Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition 0648 Past Papers 2026
Download free Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition 0648 past papers, mark schemes, examiner reports & grade thresholds. 46 exam sessions from 2004–2026.
2025 Oct-Nov
Latest Session
46
Sessions
2004–2026
132
Question Papers
131
Mark Schemes
99% coverage
40
Examiner Reports
87% of sessions
39
Grade Thresholds
Components & time pressure
Marks per minute shows how fast you have to work — the higher the number, the tighter the time pressure in that paper.
| Paper | Component | Marks | Duration | Marks / min | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Theory | 100 | 2h | 0.83 | Moderate |
| Paper 2 | Practical | 100 | 2h 30m practical + planning session | 0.67 | Steady |
Component structure extracted from 1 official Cambridge documents (2025). Timings and mark totals are taken from the papers themselves.
Yearly Exam Sessions
Topical Past Papers
Questions organized by syllabus topic — perfect for targeted revision. 1 topics available.
How is Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition 0648 examined?
Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition is examined through 2 paper components. Understanding each component helps you allocate revision time effectively.
Paper 1
100 marksTheory
Duration: 2h
Paper 2
100 marksPractical
Duration: 2h 30m practical + planning session
What Cambridge examiners say about Food and Nutrition
Verbatim quotes from 1 official Cambridge examiner reports (2025). Every quote is attributable to a specific paper and session — these are the things Cambridge markers flag year after year.
Naming foods from the same category when 'different'…
Candidates should be reminded to read questions carefully so that if a question asks for different food sources they do not name three green vegetables or three dairy foods or if asked for animal sources of a particular nutrient they do not give plant sources or vice versa.
Writing more responses than the question asks for
Candidates should be reminded that where a specific number of responses are asked for in a question (e.g. State two…), they should only write this number of responses. Only the first number of responses demanded by the question will be marked and any additional responses will be ignored even if correct.
Vague dish names without cooking method or descriptor
Incorrect responses included simply stating steak, chicken or cake rather than more specific answers such as grilled steak, fried chicken or sponge cake to distinctly illustrate understanding.
Most Common Mistakes — Food and Nutrition (0648)
Based on analysis of 1 official Cambridge examiner reports (2025). Avoid these errors to maximise your marks.
Naming foods from the same category when 'different' foods are required
Paper 1 · Recurring across Paper 1 variants in 2025
Writing more responses than the question asks for
Paper 1 · Flagged in Paper 1 key messages 2025
Vague dish names without cooking method or descriptor
Paper 1 · Coagulation and similar questions, Paper 1 2025
Confusing lactose (sugar) with lactase (enzyme); 'diabetes' instead of 'type 2 diabetes'
Paper 1 · Paper 1 calcium/sugar questions 2025
Misspelling fat names — 'monosaturated' instead of 'monounsaturated'
Paper 1 · Paper 1 fats questions 2025
Topics Students Struggle With Most
Dietary fibre / non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) — functions and sources
'In future, it is recommended that candidates are taught more on the topic areas of fibre… Very few candidates could state six functions indicating that functions of non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) / dietary fibre were not well known.' Many practical candidates chose vegetable-only dishes for high-fibre tests, ignoring wholemeal flour, brown rice, wholegrain pasta, pulses, nuts and seeds.
Paper 1, Paper 2
Use of the refrigerator — temperatures and shelf placement
'In future, it is recommended that candidates are taught more on the topic areas of… use of the refrigerator.' Candidates gave freezer temperatures by mistake and didn't specify which food on which shelf.
Paper 1
Food preservation principles (heat, cold, freezing, jam, chutney)
'Many responses incorrectly suggested food could be preserved by keeping it in the refrigerator… Many candidates mistakenly spent time discussing drying as a method of preservation rather than the use of heat or cold. If the use of freezing or methods such as making jam or chutney were mentioned, the technological principles and rationale behind the methods were rarely given.'
Paper 1
Small kitchen equipment design and selection criteria
'In future, it is recommended that candidates are taught more on the topic areas of… small kitchen equipment.' Candidates didn't know why a turning handle should be designed so fingers don't catch in gears, or why a whisk should be light in weight.
Paper 1
Pastry types and specific cake-making methods
Flaky pastry confused with puff or shortcrust; whisking method confused with 'using a whisk'; coating batter confused with breadcrumbs and pouring batter. Cake-making method recipes (creaming vs all-in-one) used inconsistently between recipe sheet and time-plan.
Paper 2
Vitamin B12 functions and sources for vegans
'Few candidates were able to achieve more than one mark and there seemed to be a lack of knowledge regarding the functions of vitamin B12.' Vegan-related questions need: B12 sources are mostly animal foods, vegans need fortified cereals/yeast extract/B12 supplements.
Paper 1
Specialist enzymes — erepsin, lactase, salivary vs pancreatic amylase
'It was not well known by many candidates that the enzyme found in the ileum that converts peptones to amino acids is erepsin.' Spellings 'maltose' for 'maltase' lost marks.
Paper 1
Iodide (iodine) deficiency and the link between sodium/potassium and hypertension
'Many responses gave deficiency diseases that were unrelated to iodide deficiency.' For sodium/potassium: 'Few candidates were able to give a correct explanation as to why this leads to hypertension.' Iodide deficiency → goitre / hypothyroidism.
Paper 1
Food and Nutrition (0648) — Cambridge IGCSE Full Archive 2004–2026
This page contains all 385 available papers for Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition (0648) — 46 exam sessions from 2004 to 2026. Each session includes question papers, mark schemes, and where available, examiner reports and grade threshold documents. All files are free to download as PDF — no account required.
Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition (0648) is examined through multiple paper components. Question papers are available in two or three variants per session (v1, v2, v3) — each variant is sat in a different time zone but covers the same syllabus content and is equivalent in difficulty. The paper number in the filename indicates which component: for example, 0648_qp_12 is Paper 1, Variant 2.
Mark schemes for 0648 show the exact marking points accepted by Cambridge examiners. Many questions have multiple acceptable phrasings — look for 'accept', 'allow', and 'credit' in the mark scheme to understand the full range of valid responses. Examiner reports (where available) reveal the most common errors made by the cohort and what top-band answers looked like, making them essential reading before the actual exam.
The most effective way to use this archive is to attempt past papers under timed exam conditions, then analyse your mark scheme results by component. Track which paper components and question types you score lowest on — this tells you exactly where to focus revision. Grade threshold documents show the minimum mark needed for each grade in that specific session, which helps calibrate how your practice scores translate to actual grades.
Food and Nutrition 0648 at other levels
Questions, answered.
You can download all Cambridge Food and Nutrition 0648 past papers right here on PapersDaddy. We have 46 exam sessions from 2004–2026 — including question papers, mark schemes, examiner reports, and grade thresholds for 0648. Click any session below to view and download PDFs.
Yes! Every Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition (0648) exam session includes the corresponding mark scheme alongside the question paper. Mark schemes show exactly how marks are allocated, helping you understand what examiners look for in top-scoring answers.
Start with recent 0648 papers (2025–2023) to understand current trends. Practice under timed conditions, then mark yourself using the mark scheme. Read examiner reports to learn common mistakes. For targeted revision, use Food and Nutrition 0648 topical past papers to focus on specific topics.
We have Cambridge IGCSE Food and Nutrition (0648) papers from May/June, October/November, and March sessions (where applicable), covering 2004–2026. That's 46 exam sessions in total.