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2026 VCE Food Studies exam: What to learn from last year's mistakes
Hi all, in preparation for the upcoming exam, here's what to learn from last year's mistakes.
These are the 2025 questions I would redo first.
Section B, Q10: average 2.1/10; scored zero 24%; full marks 0%.
Section B, Q1: average 1.3/6; scored zero 56%; full marks 5%.
Section B, Q8b: average 1.2/4; scored zero 43%; full marks 6%.
Section B, Q8a: average 1.4/4; scored zero 40%; full marks 9%.
Section B, Q4b: average 1.5/4; scored zero 22%; full marks 3%.
VCAA's figures are rounded. These are question averages, not study scores. Q10’s 0% full-mark figure is rounded; it does not establish that literally nobody scored 10.
1. Q1: Give each accessory organ its correct job
Where students went wrong
Students confused where bile is made with where it is stored, or said bile chemically breaks fat molecules apart.
What they should have done
The liver produces bile. The gallbladder stores and releases it into the small intestine. Bile emulsifies fat into smaller droplets, increasing the surface area available to enzymes; it does not hydrolyse the fat molecules.
The pancreas produces digestive enzymes including lipase, delivered to the small intestine. Lipase breaks down triglycerides by hydrolysis. Keep the organ, secretion and action together so you do not give the gallbladder credit for producing bile.
2. Q10: Evaluate the company’s packaging claims
Where students went wrong
Answers listed sustainability terms or accepted the company’s claims without assessing them. Some ignored food citizenship or food sovereignty.
What they should have done
The stimulus said the packaging used 22% recycled material. That is evidence of some recycled input, not proof the whole package is circular. Ask what happens to the remaining material and whether collection and processing actually exist.
For economic sustainability, discuss whether supply and cost can support continued production. For food citizenship, consider whether the QR information helps consumers make informed choices. For food sovereignty, examine who controls food-system decisions; a company making a greener package does not, by itself, give producers or communities that control. Finish with a judgement that weighs the evidence and its limits.
3. Q8a: Separate ethical concerns from evidence of effectiveness
Where students went wrong
Students gave an opinion about supplements without addressing both ethics and effectiveness for adolescents.
What they should have done
For ethics, examine the marketing claim, the audience’s vulnerability and whether the promotion encourages informed decisions. For effectiveness, examine the quality and relevance of the evidence. A study in a different population does not automatically establish a benefit for adolescents. Equally, missing evidence does not prove that a product can never work. State what the evidence supports.
4. Q8b: Commercial interest can affect a claim
Where students went wrong
Responses identified financial gain but did not explain how it could influence the information being presented.
What they should have done
A seller benefits when consumers buy, so it may emphasise favourable findings or leave out limitations. That is a reason to check independent evidence and the full study, not automatic proof every claim is false. Explain how selective reporting would affect the reader’s judgement of the product.
5. Q4b: Explain the wholegrain recommendation
Where students went wrong
Students repeated the recommendation or named nutrients without connecting them to its rationale.
What they should have done
Explain why variety and mostly wholegrain choices matter. Wholegrain foods retain components removed during refining, contributing fibre and other nutrients. Fibre supports bowel function, and different grain foods contribute different nutrient profiles. Then connect those features to the recommendation rather than claiming every food labelled as a grain is nutritionally identical.
Source: VCAA 2025 Food Studies examination report: source. Averages and percentages above are VCAA's published, rounded figures; the explanations are my paraphrases.
Use the VCE Food Studies hub and past papers and examiner reports alongside this.
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