GATE — Life Sciences (XL), Section U Food Technology · India · IITs and IISc on rotation (2026: IIT Guwahati)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersBuilding, running and auditing a food safety management system: prerequisite programmes and good manufacturing practice, the seven HACCP principles applied in depth, preventive controls, ISO 22000 and the GFSI-benchmarked certification schemes, food defence, food safety culture, traceability and recall, and auditing practice.
In the exams: GATE XE-G Section 3 (HACCP); ICAR AICE 35.a Unit 4 and 35.b Unit 1; core of FSSAI FoSTaC, FSPCA PCQI, BRCGS, SQF and lead-auditor courses
GATE — Engineering Sciences (XE), Section G Food Technology
Section 3 names HACCP among food standards. Expect short MCQs on the seven principles, the order of the twelve steps, definitions of CCP and critical limit, and the difference between verification and validation.
GATE — Life Sciences (XL), Section U Food Technology
Same syllabus as XE-G Section 3: HACCP principles and food standards, often set alongside microbiological hazards.
How our questions for GATE spread across the units of Food Safety Management Systems: HACCP, PRPs, ISO 22000 & GFSI Schemes. Difficulty: 22 easy, 20 medium, 4 hard.
| HACCP: preliminary steps and hazard analysis | 6 | |
| Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene | 5 | |
| HACCP: critical control points, critical limits and monitoring | 5 | |
| Operational prerequisite programmes and preventive controls | 4 | |
| Good manufacturing and good hygiene practices | 3 | |
| Prerequisite programmes | 3 | |
| HACCP: corrective actions, verification, validation and records | 3 | |
| ISO 22000 food safety management system | 3 | |
| Food defence and vulnerability assessment | 3 | |
| Traceability, withdrawal and recall | 3 | |
| Allergen management programmes | 3 | |
| Food safety culture | 2 | |
| Internal and third-party auditing | 2 | |
| GFSI-benchmarked schemes: FSSC 22000, BRCGS and SQF | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Which ISO document gives prerequisite programmes for food manufacturing?
A. ISO/TS 22002-1
ISO/TS 22002-1 covers food manufacturing PRPs; ISO 9001 is quality management, ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory competence, ISO 14001 environmental management.
Further reading: ISO/TS 22002-1
Under Codex, a critical limit is defined as a criterion that:
C. Separates acceptability from unacceptability of the food at a CCP
A critical limit is an observable or measurable criterion relating to a control measure at a CCP that separates acceptable from unacceptable food.
Further reading: Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020)
According to the 2020 Codex text, some good hygiene practices need greater attention. This means they:
B. They are monitored and verified more closely but remain GHPs
Examples include cleaning of a slicer for ready-to-eat meat; such GHPs get closer monitoring and verification but remain GHPs.
Further reading: Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020)
Under Codex, which statement correctly distinguishes validation from verification?
B. Validation: evidence the control is capable; verification: evidence it is operating as intended
Validation gives evidence of capability before implementation or after change; verification uses audits, record review, calibration and testing to confirm operation.
Further reading: Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020)
Which step is most often a critical control point in a cooked meat process?
C. The cooking step with a time-temperature critical limit
Cooking is designed to eliminate pathogens and is the classic CCP; the others are PRPs.
Further reading: Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020), chapter 2; US FDA Food Code
Raw chicken may carry Salmonella at receipt, and the product is later cooked. Using the Codex decision tree, is receipt a CCP for Salmonella?
A. No, because the later cooking step is designed to eliminate the hazard
If a subsequent step will eliminate or reduce the hazard to an acceptable level, the current step is not a CCP for it; cooking is the CCP.
Further reading: Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020), chapter 2; US FDA Food Code
Which tool is commonly used for root cause analysis after a deviation?
D. The five whys
Asking 'why' repeatedly, and fishbone diagrams, help find the cause; the decision tree identifies CCPs.
Further reading: Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020); Codex CXG 69-2008
Which is a type of preventive control named in the FDA preventive controls rule?
A. Supply-chain control
Preventive controls include process, food allergen, sanitation and supply-chain controls, plus a recall plan.
Further reading: ISO 22000:2018; 21 CFR Part 117
TACCP and VACCP are approaches to assess, respectively:
A. Threats of deliberate attack and vulnerability to food fraud
PAS 96 describes TACCP for threats and VACCP for fraud vulnerability, using HACCP-like logic.
Further reading: 21 CFR Part 121; BSI PAS 96
Food safety culture is defined as:
A. Shared values and norms shaping food safety behaviour
Culture is about mind-set and behaviour across the organisation, not documents or starter cultures.
Further reading: GFSI position paper on food safety culture (2018); Codex CXC 1-1969 (rev. 2020)
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