ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS — Code 18 Food Science Technology · India · ICAR through the National Testing Agency
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe science of traditional foods worldwide — fermented staples, street foods, sweets and snacks — and how they are standardised, scaled up, made safe and given shelf life without losing identity; plus convenience and ready-to-eat meals.
In the exams: ICAR AIEEA-PG Code 18 Unit III (indigenous foods; fast, readymade and fashion foods); GATE XE-G Section 2 (idli, dosa, soya sauce)
ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS — Code 18 Food Science Technology
Unit III names indigenous foods and fast, ready-made and fashion foods. Expect MCQs on traditional fermented foods and their organisms, nixtamalisation and other traditional processes, standardisation and mechanisation of traditional products, hurdle technology, retort pouch and ready-to-eat foods, military and space foods, and geographical indications.
How our questions for ICAR AIEEA-PG / PGS spread across the units of Traditional, Ethnic & Indigenous Foods Technology. Difficulty: 19 easy, 59 medium, 12 hard.
| Traditional fermented foods of Asia, Africa and Latin America | 12 | |
| Traditional cereal and legume products | 9 | |
| Street foods: safety and improvement | 9 | |
| Mechanisation and scale-up of traditional processes | 8 | |
| Shelf-life extension of traditional products | 8 | |
| Military, space and emergency foods | 8 | |
| Geographical indications and protection of traditional foods | 8 | |
| Traditional foods as a global heritage and industry | 7 | |
| Traditional sweets and snacks | 7 | |
| Standardisation of traditional recipes | 7 | |
| Ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods | 7 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Indigenous foods are best described as
B. Foods of Indigenous peoples
Indigenous foods are the foods of Indigenous peoples, often based on local wild and cultivated species and linked to land rights and food sovereignty. Local origin, absence of additives or market sale alone do not define them.
Further reading: Tamang and Kailasapathy (eds.), Fermented Foods and Beverages of the World
Bulgur is
C. Parboiled, cracked wheat
Bulgur is wheat that has been parboiled, dried and cracked, so it cooks quickly and stores well. Rolled and steamed semolina is couscous, yeast-fermented wheat is bread dough, and malted barley flour is a brewing material.
Further reading: Serna-Saldivar, Cereal Grains: Properties, Processing, and Nutritional Attributes
Jalebi is made from
A. Fermented batter, fried, syruped
Jalebi batter is fermented, piped into hot oil in spirals, fried and soaked in sugar syrup. Milk-solid balls in syrup describe rasgulla-type sweets; the others are different sweets.
Further reading: Hui et al. (eds.), Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing
The keeping quality of most traditional sweets depends mainly on
C. Sugar content and water activity
High sugar lowers water activity and limits microbial growth, while packaging controls moisture exchange and rancidity. Refrigeration helps some products, antibiotics are not used, and protein content is not the controlling factor.
Further reading: Hui et al. (eds.), Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing
A city wants to improve street food safety without banning vendors. Which approach has worked best in practice?
C. Training plus licensing
Training combined with licensing, recognition such as hygiene ratings or clean food hubs, and infrastructure such as water points and waste collection has improved practices. Fines alone, bans and daily testing of every dish are impractical or ineffective.
Further reading: FAO, Street foods (Food and Nutrition Paper 63)
Retort pouches are used to make traditional curries and dals
B. Shelf-stable at ambient temperature
Retort processing of sealed pouches gives commercial sterility so the product keeps without refrigeration. It does not require chilling, does not remove water, and involves no fermentation.
Further reading: Leistner and Gould, Hurdle Technologies
An instant idli mix sold as a dry powder is an example of a
D. Ready-to-cook food
The consumer must add water and steam the batter, so it is ready-to-cook. Ready-to-eat foods need no cooking; fresh produce and raw commodities are not processed convenience products.
Further reading: Hui et al. (eds.), Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing
Chilled ready-to-eat meals need strict control of post-cooking contamination mainly because of
B. Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria grows at refrigeration temperatures and the consumer applies no lethal step, so post-cooking contamination and shelf life must be controlled. The other hazards are not the main concern for chilled RTE meals.
Further reading: Hui et al. (eds.), Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing
A geographical indication identifies a product whose qualities are essentially due to its
C. Origin
A GI is linked to a specific geographical origin that gives the product its quality, reputation or characteristics. Brand owners use trademarks, and price and packaging are unrelated.
Further reading: WTO TRIPS Agreement; Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012; India GI Act 1999
A producer group has registered a GI but imitations still sell widely. The most likely missing element is
A. Control and enforcement
A GI delivers value only with a product specification, an organisation of producers, control of compliance and enforcement against misuse. Name length, price and advertising alone do not stop imitation.
Further reading: WTO TRIPS Agreement; Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012; India GI Act 1999
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