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Food Science Daily

GATE XL official syllabus guide

GATE XL syllabus 2027

Food Technology is section XL5 for GATE 2027, formerly XL-U in earlier GATE XL papers. Every XL candidate sits General Aptitude and Chemistry, then picks two optionals; for a food technologist XL5 is one of them, and the choice of the second is where most of the strategy lies.

Syllabus units
4
Topics listed
25
Papers counted
18

Exam pattern and marking

  • General Aptitude — 15 marks, compulsory
  • Chemistry (XL0 for GATE 2027; formerly XL-P) — 25 marks, compulsory
  • Two optional sections of your choosing — 30 marks each
  • 100 marks over 65 questions, 180 minutes
  • MCQ: 1/3 of the marks deducted on a 1-mark question, 2/3 on a 2-mark question. MSQ and NAT carry no negative marking.

Food Technology syllabus

Food Chemistry and Nutrition

8 topics
  • Carbohydrates — structure and function of mono-, oligo- and polysaccharides, starch, cellulose, pectic substances, dietary fibre, gelatinisation and retrogradation
  • Proteins — classification and structure in food, post-mortem biochemical changes, tenderisation of muscle
  • Lipids — classification and structure, rancidity, polymerisation, polymorphism
  • Pigments — carotenoids, chlorophylls, anthocyanins, tannins, myoglobin
  • Food flavours — terpenes, esters, aldehydes, ketones, quinones
  • Enzymes — specificity, simple and inhibition kinetics, coenzymes, enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning
  • Nutrition — balanced diet, essential amino and fatty acids, protein efficiency ratio, water- and fat-soluble vitamins, minerals, co-factors, anti-nutrients, nutraceuticals, deficiency diseases
  • Chemical and biochemical changes during processing

Food Microbiology

5 topics
  • Morphology and characteristics of bacteria, yeast, mould and actinomycetes
  • Microbial growth and death kinetics
  • Spoilage organisms of the major food groups
  • Microbial toxins and foodborne pathogens
  • Fermented foods and beverages

Food Products Technology

6 topics
  • Processing principles — thermal processing, chilling, freezing, dehydration, preservatives and additives, irradiation, fermentation, hurdle technology, intermediate moisture foods
  • Packaging and storage
  • Cereal, pulse and oilseed processing
  • Fruit and vegetable processing; plantation crops
  • Milk and milk products; meat, poultry, fish and egg processing
  • Waste utilisation and quality standards

Food Engineering

6 topics
  • Mass and energy balance
  • Momentum transfer and fluid flow
  • Heat transfer — conduction, convection, radiation, heat exchangers
  • Mass transfer and diffusion
  • Mechanical operations — size reduction, homogenisation, filtration, centrifugation, mixing, sieving
  • Thermal and mass transfer operations — evaporation, drying, distillation, extraction

Source: GATE 2027 test papers and syllabus ↗. Source: GATE 2027 information portal ↗. Checked 2026-09-16.

Section weight by year

Section-wise marks per paper
Paper General Aptitude Chemistry Biochemistry Botany Microbiology Zoology Food Technology GATE 2011 Food Technology Total Minutes
GATE XL 2026 15 10 Q 25 17 Q 28 18 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q — 188 180
GATE XL 2025 15 10 Q 25 17 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2024 15 10 Q 25 17 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2023 15 10 Q 25 17 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2022 15 10 Q 25 17 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q 30 19 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2021 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2020 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2019 14 9 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 189 180
GATE XL 2018 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2017 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2016 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2015 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2014 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 190 180
GATE XL 2013 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 28 19 Q 27 18 Q 27 18 Q — 182 180
GATE 2012 — Food Technology — — — — — — — 35 22 Q 35 40
GATE XL 2012 15 10 Q 21 13 Q 30 20 Q 28 19 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q — 184 180
GATE 2011 — Food Technology — — — — — — — 35 22 Q 35 40
GATE XL 2011 15 10 Q 25 15 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 30 20 Q 27 18 Q 30 20 Q — 187 180

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. Candidates should therefore prepare the underlying subjects rather than relying on one year's section labels.

Changes in examination pattern

Compared across past papers. Not an official announcement.

Detected changes between consecutive papers
Change Compared papers Before After What changed
2026 GATE XL 2025 → GATE XL 2026 122 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections 121 q 188 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 122 → 121 Marks 190 → 188 Section split Biochemistry 19q → 18q
2022 GATE XL 2021 → GATE XL 2022 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections 122 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 125 → 122 Section split Chemistry 15q → 17q Section split Biochemistry 20q → 19q Section split Botany 20q → 19q Section split Microbiology 20q → 19q Section split Zoology 20q → 19q Section split Food Technology 20q → 19q
2020 GATE XL 2019 → GATE XL 2020 124 q 189 marks 180 min 7 sections 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 124 → 125 Marks 189 → 190 Section split General Aptitude 9q → 10q
2019 GATE XL 2018 → GATE XL 2019 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections 124 q 189 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 125 → 124 Marks 190 → 189 Section split General Aptitude 10q → 9q
2014 GATE XL 2013 → GATE XL 2014 120 q 182 marks 180 min 7 sections 125 q 190 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 120 → 125 Marks 182 → 190 Section split Microbiology 19q → 20q Section split Zoology 18q → 20q Section split Food Technology 18q → 20q
2013 GATE 2012 — Food Technology → GATE XL 2013 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section 120 q 182 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 22 → 120 Duration 40 → 180 min Marks 35 → 182 Dropped GATE 2012 Food Technology Added General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology
2012 GATE 2011 — Food Technology → GATE XL 2012 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section 122 q 184 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 22 → 122 Duration 40 → 180 min Marks 35 → 184 Dropped GATE 2011 Food Technology Added General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology
2012 GATE XL 2012 → GATE 2012 — Food Technology 122 q 184 marks 180 min 7 sections 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section
Questions 122 → 22 Duration 180 → 40 min Marks 184 → 35 Dropped General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology Added GATE 2012 Food Technology
2011 GATE 2010 — Food Technology Practice Set → GATE XL 2011 17 q 28 marks 40 min 1 section 123 q 187 marks 180 min 7 sections
Questions 17 → 123 Duration 40 → 180 min Marks 28 → 187 Dropped GATE 2010 Food Technology Added General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology
2011 GATE XL 2011 → GATE 2011 — Food Technology 123 q 187 marks 180 min 7 sections 22 q 35 marks 40 min 1 section
Questions 123 → 22 Duration 180 → 40 min Marks 187 → 35 Dropped General Aptitude, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, Food Technology Added GATE 2011 Food Technology
2010 GATE 2009 — Food Technology Practice Set → GATE 2010 — Food Technology Practice Set 21 q 34 marks 50 min 1 section 17 q 28 marks 40 min 1 section
Questions 21 → 17 Duration 50 → 40 min Marks 34 → 28 Dropped GATE 2009 Food Technology Added GATE 2010 Food Technology
2009 GATE 2008 — Food Technology Practice Set → GATE 2009 — Food Technology Practice Set 27 q 47 marks 60 min 1 section 21 q 34 marks 50 min 1 section
Questions 27 → 21 Duration 60 → 50 min Marks 47 → 34 Dropped GATE 2008 Food Technology Added GATE 2009 Food Technology

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