FSSAI CFSO syllabus 2026 — Central Food Safety Officer
The CFSO paper is sat in two parts on one sitting: a general aptitude and computer literacy part common to every FSSAI post, and a functional knowledge part specific to food safety. The functional half is where a food technology degree pays off, and it is weighted roughly two to one against the general half.
Exam pattern and marking
- Part A — General Aptitude and Computer Literacy, 40 questions, 160 marks
- Part B — Functional Knowledge, 80 questions, 320 marks
- 120 questions, 480 marks, computer-based
- +4 for a correct answer, −1 for a wrong one
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 carry 50% weight each; there is no interview
FSSAI notifies the pattern per recruitment, and it has changed at every sitting we hold a paper for. Treat the figures above as the most recently notified shape, not as a fixed one — the papers below are what actually happened.
Central Food Safety Officer syllabus — topic by topic
Part A — General Aptitude and Computer Literacy
- General intelligence — analogies, similarities and differences, space visualisation, problem solving, analysis, judgement, decision making, visual memory, arithmetical reasoning, verbal and figure classification, number series
- General awareness — current affairs, Indian history and culture, geography, economy, Constitution and governance, sport, scientific developments
- English language — reading comprehension, grammar, synonyms and antonyms, error spotting, idioms
- Computer literacy — MS Office, email and internet, digital signatures, common platforms
Part B — Food law and the role of FSSAI
- Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 — structure, offences, penalties
- FSS Rules and Regulations 2011 — licensing and registration, packaging and labelling, contaminants, food additives
- FSSAI as regulator — organisation, functions, enforcement, surveillance initiatives
- International standards — Codex Alimentarius, WTO SPS and TBT agreements
Part B — Food science and technology
- Food chemistry and nutrition — macro- and micronutrients, additives, contaminants and adulterants
- Food microbiology — spoilage, pathogens, foodborne illness
- Food processing, preservation and packaging
- Food safety management — HACCP, GMP, GHP, GAP, GLP
- Sampling, analysis and testing methods; quality assurance
Source: FSSAI recruitment notifications ↗. Source: FSS Act 2006 and Rules ↗. Checked 2026-08-17. The board's own copy is the version that counts, and it is reissued with every notification — read it before you plan around anything here.
What the syllabus was actually worth
Marks per section in each real FSSAI CFSO paper on this site, counted from the papers rather than from a notification. Every other syllabus page reproduces the outline above; this is the part that tells you where the marks went.
| Paper | General Aptitude And Computer Literacy | General Awareness | English Language Comprehension | Computer Literacy | Indian and International Food Laws (Overview) | FSSAI(General understanding) | Domain Section | Functional Knowledge | Total | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSSAI CFSO 2022 (30 Mar) | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 19 | 37 | — | 111 | 180 |
| FSSAI CFSO 2022 (01 Oct) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 80 | — | 80 | 180 |
| FSSAI CFSO 2019 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 75 | 100 | 120 |
A dash means that paper had no such section — not that the figure is missing. The board has renamed and reorganised the sections between sittings, so the columns are the union of every taxonomy it has used. That instability is worth planning around: prepare the subjects, not one year's section list.
Counted from the question banks on this server. Where our reproduction of a paper is short of the official total — figure-dependent questions we cannot carry — the exam page says so against that paper.
How the pattern has moved
Detected by comparing each paper with the one before it, within the same post — not from an announcement.
-
FSSAI CFSO 2022 (30 Mar) → FSSAI CFSO 2022 (01 Oct) New pattern
- Questions 111 → 80
- Marks 111 → 80
- Dropped: General Aptitude, General Awareness, English Language Comprehension, Computer Literacy, Indian and International Food Laws (Overview), FSSAI(General understanding)
-
FSSAI CFSO 2019 → FSSAI CFSO 2022 (30 Mar)
- Questions 100 → 111
- Duration 120 → 180 min
- Marks 100 → 111
- Dropped: General Aptitude And Computer Literacy, Functional Knowledge
- Added: General Aptitude, General Awareness, English Language Comprehension, Computer Literacy, Indian and International Food Laws (Overview), FSSAI(General understanding), Domain Section
Free
Find out where you actually stand
A syllabus tells you what could be asked. A timed paper tells you which parts of it you can currently answer — which is the thing that decides what to revise.
See every FSSAI CFSO mock test on the site — full papers, sectional tests, cut-offs and eligibility.