ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD): Dairy Chemistry, Dairy Microbiology, Dairy Technology, Dairy Engineering · India · NTA for ICAR
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersHow dairy laboratories sample, count, detect and certify: criteria, indicator organisms, rapid methods and lab quality systems.
In the exams: ICAR AICE subject 36 Unit 6 and subject 35b Units 1 and 3; ICAR AIEEA-PG group 16 (enumeration, isolation and identification of pathogens)
ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — Dairy Microbiology (subject 36, Unit 6) and Food Safety and Quality (subject 35b, Units 1 and 3)
Quality assurance and rapid methods: microbiological criteria and sampling plans, indicator organisms, enumeration and detection methods, ATP bioluminescence, PCR, immunoassays, biosensors, environmental monitoring, biosafety and accreditation.
How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Microbiological Quality Assurance & Rapid Methods. Difficulty: 13 easy, 38 medium, 25 hard.
| Two- and three-class sampling plans | 10 | |
| Rapid methods: ATP bioluminescence, PCR, real-time PCR, immunoassays | 10 | |
| Laboratory accreditation: ISO/IEC 17025 | 10 | |
| Biosensors in dairy safety | 9 | |
| Environmental monitoring programmes | 9 | |
| Detection and isolation of pathogens | 8 | |
| Biosafety levels and good microbiological practice | 7 | |
| Microbiological criteria and how they are set | 6 | |
| Standard plate count and other enumeration methods | 4 | |
| Indicator organisms: coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli | 3 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Which organism is typically the subject of a food safety criterion rather than a process hygiene criterion?
D. Listeria monocytogenes
Food safety criteria concern pathogens such as L. monocytogenes, Salmonella and Cronobacter; the others are process hygiene indicators.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
Process hygiene limits are commonly derived from:
C. Data on what well-run processes achieve
They reflect good practice, so exceeding them signals a process problem needing investigation.
Further reading: ICMSF, Microorganisms in Foods 7, 2nd ed.
If 100 colonies are counted on a plate, the Poisson standard deviation is:
D. 10 colonies, a relative uncertainty of 10%
For a Poisson count the SD is √N = √100 = 10, which is 10% of the count.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
The usual sequence in cultural detection of a pathogen is:
B. Pre-enrichment, selective enrichment, plating, confirmation
Enrichment resuscitates injured cells and increases target numbers before isolation and confirmation.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
Surface plasmon resonance detects binding by a change in:
B. Refractive index at a metal surface
SPR is an optical label-free method used, for example, for antibiotic residues in milk.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
An amperometric biosensor measures:
D. Current
Amperometric sensors measure current; potentiometric ones measure potential; impedimetric ones measure impedance.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
In routine dairy practice, biosensors are most established for:
A. Antibiotic residues and somatic cell or mastitis detection
Most pathogen biosensors remain in research because of matrix effects and low target numbers.
Further reading: ICMSF, Microorganisms in Foods 7, 2nd ed.
Most routine environmental samples are usually taken from zones 2 and 3 because:
C. They warn early, before zone 1 is contaminated
The aim is to find harbourage before it reaches product contact surfaces.
Further reading: ICMSF, Microorganisms in Foods 7, 2nd ed.
Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus are handled at:
B. BSL-2
They are risk group 2 agents: disease is possible but treatable and spread is limited.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
Providers of proficiency testing schemes are accredited to:
D. ISO/IEC 17043
ISO/IEC 17043 sets requirements for proficiency testing providers.
Further reading: Wehr and Frank (eds), Standard Methods for the Examination of Dairy Products, 17th ed.
Ten here, 76 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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