ASRB NET official syllabus guide
ASRB NET syllabus 2026
ASRB NET Food Technology is one subject stream within the wider ASRB National Eligibility Test, sat by candidates seeking Assistant Professor/Lecturer eligibility in State Agricultural Universities and other Agricultural Universities. The paper is a single objective-type test covering the discipline end to end, from food chemistry and processing through engineering, microbiology, quality management and product development.
Exam pattern and marking
- 150 multiple-choice questions, 1 mark each, 150 marks total
- 2 hours (120 minutes), fully online (computer-based)
- 1/3 mark negative marking for every wrong answer
- No sectional time limit — the full paper is attempted in one sitting
ASRB reissues the NET syllabus and pattern with every notification. The figures above reflect the most recently verified cycle (checked 2026-09-02) — read the board's own notification before you plan around them, and treat any application-window date on this site as tentative until ASRB's own notification confirms it.
Food Technology syllabus
Unit 1: Introductory Food Technology
3 topics- Water activity, moisture sorption isotherms and food stability
- Principles of food preservation — thermal processing, chilling, freezing, dehydration, irradiation, chemical preservation, hurdle technology
- Basic unit operations in food processing
Unit 2: Technology of Foods of Plant Origin
3 topics- Cereals, pulses and oilseeds — milling, parboiling, malting, refining, hydrogenation
- Fruits and vegetables — ripening, browning, CA/MA storage, jam/jelly technology
- Plantation and spice crops; bakery and confectionery technology
Unit 3: Technology of Foods of Animal Origin
3 topics- Milk and milk products — pasteurization, homogenization, cheese and ghee manufacture
- Meat, poultry and egg technology — rigor mortis, curing, quality grading
- Fish and marine product technology — spoilage indices, chilling and freezing
Unit 4: Food Quality Management
3 topics- HACCP, GMP, ISO 22000 and quality management systems
- Codex Alimentarius and the FSS Act/Regulations
- Statistical process control, sensory quality assessment, adulteration testing
Unit 5: Food Engineering, Packaging and Labelling
4 topics- Fluid flow, heat and mass transfer, evaporation and dehydration equipment
- Novel processing — ohmic heating, high pressure processing, membrane separation
- Packaging materials and systems — MAP, aseptic and retort packaging
- FSSAI and Legal Metrology labelling requirements
Unit 6: Food Microbiology and Biotechnology
4 topics- Microbial growth kinetics and thermal death time concepts
- Foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms and mycotoxins
- Fermentation technology, starter cultures, probiotics and prebiotics
- Recombinant DNA technology and enzyme applications in food processing
Unit 7: Flavour Chemistry, Technology and Consumer Sciences
3 topics- Taste and aroma chemistry — sweet, umami and astringent compounds
- Sensory evaluation methods — discrimination, descriptive and affective testing
- Consumer behaviour and market segmentation in the food industry
Unit 8: Food Product Development
3 topics- New product development stages — ideation, concept testing, Stage-Gate process
- Shelf-life studies, accelerated shelf life testing and reformulation
- Fortification, functional foods and product commercialization
Source: ASRB syllabus (official) ↗. Source: ASRB official site ↗. Checked 2026-09-02.
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