Cameroon GCE A-Level Food Science & Nutrition flashcards

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

Water activity

Ratio of vapour pressure of food to that of pure water at the same temperature; measures free water available for microbial growth and chemical reactions.

Maillard reaction

Non-enzymatic browning between reducing sugars and amino groups, producing brown pigments and flavour compounds; favoured by heat and intermediate water activity.

Starch gelatinisation

Heating starch in water disrupts granules, absorbs water and thickens the mixture; on cooling, amylose retrogrades and causes staling.

Peroxide value

Measure of hydroperoxides formed during early lipid oxidation, expressed as milliequivalents of peroxide oxygen per kilogram of fat.

FATTOM

Acronym for microbial growth requirements: Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen and Moisture; used to identify control points in food safety.

HACCP

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system with seven principles that identifies, prevents and controls biological, chemical and physical hazards in food production.

Spore-forming bacteria

Bacillus and Clostridium species produce heat-resistant endospores that survive boiling and require retorting above 100 degrees C for destruction.

Aflatoxin

Mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, mainly in groundnuts and maize; a potent hepatotoxin requiring moisture control during storage.

Blanching

Brief heat treatment of vegetables or fruit before freezing or drying that inactivates enzymes, reduces microbial load and fixes colour, but leaches water-soluble vitamins.

Retorting

Pressure-heat sterilisation of low-acid canned foods above 100 degrees C to destroy Clostridium botulinum spores and achieve commercial sterility.

UHT processing

Ultra-high-temperature heating at 135-150 degrees C for 2-5 seconds combined with aseptic packaging, giving ambient shelf life with some vitamin loss.

Modified atmosphere packaging

Packaging with altered O2 and CO2 levels to slow respiration and microbial growth, extending shelf life of fresh and minimally processed foods.

Basal metabolic rate

Energy expended at rest to maintain vital functions; typically 60-70 percent of total energy expenditure in sedentary individuals.

PDCAAS

Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score; compares the amino acid profile of a protein to a reference pattern and corrects for digestibility.

Beta-oxidation

Mitochondrial pathway that cleaves two-carbon units from fatty acids as acetyl-CoA, generating NADH and FADH2 for ATP production.

Dietary reference values

Set of nutrient intake references including EAR, RDA and UL, used to assess adequacy and safety of diets for population groups.

Body mass index

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared; classifies underweight, normal, overweight and obesity for population screening.

Stunting

Low height-for-age resulting from chronic undernutrition and repeated infection, reflecting long-term growth failure in children.

24-hour recall

Dietary assessment method asking a respondent to recall all foods and drinks consumed in the previous 24 hours, prone to recall bias.

Double burden of malnutrition

Coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition in the same population, household or individual, common in nutrition transition settings.

Stage-gate process

Structured product development model with sequential stages separated by decision gates that review evidence before progression to the next stage.

Hurdle technology

Combining several mild preservation factors such as water activity, pH, temperature and packaging to inhibit microorganisms while maintaining sensory quality.

Shelf-life testing

Systematic storage trials, often accelerated at elevated temperature, to establish the period a product remains safe and acceptable under stated conditions.

Product specification

Document defining ingredients, formulation, process parameters, packaging, shelf life, labelling and safety limits for a food product.

Quality assurance

Planned, preventive system of procedures and standards ensuring products consistently meet specified quality and safety requirements throughout production.

Triangle test

Discrimination sensory test presenting three coded samples, two identical and one different, where assessors identify the odd sample.

Hedonic scale

Affective sensory scale, commonly nine points from dislike extremely to like extremely, measuring consumer liking and acceptance of a product.

Acceptance sampling

Statistical procedure inspecting a sample from a lot to decide acceptance or rejection, defined by acceptable quality level and lot tolerance percent defective.

Price elasticity of demand

Percentage change in quantity demanded divided by percentage change in price; food staples tend to be inelastic because they are necessities.

Break-even quantity

Output level at which total revenue equals total cost, calculated as fixed costs divided by unit price minus unit variable cost.

Marketing mix

Set of controllable marketing variables, commonly product, price, place and promotion, used to position a food product in its target market.

Food security

Condition where all people have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food meeting dietary needs, resting on availability, access, utilisation and stability.