FSSAI direct recruitment — Central Food Safety Officer, Technical Officer and Assistant Director (Technical)

India · Food Safety and Standards Authority of India · civil-service · unverified source

291practice questions written to this syllabus
26subjects

Format

Unverified. Recent cycles have been understood to use computer-based tests with a general paper and a subject paper on food science, food safety and the FSS Act, followed by interview for some posts.

Over the years

Unverified: the FSSAI recruitment page did not render readable content on 3 Oct 2026. Posts, papers and syllabus differ by cycle; read the notification for the current cycle.

Official source: https://fssai.gov.in/

Subjects this exam draws on

Chemistry for Food Science (General, Organic & Physical)1 questionsHuman Nutrition & Nutritional Quality of Processed Foods15 questionsFood Microbiology: Spoilage, Pathogens & Detection11 questionsFermentation Technology & Food Biotechnology5 questionsFood Analysis: Proximate, Chemical & Instrumental Methods8 questionsPhysical Properties, Rheology & Texture of Foods2 questionsFood Toxicology, Contaminants & Allergens15 questionsTransport Phenomena in Food Processing: Fluid Flow, Heat & Mass Transfer6 questionsMechanical Unit Operations: Size Reduction, Mixing & Separation4 questionsNovel & Non-thermal Food Processing Technologies4 questionsExtrusion & Texturisation Technology1 questionsFood Plant Sanitation, Cleaning & Pest Management6 questionsCereal Science & Milling Technology9 questionsBakery, Pasta & Snack Food Technology11 questionsPulses, Oilseeds & Plant Protein Technology9 questionsFats & Oils Technology9 questionsFood Packaging Science & Technology5 questionsShelf-life Science & Food Stability5 questionsFood Safety Management Systems: HACCP, PRPs, ISO 22000 & GFSI Schemes12 questionsFood Quality Assurance, Statistical Process Control & Laboratory Accreditation1 questionsFood Law, Standards & Regulatory Affairs Worldwide19 questionsFood Safety Inspection, Sampling & Enforcement72 questionsFood Adulteration, Authenticity & Food Fraud30 questionsFood Risk Analysis: Risk Assessment, Management & Communication10 questionsFood Additives & Ingredient Technology11 questionsNew Food Product Development & Formulation10 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Why is pH 4.6 used as the dividing line between acid and low-acid foods in thermal processing?

  1. Clostridium botulinum spores do not germinate and produce toxin at or below that pH
  2. Tinplate corrodes rapidly in all foods with a pH above that value
  3. Acid foods above that pH lose their flavour during sterilisation
  4. Most enzymes in canned foods are irreversibly inactivated below that pH
Answer and working

A. Clostridium botulinum spores do not germinate and produce toxin at or below that pH

At pH 4.6 or below, C. botulinum cannot grow and produce toxin, so acid foods need only a process against acid-tolerant spoilage organisms. Enzyme inactivation, can corrosion (which is worse in acid foods) and flavour are not the basis of the line.

Chemistry for Food Science (General, Organic & Physical) · Acids, bases, pH, buffers and the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation

2. WHO recommends that intake of free sugars be kept below what share of total energy, with a further conditional recommendation of below 5%?

  1. 15%
  2. 20%
  3. 10%
  4. 25%
Answer and working

C. 10%

WHO 2015: free sugars below 10% of energy, conditionally below 5%.

Human Nutrition & Nutritional Quality of Processed Foods · Carbohydrates and dietary fibre in nutrition

3. Pseudoappendicitis caused by mesenteric lymphadenitis is characteristic of infection with:

  1. Listeria monocytogenes
  2. Vibrio vulnificus
  3. Salmonella Typhi
  4. Yersinia enterocolitica
Answer and working

D. Yersinia enterocolitica

Y. enterocolitica, from undercooked pork, causes enterocolitis and mesenteric lymphadenitis that mimics appendicitis.

Food Microbiology: Spoilage, Pathogens & Detection · Bacterial food-borne pathogens: Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli (STEC), Campylobacter, Shigella, Vibrio and Yersinia

4. Why can acid-hydrolysed vegetable protein sauces raise a safety concern that brewed soy sauce does not?

  1. Acid hydrolysis gives rise to chloropropanols such as 3-MCPD
  2. Acid-hydrolysed sauces contain live Bacillus cereus spores
  3. Acid hydrolysis concentrates aflatoxin from the koji mould
  4. Brewed soy sauce is sterilised, while hydrolysed sauces are not
Answer and working

A. Acid hydrolysis gives rise to chloropropanols such as 3-MCPD

Hydrolysing protein with hydrochloric acid in the presence of residual fat forms 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP, for which Codex and many countries set limits. Acid-hydrolysed sauces use no koji; the sterility claim and spore claim are not the distinction.

Fermentation Technology & Food Biotechnology · Fermented cereal and legume foods: idli, dosa, tempeh, miso and soy sauce

5. A food safety officer draws a legal sample but does not follow the sealing and labelling procedure laid down in law. The main risk is that

  1. the laboratory will refuse to analyse any sample from that officer again
  2. the food will spoil faster because of the missing label
  3. the result is open to challenge in court
  4. the analyst must use a different method for unsealed samples
Answer and working

C. the result is open to challenge in court

Legal procedures protect the integrity and chain of custody of samples; departures can invalidate enforcement.

Food Analysis: Proximate, Chemical & Instrumental Methods · Sampling and sample preparation

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