Classroom Activities
This table summarises the range of activities you can download to use when learning about food additives and related topics. More details are available using the links in the table, or from a summary table of pupil activities (MS Word document - opens in new window)
| Food Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|
| Introduction to food additives | Uses activities based around food labels to identify ingredients and additives in a wide variety of foods |
| Acidulants | Looks at pH and the reactions between acids and alkalis through making dumplings, sherbert and scones |
| Anti-caking agents | Investigations which look at the properties of anti-caking agents in enabling powders to flow freely |
| Antioxidants | An enzyme-catalysed oxidation is investigated. The structure and oxidation of saturated and unsaturated fats are described.This section contains height-to-weight charts |
| Colours | Natural colours are extracted from vegetables and the effect of pH on them is investigated.Food colours are extracted from jelly babies and used for chromatography |
| Emulsifiers | Investigates the effects of emulsifiers in enabling the mixing of vinegar and oil. Egg yolk is used as an example of a stabiliser |
| Flavour | Vanilla flavours are used to make milky drinks and these are then judged in a taste test |
| Gelling agents | Investigates how the amount of ingredients such as pectin and sugar effect the formation of a gel (jam) |
| Preservatives | Explores the conditions needed for microbial growth. Looks at how different preservatives, and methods of food preservation, can prevent microbial growth and food spoilage |
| Sweeteners | Introduces students to diabetes mellitus and the control of blood glucose levels before looking at artificial sweeteners |
To download teacher and students notes you will need the Adobe Reader. If you do not have this installed on your computer, click on the link below. This will open a new window at the Adobe web site, where the free reader is available for download.
