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Subjects · Leaving Cert Home Economics

Leaving Cert Home Economics: Food processing

How often Food processing comes up on the Home Economics papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 5 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026.

OL Asked on 2 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025.

Food processing, Higher Level(9 marks)

Quick ones on Food processing.

(a)Adding a nutrient to a food that did not naturally contain it is called?
  1. Fermentation
  2. Fortification
  3. Extrusion
(b)Example of primary food processing?
  1. Making sauce from flour
  2. Baking flour into bread
  3. Milling wheat into flour
(c)What is a functional food?
  1. A food with a health benefit beyond basic nutrition
  2. A food grown without any artificial fertilisers
  3. A food that is ready to eat straight from the pack
Show the answers

(a) Fortification

(b) Milling wheat into flour

(c) A food with a health benefit beyond basic nutrition

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Food processing.

Higher Level

Asked on 5 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q3
2025A7
2024Not asked
2023Q3
2022Not asked
2021Not asked
2019Not asked
2018A6, Q3
2017Not asked
2016A3, A6

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Food processing questions

Food processing, 2 marks

Example of secondary food processing?

  1. Milling wheat into flour
  2. Harvesting potatoes from a field
  3. Turning flour into bread
Show the answer

Turning flour into bread

Primary processing turns raw produce into an ingredient. Secondary processing turns that ingredient into a product.

Food processing, 3 marks

What is added value in food processing?

  1. Selling goods at a price below what they cost
  2. Raising a product's worth by processing it further
  3. Adding extra nutrients to replace those lost
Show the answer

Raising a product's worth by processing it further

Turning milk into cheese or potatoes into ready meals adds value, creating jobs and higher prices for the producer.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 2 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2025.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Not asked
2025Q1
2024Not asked
2023Not asked
2022Not asked
2021Not asked
2019Not asked
2018Not asked
2017Q1
2016Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Food processing questions

Food processing, 2 marks

What does food processing mean?

  1. Growing and harvesting food on a farm
  2. Serving food to customers in a restaurant or café
  3. Changing food from its raw state before it is sold or eaten
Show the answer

Changing food from its raw state before it is sold or eaten

Processing covers everything from washing and freezing to milling and canning. Some processing makes food safer and last longer.

Food processing, 2 marks

Which of these is a highly processed food?

  1. A fresh egg
  2. A tinned ready meal
  3. A raw carrot
Show the answer

A tinned ready meal

Highly processed foods have had many ingredients added, often including salt, sugar and fat, and need little preparation.

Food processing, 2 marks

What is one disadvantage of eating a lot of highly processed food?

  1. It can be high in salt, sugar and fat
  2. It always costs less than fresh food
  3. It contains too much fibre
Show the answer

It can be high in salt, sugar and fat

Reading the label is the way to check. Processed foods can also lose vitamins during manufacture.

Other Home Economics topics

All of Leaving Cert Home Economics