Which of the following statements is INCORRECT?
- (a)Fats and oils get reduced over time and smell bad.
- (b)Antioxidants are added to foods containing fats and oil to prevent oxidation.
- (c)Chips manufacturers usually flush bags of chips with Nitrogen to prevent the chips
- (d)Fats and oils are oxidised, they become rancid.
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The question asks which statement is INCORRECT, and option (a) says fats and oils get reduced over time and smell bad.
Rancidity is oxidation, not reduction. Fats and oils take up oxygen from the air, their long chains break down into short-chain aldehydes, ketones and acids, and those breakdown products are what you smell.
The statement inverts the chemistry, which is exactly what the key is pointing at.
Why the others are wrong
- (b)Antioxidants are added to foods containing fats and oil to prevent oxidation. — Antioxidants genuinely are added to fatty foods, to be oxidised in place of the fat. The statement is true, and in a question hunting the false one, a true statement is the wrong choice.
- (c)Chips manufacturers usually flush bags of chips with Nitrogen to prevent the chips — Chips packets genuinely are flushed with nitrogen, an unreactive gas that displaces oxygen and delays rancidity. True statement, so not the answer here.
- (d)Fats and oils are oxidised, they become rancid. — This states the reaction correctly — fats and oils are oxidised and turn rancid. It is the statement the keyed option contradicts, and it is true.
Concept
Rancidity is the oxidation of fats and oils on standing. Oxygen attacks the chains, and the peroxides formed break down into short-chain aldehydes, ketones and acids with the sharp stale smell of old oil.
Everything the food industry does about it follows from that one reaction. Antioxidants are added to be oxidised first. Packets are flushed with nitrogen so there is no oxygen left to react. Storage is cool, dark and airtight, because heat and light speed the reaction up.
The word to watch in an option is oxidised against reduced.
Option (c) is cut off mid-sentence on the response sheet, as 'to prevent the chips'. It is reproduced here as the paper printed it, and the intended statement is that nitrogen flushing prevents the chips from being oxidised.
Key facts
- Rancidity is an oxidation reaction, not a reduction.
- Antioxidants such as BHA and BHT are added to fatty foods to be oxidised in place of the fat.
- Chips packets are flushed with nitrogen because it is unreactive and displaces oxygen.
- Keeping fatty food cool, dark and airtight slows rancidity for the same reason.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing a true statement because the stem is negatively worded.
- Reading 'reduced' in option (a) as meaning reduced in quantity rather than chemically reduced.
SSC uses the INCORRECT-statement wrapper to test a single reversed word inside an otherwise familiar set of facts.
Underline the negative in the stem before you read the options, or a correct fact will look like a correct answer.
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