QCAA Food & Nutrition flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Glycaemic load formula

Glycaemic load equals the glycaemic index of a food multiplied by its available carbohydrate content in grams, divided by one hundred. It combines carbohydrate quality and quantity.

Basal metabolic rate

The energy the body uses at complete rest to maintain breathing, circulation, cell growth and temperature. It typically accounts for the largest share of daily energy expenditure.

Complete protein

A protein supplying all nine indispensable amino acids in adequate proportions to support growth and maintenance. Examples include eggs, milk, meat, fish and soy.

Limiting amino acid

The indispensable amino acid present in the shortest supply relative to body needs, which restricts protein synthesis. Cereals are usually limited by lysine, legumes by methionine.

Glycogen

The branched storage form of glucose in liver and skeletal muscle. Liver glycogen buffers blood glucose, while muscle glycogen fuels contraction during exercise.

Recommended dietary intake

The intake level sufficient to meet the requirement of nearly all healthy people in a group, set about two standard deviations above the estimated average requirement.

Upper level of intake

The highest average daily nutrient intake likely to pose no adverse health risk to almost all individuals in a group. It guides supplement and fortification decisions.

Food security pillars

Availability of sufficient food, access to it, utilisation through safe and nutritious intake, and stability of all three over time. All four are needed for security.

Food sovereignty

The right of people and communities to define their own food and agriculture systems, prioritising culturally appropriate food, local production and producer control over trade rules.

Food miles

The distance food travels between production and consumption. It indicates transport emissions but ignores production method, seasonality, processing and packaging impacts.

Life cycle assessment

A method quantifying environmental impacts of a product across all stages, from raw material extraction through production, distribution, use and disposal, using standardised indicators.

Food loss versus waste

Food loss is edible material lost during production, harvest, storage and transport before retail. Food waste is discarded at retail, food service and household level.

Water activity

A measure of free water available in food for microbial growth and chemical reactions. Lowering it by drying, salting or sugaring extends shelf life.

Cold chain

The uninterrupted series of refrigerated storage, transport and retail steps keeping perishable food within safe temperature limits from production to consumption.

Sustainable diet

A dietary pattern with low environmental impact that contributes to food and nutrition security and healthy living, being culturally acceptable, accessible, affordable and nutritionally adequate.

Primary processing

Converting agricultural commodities into basic food ingredients or products, such as milling grain, pasteurising milk, chilling meat or extracting oil from seeds.

Acculturation

The process by which migrants adopt behaviours, including dietary patterns, of a host culture. Staple foods often persist while convenience foods and meal timing change.

Food literacy

The knowledge and skills needed to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat food, plus awareness of the wider food system and its social and environmental effects.

Food neophobia

Reluctance to eat or try unfamiliar foods. It peaks in early childhood and usually declines with repeated neutral exposure and positive social modelling.

Hedonic scale

A sensory tool where panellists rate liking of a food, commonly on a nine-point scale from dislike extremely to like extremely. It measures acceptability, not difference.

Triangle test

A discriminative sensory test presenting three coded samples, two identical and one different, and asking panellists to identify the odd one. It detects perceptible differences between products.

Discretionary foods

Foods and drinks not needed for a healthy diet, typically energy-dense and high in saturated fat, added sugar, salt or alcohol, and low in essential nutrients.

Social determinants of diet

Income, education, employment, housing, remoteness and social support that shape access to affordable healthy food and therefore diet quality and health outcomes.

Design brief

A statement defining the food problem to solve, the target consumer, the constraints and the measurable criteria against which the final food solution will be evaluated.

Mise en place

Preparing and arranging all ingredients and equipment before cooking begins. It improves workflow, accuracy and hygiene by separating raw and ready-to-eat tasks.

Maillard reaction

Browning between amino acids and reducing sugars at high heat, producing colour and flavour compounds. It differs from caramelisation, which involves sugars alone.

Gelatinisation

The process where starch granules absorb water and swell when heated, then thicken the liquid. On cooling, some starches set into a gel such as custard or sauce.

Danger zone

The temperature range of roughly five to sixty degrees Celsius where bacteria multiply rapidly. High-risk foods should be kept outside this range during storage and display.

Standard recipe

A documented formula listing exact ingredient quantities, yield, equipment, ordered method steps and critical control points, allowing consistent and repeatable production.

Sensory evaluation

Systematic measurement of food properties using human senses under controlled conditions, applying discriminative, descriptive or affective tests to obtain comparable, unbiased judgements.

Validity and reliability

Validity is the extent a method measures what it intends. Reliability is consistency across repeated measurements. Triangulating sources or methods can strengthen both.

Convenience sampling

Selecting participants who are easily available rather than randomly. It is quick and inexpensive but limits generalisation because the sample may not represent the population.