India · Food Safety and Standards Authority of India · licensing · unverified source
270practice questions written to this syllabus
27subjects
Format
Unverified. Qualifies the candidate to be appointed as a Food Analyst under the Food Safety and Standards Act; understood to have written theory papers and a practical examination in food analysis.
Over the years
Unverified: the FSSAI page for this examination returned no readable content on 3 Oct 2026. Eligibility (degree in food technology, chemistry, dairy or allied subjects plus laboratory experience) and papers should be read in the current notification.
Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.
1. A calibration has slope 0.25 absorbance units per mg/L, and the standard deviation of the blank response is 0.015. Using LOD = 3.3σ/S, what is the LOD?
0.20 mg/L
0.60 mg/L
0.045 mg/L
0.0124 mg/L
Answer and working
A. 0.20 mg/L
LOD = 3.3 × 0.015/0.25 = 0.198 ≈ 0.20 mg/L. 0.60 is the LOQ (10σ/S); 0.045 is in absorbance units, not divided by the slope; 0.0124 multiplies by the slope instead of dividing.
Statistics, Experimental Design & Chemometrics for Food Science · Calibration, limit of detection and measurement uncertainty basics
2. How does isotope-ratio mass spectrometry detect cane sugar added to a fruit juice?
C4 plants such as cane fix carbon with a different ¹³C/¹²C ratio from the C3 fruit
Cane sugar has a different molecular formula from the sugars made by fruit
Cane sugar contains radioactive ¹⁴C, while fruit sugars contain none at all
Added sugar lowers the deuterium content of the juice water to zero
Answer and working
A. C4 plants such as cane fix carbon with a different ¹³C/¹²C ratio from the C3 fruit
Plants using the C4 pathway (cane, maize) discriminate less against ¹³C than C3 plants (most fruit), so their sugars have a measurably higher ¹³C/¹²C ratio. Both contain ¹⁴C from the atmosphere; sucrose is the same molecule whatever its source; deuterium ratios are used too, but they shift, not vanish.
Chemistry for Food Science (General, Organic & Physical) · Atomic structure, periodicity and chemical bonding
3. The direct epifluorescent filter technique (DEFT) for raw milk counts:
Gas bubbles produced in Durham tubes after inoculating lactose broth
Electrons scattered by cells on a filter coated with gold in a vacuum
Fluorochrome-stained cells retained on a membrane
Colonies that grow on a membrane placed on agar for 48 hours at 30 °C
Answer and working
C. Fluorochrome-stained cells retained on a membrane
DEFT filters the sample, stains the cells on the membrane and counts them by epifluorescence within about an hour. Counting colonies after incubation is membrane filtration plating.
General Microbiology · Microscopy: light, phase-contrast, fluorescence and electron
4. Glass-like crystals sometimes found in canned seafood are usually:
Struvite, magnesium ammonium phosphate
Calcium oxalate from added vegetables
Broken glass from the bottling line, needing a recall
Sodium chloride from the brine
Answer and working
A. Struvite, magnesium ammonium phosphate
Struvite crystals form during storage and are harmless; they dissolve in acid, unlike glass.
Food Chemistry II: Pigments, Flavours, Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes & Browning · Minerals in foods and their chemistry
5. Which of these organisms is a psychrotroph that can grow at refrigeration temperatures?
Clostridium perfringens
Listeria monocytogenes
Staphylococcus aureus
Campylobacter jejuni
Answer and working
B. Listeria monocytogenes
L. monocytogenes grows close to 0 °C. Campylobacter does not grow below about 30 °C, C. perfringens needs warm temperatures, and S. aureus does not grow at about 7 °C or below.