Why Food Goes Bad and How to Stop It · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.
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Why food spoils and how you stop it

Design & Technology · Food & Cooking · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Drying fruit helps it keep. Which microbe need does drying remove?

    • Light
    • Water
    • The packet

  2. What makes food go bad?

    • Microbes growing in it
    • The fridge light
    • The colour of the packet

  3. Which date on a packet is the one about safety?

    • Best-before
    • Use-by
    • Printed-on

  4. You cut an unwashed melon and several people feel sick. What most likely carried the microbes inside?

    • The knife dragging rind germs through the flesh
    • The orange colour of the flesh
    • The shape of the melon

  5. A friend says food in the fridge never spoils. What is wrong with that claim?

    • Fridges are too cold for food
    • Chilling only slows microbes, so old food still turns
    • Fridges add microbes to food

  6. After best-before passes, food is always unsafe to eat.

    Circle one:   True   False

  7. Raw chicken juices splash onto salad leaves. The salad looks clean. What should you do, and why?

    • Freeze it, freezing kills all germs at once
    • Serve it, clean looks mean safe
    • Throw the splashed leaves out, because invisible cross-contamination may have happened

  8. Salting, drying, and canning look different. What single idea links all three?

    • They all add flavour
    • Each removes something microbes need: water, water, and air with heat
    • They all need a fridge
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Why food spoils and how you stop it W1-mt_Nw5F4g18lY-s1

  1. Water · Without water, microbes cannot grow, so dried fruit keeps longer.
  2. Microbes growing in it · Spoiling is microbes multiplying until the food is unsafe or foul.
  3. Use-by · Use-by marks the safety limit, while best-before marks quality.
  4. The knife dragging rind germs through the flesh · Rind germs ride the blade into the flesh, which is cross-contamination.
  5. Chilling only slows microbes, so old food still turns · Cold slows growth but never stops it, so time still matters.
  6. False · Best-before marks fading quality, while use-by marks the safety limit.
  7. Throw the splashed leaves out, because invisible cross-contamination may have happened · Germs travel invisibly in splashes, and salad gets no cooking to kill them.
  8. Each removes something microbes need: water, water, and air with heat · All three starve microbes, whether of water or of air.
Worksheet · LightMySky