The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) has invited applications for 45 Food Safety Officer (Group-B) posts under Advertisement No. 25/2026. The notification names a Screening Test, a Subject Knowledge Test and an interview. It says the Commission can hold the Subject Knowledge Test and interview directly, without a Screening Test.
The exam date, syllabus, pattern and marks are not mentioned in the official notification. This practice paper is therefore unofficial. It has 50 original questions drawn from degree subjects the notification accepts, such as food technology, dairy, microbiology, chemistry and agriculture. The questions are not previous year questions and do not predict the HPSC paper.
Full vacancy details are in the Haryana Food Safety Officer recruitment 2026 article.
Information verified from the official Haryana Public Service Commission advertisement No. 25/2026 dated 18 September 2026.Last verified: 19 September 2026.
Practice paper at a glance
The settings below are chosen by India Job Alerts. The Commission has not published any of them.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Status | Unofficial practice paper |
| Questions | 50 multiple-choice questions |
| Marks | 1 mark per question, 50 in total |
| Suggested time | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | None in this paper |
| Sections | 5 sections of 10 questions each |
| Official pattern, syllabus and marks | Not mentioned in the official notification |
Instructions
- Attempt all 50 questions in one sitting. Each question has one correct answer.
- Mark answers on a separate sheet. The notification says a Screening Test may use OMR sheets, so candidates can practise this way.
- Check the answers only after finishing the paper.
- A correct answer scores 1 mark. A wrong or blank answer scores 0.
Section A: Food Science and Technology
Q1. Which step heats vegetables briefly with steam or hot water to stop enzyme action before freezing or drying?
- (A) Curing
- (B) Blanching
- (C) Fermentation
- (D) Smoking
Q2. Cut apples turn brown mainly because of which enzyme?
- (A) Polyphenol oxidase
- (B) Lactase
- (C) Amylase
- (D) Pepsin
Q3. The Maillard reaction is a reaction between:
- (A) Fats and water
- (B) Starch and iodine
- (C) Vitamins and minerals
- (D) Reducing sugars and amino acids
Q4. What is the water activity (aw) of pure water?
- (A) 0
- (B) 0.5
- (C) 1.0
- (D) 10
Q5. In food processing, which pH value separates low-acid foods from acid foods?
- (A) 3.0
- (B) 4.6
- (C) 6.5
- (D) 7.0
Q6. Jam keeps for a long time mainly because its high sugar content:
- (A) Adds vitamins
- (B) Raises the pH
- (C) Lowers water activity
- (D) Destroys all spores
Q7. In freeze drying, ice leaves the frozen food by:
- (A) Sublimation
- (B) Boiling
- (C) Condensation
- (D) Osmosis
Q8. Which of these is a chemical preservative?
- (A) Metanil yellow
- (B) Argemone oil
- (C) Lead chromate
- (D) Sodium benzoate
Q9. Oxidative rancidity in edible oils can be slowed by adding:
- (A) Water
- (B) Sugar
- (C) Antioxidants
- (D) Enzymes
Q10. Homogenisation of milk mainly:
- (A) Reduces the size of fat globules
- (B) Removes lactose
- (C) Kills all bacteria
- (D) Adds protein
Section B: Food Microbiology and Food Safety
Q11. Botulism is caused by a toxin made by:
- (A) Salmonella typhi
- (B) Listeria monocytogenes
- (C) Staphylococcus aureus
- (D) Clostridium botulinum
Q12. Which bacterium can grow at refrigerator temperatures and is a special risk in ready-to-eat foods for pregnant women?
- (A) Vibrio cholerae
- (B) Listeria monocytogenes
- (C) Clostridium perfringens
- (D) Shigella
Q13. Food poisoning from Staphylococcus aureus is caused mainly by:
- (A) Live bacteria that infect the blood
- (B) Aflatoxin in stored grain
- (C) A heat-stable toxin made in the food
- (D) A virus in raw milk
Q14. Aflatoxins are produced by:
- (A) Aspergillus flavus
- (B) Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- (C) Lactobacillus acidophilus
- (D) Rhizopus oryzae
Q15. HACCP stands for:
- (A) Health and Chemical Control Programme
- (B) Hazard and Contamination Checking Plan
- (C) Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
- (D) Hygiene Analysis and Central Control Practice
Q16. In HACCP, a step where control can prevent or remove a food safety hazard is called a:
- (A) Standard operating point
- (B) Quality audit point
- (C) Corrective action point
- (D) Critical control point
Q17. Cross-contamination means:
- (A) Mixing two recipes for better taste
- (B) Transfer of harmful microbes from one food or surface to another
- (C) Adding a preservative twice
- (D) Freezing food twice
Q18. A negative alkaline phosphatase test in milk shows that the milk has been:
- (A) Properly pasteurised
- (B) Adulterated with starch
- (C) Diluted with water
- (D) Fermented
Q19. The methylene blue reduction test is used to judge the:
- (A) Fat content of milk
- (B) Protein content of milk
- (C) Microbial quality of raw milk
- (D) Lactose content of milk
Q20. Poisoning linked to cooked rice kept at room temperature is often caused by:
- (A) Clostridium botulinum
- (B) Vibrio cholerae
- (C) Yersinia enterocolitica
- (D) Bacillus cereus
Section C: Food Laws and Regulation in India
Q21. The Food Safety and Standards Act was passed in the year:
- (A) 1954
- (B) 2006
- (C) 2011
- (D) 2020
Q22. Which earlier law did the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 replace?
- (A) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
- (B) Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
- (C) Indian Contract Act, 1872
- (D) Legal Metrology Act, 2009
Q23. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is headquartered in:
- (A) Mumbai
- (B) Chandigarh
- (C) Kolkata
- (D) New Delhi
Q24. The FSSAI works under which Union Ministry?
- (A) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
- (B) Ministry of Food Processing Industries
- (C) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
- (D) Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Q25. The Food Safety and Standards Rules were notified in:
- (A) 2011
- (B) 2006
- (C) 1954
- (D) 2018
Q26. Which officer is appointed by the State Government to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act in a State?
- (A) Food Analyst
- (B) Designated Officer
- (C) Food Safety Officer
- (D) Commissioner of Food Safety
Q27. An FSSAI licence or registration number has how many digits?
- (A) 10
- (B) 14
- (C) 16
- (D) 12
Q28. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, which sets international food standards, is a joint body of:
- (A) UNICEF and WTO
- (B) WHO and UNESCO
- (C) FAO and WHO
- (D) UNDP and FAO
Q29. “Eat Right India” is a movement led by:
- (A) FSSAI
- (B) ICAR
- (C) BIS
- (D) APEDA
Q30. The “+F” logo on a food pack stands for:
- (A) Frozen food
- (B) Fortified food
- (C) Fresh food
- (D) Fat-free food
Section D: Food Analysis and Adulteration
Q31. The Gerber method is used to measure:
- (A) Protein in milk
- (B) Lactose in milk
- (C) Fat in milk
- (D) Ash in milk
Q32. A lactometer measures the:
- (A) Specific gravity of milk
- (B) Fat percentage of milk
- (C) Acidity of milk
- (D) Protein content of milk
Q33. The Kjeldahl method is used to estimate:
- (A) Fat in oils
- (B) Sugar in juice
- (C) Moisture in grain
- (D) Nitrogen, which is used to calculate crude protein
Q34. Argemone oil mixed with mustard oil can cause:
- (A) Botulism
- (B) Epidemic dropsy
- (C) Scurvy
- (D) Goitre
Q35. The Baudouin test detects the presence of:
- (A) Argemone oil
- (B) Starch
- (C) Sesame oil
- (D) Metanil yellow
Q36. Eating too much khesari dal over a long period can cause:
- (A) Lathyrism
- (B) Rickets
- (C) Pellagra
- (D) Anaemia
Q37. The peroxide value of an oil shows the level of:
- (A) Protein
- (B) Sugar
- (C) Ash
- (D) Early oxidative rancidity
Q38. The iodine value of a fat measures its:
- (A) Water content
- (B) Degree of unsaturation
- (C) Protein content
- (D) Acidity
Q39. The Reichert-Meissl value is mainly used to check the purity of:
- (A) Wheat flour
- (B) Honey
- (C) Butter and ghee
- (D) Turmeric
Q40. A few drops of iodine solution turn cooled milk blue-black. This shows the presence of:
- (A) Starch
- (B) Urea
- (C) Formalin
- (D) Detergent
Section E: Nutrition, Dairy and Agriculture
Q41. Deficiency of vitamin C causes:
- (A) Rickets
- (B) Night blindness
- (C) Pellagra
- (D) Scurvy
Q42. Deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1) causes:
- (A) Scurvy
- (B) Beriberi
- (C) Rickets
- (D) Goitre
Q43. Deficiency of iodine in the diet causes:
- (A) Goitre
- (B) Anaemia
- (C) Scurvy
- (D) Beriberi
Q44. In the LTLT (holder) method, milk is pasteurised at:
- (A) 72°C for 15 seconds
- (B) 100°C for 10 minutes
- (C) 63°C for 30 minutes
- (D) 135°C for 2 seconds
Q45. Which milk protein clots when rennet is added in cheese making?
- (A) Lactose
- (B) Lactoglobulin
- (C) Lactalbumin
- (D) Casein
Q46. Which of these is a fat-soluble vitamin?
- (A) Vitamin C
- (B) Vitamin D
- (C) Thiamine
- (D) Riboflavin
Q47. Which amino acid must come from food because the body cannot make it?
- (A) Lysine
- (B) Alanine
- (C) Glycine
- (D) Serine
Q48. The Green Revolution in India is mainly linked with:
- (A) Higher milk output
- (B) Fish farming
- (C) High-yielding varieties of wheat and rice
- (D) Organic farming
Q49. Operation Flood is linked with:
- (A) Wheat production
- (B) Fisheries
- (C) Egg production
- (D) Milk production
Q50. Which enzyme breaks down lactose?
- (A) Amylase
- (B) Lactase
- (C) Lipase
- (D) Pepsin
Answer key and explanations
Each section carries 10 marks. A low score in one section points to the subject that needs more revision.
Section A: Food Science and Technology
- Q1. (B) Blanching. It stops enzyme action that spoils colour, flavour and texture in storage.
- Q2. (A) Polyphenol oxidase. It turns phenolic compounds into brown pigments when cut fruit meets air.
- Q3. (D) Reducing sugars and amino acids. The reaction gives the brown colour and flavour of baked and roasted foods.
- Q4. (C) 1.0. Water activity runs from 0 to 1, and pure water is 1.0.
- Q5. (B) 4.6. Foods above this pH are low-acid. Spores of Clostridium botulinum can grow in them if heat treatment is weak.
- Q6. (C) Lowers water activity. Sugar binds water, so microbes cannot grow.
- Q7. (A) Sublimation. Under vacuum, ice turns straight into vapour.
- Q8. (D) Sodium benzoate. It is a preservative used within limits. The other three are adulterants or non-permitted colours.
- Q9. (C) Antioxidants. They slow the oxidation of fats. Tocopherols are one example.
- Q10. (A) Reduces the size of fat globules. This stops a cream layer from forming on the milk.
Section B: Food Microbiology and Food Safety
- Q11. (D) Clostridium botulinum. It is a spore-forming bacterium that makes a nerve toxin.
- Q12. (B) Listeria monocytogenes. It grows in cold storage and can harm pregnant women and newborns.
- Q13. (C) A heat-stable toxin made in the food. Normal cooking does not destroy it.
- Q14. (A) Aspergillus flavus. The mould grows on stored groundnuts and maize.
- Q15. (C) Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a system to find and control food safety hazards.
- Q16. (D) Critical control point. Control at this step is needed to make food safe.
- Q17. (B) Transfer of harmful microbes from one food or surface to another. Raw meat touching cooked food is one example.
- Q18. (A) Properly pasteurised. Proper heating destroys the enzyme, so a negative test is the desired result.
- Q19. (C) Microbial quality of raw milk. The dye loses colour faster when more bacteria are present.
- Q20. (D) Bacillus cereus. Its spores survive cooking, and the toxin forms if rice stays warm.
Section C: Food Laws and Regulation in India
- Q21. (B) 2006. The Rules under the Act came later, in 2011.
- Q22. (A) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. The 2006 Act replaced it and other older food laws.
- Q23. (D) New Delhi. The Authority is headquartered in the national capital.
- Q24. (C) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. It is the administrative ministry for the Authority.
- Q25. (A) 2011. This recruitment notification also cites the Food Safety and Standard Rules, 2011.
- Q26. (D) Commissioner of Food Safety. The State Government appoints this officer for the State.
- Q27. (B) 14. The number is printed on food packs sold by licensed and registered businesses.
- Q28. (C) FAO and WHO. Codex standards guide food safety rules in many countries.
- Q29. (A) FSSAI. The movement promotes safe and healthy food.
- Q30. (B) Fortified food. The logo marks foods with added nutrients.
Section D: Food Analysis and Adulteration
- Q31. (C) Fat in milk. The test uses sulphuric acid and amyl alcohol.
- Q32. (A) Specific gravity of milk. Added water lowers the reading. Removing fat raises it.
- Q33. (D) Nitrogen, which is used to calculate crude protein. Nitrogen content is multiplied by a factor.
- Q34. (B) Epidemic dropsy. Argemone oil is a known adulterant of mustard oil.
- Q35. (C) Sesame oil. The test gives a red colour with it and has been used to check ghee for vanaspati.
- Q36. (A) Lathyrism. The condition damages the nerves and can cause leg paralysis.
- Q37. (D) Early oxidative rancidity. A high value means the oil has started to oxidise.
- Q38. (B) Degree of unsaturation. More double bonds give a higher iodine value.
- Q39. (C) Butter and ghee. The value counts volatile fatty acids, which help detect foreign fats.
- Q40. (A) Starch. Starch gives a blue-black colour with iodine.
Section E: Nutrition, Dairy and Agriculture
- Q41. (D) Scurvy. Vitamin C is needed for healthy gums and wound healing.
- Q42. (B) Beriberi. It affects nerves and the heart.
- Q43. (A) Goitre. The thyroid gland swells when iodine is short.
- Q44. (C) 63°C for 30 minutes. 72°C for 15 seconds is the HTST method, and 135°C for 2 seconds is UHT treatment.
- Q45. (D) Casein. Rennet acts on casein and forms the curd.
- Q46. (B) Vitamin D. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble.
- Q47. (A) Lysine. The body cannot make it, so food must supply it.
- Q48. (C) High-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. The Green Revolution raised grain output.
- Q49. (D) Milk production. It was a national dairy development programme.
- Q50. (B) Lactase. It splits lactose into glucose and galactose.
After the paper
The notification lists the accepted degrees, but it gives no syllabus. Syllabus pages for other recruitments are under the Syllabus category. Past papers of other exams are under Previous Question Papers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am Sandeep Khati, the founder of India Job Alerts. I hold a B.Tech in Computer Science from JGEC (2010). My career began as a Systems Engineer at TCS, and I have been active in the digital publishing space since 2011, starting with the launch of SearchDarjeeling.com and my work as a web developer and designer at Darjeeling Informatics.
Launched in April 2025, India Job Alerts is my most focused project to date. I am dedicated to publishing verified government and PSU job notifications for candidates in West Bengal, Sikkim, and across India. To guarantee accuracy, I personally cross-check every post against official notifications before publishing. Know more