The question demanded for uses of some equipment, causes and symptoms of food poising and it had a very fair responses. The candidates performed well in the question.
The answers to the question are:
1. (a) Uses of Equipment
(i) Palette Knife: 1. is used for spreading foods e.g. butter
on bread, icing sugar on cake
2. for shaping foods such as fish cakes
3. for turning food during shallow frying
4. for cutting fat into flour.
(ii) Skewer: 1. is used for testing the doneness of food
2. is used for holding meat in barbecue/khebabs
3. for holding corn during grilling
4. for holding cubes fruits
(iii) Draining Board: 1. is used in the kitchen for draining
water from the cutlery and glasses
2. used for draining plates
3. for draining utensils and tools
(iv) Grinding Stone: 1. use for grinding pepper and some spices
2. it is used for mashing some foods, e.g. okra
3. it is used for grinding melon seeds, beans and groundnuts.
4. it is used for mashing some cereals.
2. (b) Causes of Food Poisoning
(1) Presence of Poisonous Chemicals: this may cause food poisoning as
poisonous chemicals may accidentally enter food during the growth,
processing and preparation of the food. Examples of these chemicals
are agricultural pesticides, fertilizers herbicides etc.
(2) Presence of Harmful Bacteria: Bacteria are carried by vermin and
transmitted by man. Salmonella bacteria may be present in the meat
of all animals and in milk. Bacteria may develop in milk or poultry
which is insufficiently thawed before cooking.
(3) Food poisoning can also be caused by contamination with certain plants
which are naturally poisonous. Examples are poisonous mushrooms or
fungi, cyanide in cassava.
(4) Eating from unclean environment, dirty plates and utensils.
(5) Dirty habit of the food handler. (If the food handler does not observe
food, kitchen and personal hygiene practices).
(c) Symptoms of Food Poisoning
- stomach pains/cramps
- vomitting
- diarrhoea/frequent stooling
- dysentery
- headache
- fever
- nervous disorder
- weakness
