FSSAI direct recruitment — Central Food Safety Officer, Technical Officer and Assistant Director (Technical) · India · Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersDetecting and preventing economically motivated adulteration: common adulterants and their health effects, rapid household and laboratory tests, authenticity methods (isotope ratios, DNA, spectroscopic fingerprinting), vulnerability assessment and supply-chain controls.
In the exams: ICAR AICE 35.a Unit 4 (food adulteration); core of food safety officer and food analyst examinations
How our questions for FSSAI direct recruitment spread across the units of Food Adulteration, Authenticity & Food Fraud. Difficulty: 11 easy, 19 medium, 0 hard.
| Common adulterants in milk, oils, spices, honey, beverages and grains | 10 | |
| Definitions: adulteration, misbranding and food fraud | 6 | |
| Health effects of adulterants | 6 | |
| Rapid tests for adulterants | 6 | |
| Laboratory confirmation of adulteration | 1 | |
| DNA-based species identification and barcoding | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
What distinguishes food fraud from accidental contamination?
C. Deliberate deception for economic gain
Food fraud is intentional and aims at gain; accidental contamination is a food safety failure without intent.
Further reading: Spink and Moyer 2011
How does food defence differ from food fraud prevention?
C. Intent to harm versus intent to gain
Both deal with intentional acts, but food defence protects against deliberate harm (threat assessment), while fraud prevention addresses economic motives (vulnerability assessment).
Further reading: Spink and Moyer 2011
Adding melamine to milk to raise its measured protein is which type of fraud?
A. Unapproved enhancement
A substance is added to make the product appear better than it is.
Further reading: Spink and Moyer 2011
Under many food laws, which of the following makes a food adulterated even without intent?
B. A cheaper component substituted or damage concealed
Adulteration covers debasement and concealment whether or not deliberate; the other options are lawful.
Why is honey sometimes ultrafiltered by fraudsters?
B. To remove pollen and hide geographic origin
Pollen analysis reveals botanical and geographic origin; removing it conceals transhipment or origin fraud.
Further reading: Downey, Advances in Food Authenticity Testing
Which alkaloid in argemone oil is responsible for epidemic dropsy?
A. Sanguinarine
Sanguinarine and dihydrosanguinarine cause oedema, cardiac failure and glaucoma.
Further reading: Downey, Advances in Food Authenticity Testing
Why is methanol poisoning from counterfeit spirits so dangerous?
C. Its metabolites cause acidosis, blindness and death
Formic acid damages the optic nerve and causes metabolic acidosis.
Escolar sold as another white fish or tuna can cause which effect?
A. Oily diarrhoea from its indigestible wax esters
Escolar wax esters cause keriorrhoea; tetrodotoxin is associated with pufferfish.
Further reading: Downey, Advances in Food Authenticity Testing
Adding iodine solution to a milk product turns it blue. What is indicated?
A. Starch
Iodine forms a blue complex with starch amylose.
Further reading: Downey, Advances in Food Authenticity Testing
Turmeric powder treated with hydrochloric acid turns magenta. What does this suggest?
B. Metanil yellow
Metanil yellow gives magenta with HCl; natural curcumin turns only slightly red, and the colour fades on dilution.
Further reading: Downey, Advances in Food Authenticity Testing
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