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CUET for ICAR seats Principles of Food Science & Food Preservation: practice questions

CUET (UG) for ICAR seats — B.Tech Food Technology / B.Sc. Food Science in agricultural universities · India · National Testing Agency for ICAR

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
9worked here, free
26written to this exam in this subject
13syllabus units

What this subject covers

The first map of the whole field: what food is, why it deteriorates, and the families of preservation (heat, cold, drying, chemicals, fermentation, irradiation, packaging and hurdles). Each family is studied in depth later; this subject teaches the logic that connects them.

In the exams: GATE XE-G and XL-U Section 3 (processing principles); ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF 35.a Unit 1 (introductory food technology)

Where the 26 questions fall

How our questions for CUET for ICAR seats spread across the units of Principles of Food Science & Food Preservation. Difficulty: 26 easy, 0 medium, 0 hard.

History, scope and structure of the food industry worldwide3
Preservation by heat: blanching, pasteurisation and sterilisation3
Food groups, composition and food attributes: colour, texture, flavour and nutrition2
Causes of food deterioration: microbial, enzymatic, chemical, physical and pest2
Water activity and its relation to spoilage2
Preservation by low temperature: chilling and freezing2
Preservation by removal of water: drying, concentration and intermediate-moisture foods2
Preservation by fermentation2
Preservation by irradiation2
Food fortification and enrichment2
Raw-material quality factors for processing2
Preservation by chemicals, sugar, salt and smoke1
Hurdle technology1

9 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

1 · History, scope and structure of the food industry worldwide · easy

Making a ready-to-eat chilled meal from cooked ingredients is an example of:

  1. Post-harvest precooling
  2. Primary processing
  3. Raw-material grading
  4. Tertiary processing
Answer and working

D. Tertiary processing

Tertiary processing produces ready meals and convenience foods from secondary products.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

2 · Causes of food deterioration: microbial, enzymatic, chemical, physical and pest · easy

Which pests cause the largest damage to stored grains and pulses?

  1. Bacteriophages
  2. Insects and rodents
  3. Halophilic archaea
  4. Lactic acid bacteria
Answer and working

B. Insects and rodents

Insects and rodents eat and contaminate stored dry foods; the others are microorganisms unrelated to dry storage pests.

3 · Water activity and its relation to spoilage · easy

Water activity is defined as:

  1. Vapour pressure over the food divided by that of pure water at the same temperature
  2. The percentage of water lost when the food is dried at 105 °C in an oven
  3. The ratio of bound water to free water measured by a nuclear magnetic resonance probe
  4. The ratio of the mass of water to the mass of dry solids in the food sample
Answer and working

A. Vapour pressure over the food divided by that of pure water at the same temperature

aw = p/p0 at the same temperature; it equals ERH/100 at equilibrium. Mass of water per dry solids is dry-basis moisture.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

4 · Preservation by heat: blanching, pasteurisation and sterilisation · easy

The D value of a microorganism is the time at a given temperature needed to:

  1. Reduce the population by 90%
  2. Double the population
  3. Kill every cell present
  4. Reduce the population by 50%
Answer and working

A. Reduce the population by 90%

D is the decimal reduction time: one log cycle, 90% reduction.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

5 · Preservation by heat: blanching, pasteurisation and sterilisation · easy

What is the main purpose of blanching vegetables before freezing?

  1. To inactivate enzymes that would spoil quality during frozen storage
  2. To raise the vitamin C content by concentrating the cell sap
  3. To add salt and colour to the vegetables before they are packed
  4. To sterilise the vegetables so they no longer need to be kept frozen
Answer and working

A. To inactivate enzymes that would spoil quality during frozen storage

Blanching inactivates enzymes such as lipoxygenase and peroxidase; it does not sterilise, and it usually lowers vitamin C by leaching.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

6 · Preservation by low temperature: chilling and freezing · easy

At what temperature are frozen foods commonly stored according to codes of practice?

  1. −18 °C or below
  2. 0 °C
  3. −2 °C
  4. +4 °C
Answer and working

A. −18 °C or below

−18 °C is the widely used storage temperature for quick frozen foods.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

7 · Preservation by low temperature: chilling and freezing · easy

What is freezer burn?

  1. Browning caused by heating frozen food too fast in a microwave oven
  2. Growth of moulds on frozen food stored at −18 °C for a long time
  3. Chemical burns from ammonia leaking out of the refrigeration system
  4. Surface dehydration caused by sublimation of ice from poorly packed food
Answer and working

D. Surface dehydration caused by sublimation of ice from poorly packed food

Ice sublimes from exposed surfaces, leaving dry, tough, discoloured patches; tight packaging prevents it.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

8 · Preservation by fermentation · easy

Which microorganisms convert ethanol into acetic acid in vinegar making?

  1. Brewing yeasts
  2. Propionibacteria
  3. Acetic acid bacteria
  4. Lactic acid bacteria
Answer and working

C. Acetic acid bacteria

Acetobacter and Gluconobacter oxidise ethanol to acetic acid aerobically.

Further reading: Jay, Loessner and Golden, Modern Food Microbiology

9 · Raw-material quality factors for processing · easy

Which fruit does not continue to ripen after harvest and must be picked ripe?

  1. Tomato
  2. Mango
  3. Banana
  4. Grape
Answer and working

D. Grape

Grapes are non-climacteric; bananas, mangoes and tomatoes are climacteric.

Further reading: Fellows, Food Processing Technology

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Read the subject

Principles of Food Science & Food PreservationThe full study manual, free CUET for ICAR seatsFormat, sections and how it has changed

Principles of Food Science & Food Preservation for other exams

ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS · IndiaGATE · India

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