.