Kerala PSC Food Safety Lab posts official syllabus guide
Kerala PSC Food Safety Lab posts syllabus 0
The KPSC syllabus for Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety), Cat. Nos. 194/2024 and 482/2024, weights Food Safety and Standards highest at 25 marks, then Food Quality Analysis at 15. The papers on this site for this post (2018, 2023, 2025) are a single food-safety bank of 93 to 100 questions; the 2025 paper has questions across all eight sections, including FSSAI laboratories and a general-knowledge tail. The Microbiologist, Junior Research Officer and Lecturer papers on this site are subject papers whose official syllabi could not be reached, so their topics are not listed here.
Exam pattern and marking
- Total 100 marks: Food Chemistry 10, Food Microbiology 10, Food Technology 10, Food Engineering 10, Food Safety and Standards 25, Laboratory ecosystem of FSSAI 10, Food Quality Analysis 15, General Aptitude and General Knowledge 10.
- The syllabus note says topics from the qualifying subjects beyond those listed may also be asked.
- Papers on this site: +1 for a correct answer, 1/3 negative marking; 90 minutes in 2023 and 2025, 75 minutes in 2018 (not stated in the syllabus).
Technical Assistant Gr II: eight sections, 100 marks syllabus
Food Chemistry (10) and Food Microbiology (10)
4 topics- Macro and micronutrients, RDA, enzymes in processing
- Proximate analysis, adulteration, spectroscopy and chromatography
- Additives with INS numbers, anti-nutritional factors, fortification
- Microscopy, staining, culture, growth curve, spoilage, food-borne diseases, beneficial organisms
Food Technology (10) and Food Engineering (10)
4 topics- Preservation by heat, drying, freezing, irradiation, HPP and non-thermal methods
- Packaging materials and novel packaging
- Cereal and pulse processing, fruit and vegetable products, meat, poultry and fish, dairy, beverages
- Unit operations, heat and mass transfer
Food Safety and Standards (25) and Laboratory ecosystem of FSSAI (10)
4 topics- FSS Act 2006, rules and regulations, FSSAI structure and functions
- Regulations on supplements and novel foods, recall, import, organic, fortification, alcoholic beverages, packaging and labelling, additives and contaminants
- Codex, BIS, APEDA, ISO, HACCP, GMP, AGMARK and older food laws
- Laboratory classification, NABL and ISO/IEC 17025, legal sample handling, FICS, laboratory safety
Food Quality Analysis (15) and General Aptitude and Knowledge (10)
4 topics- Sampling, volumetric and gravimetric analysis, refractometry, polarimetry
- Spectroscopy, chromatography, hyphenated techniques, rheology and texture
- PCR, ELISA and other biological techniques
- General aptitude and general knowledge (no topic list given in the syllabus)
Source: KPSC detailed syllabus, Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety), Cat. Nos. 194/2024, 482/2024 ↗. Checked 2026-10-02.
Section weight by year
| Paper | Food Safety & Food Science | Food Science & General Knowledge | Total | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2025 | 93 | — | 93 | 90 |
| Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2023 (Special Recruitment) | 100 | — | 100 | 90 |
| Kerala PSC Junior Research Officer (Food Safety) 2023 | — | 100 | 100 | 90 |
| Kerala PSC Microbiologist (Food Safety) 2022 | — | 98 | 98 | 90 |
| Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2018 | 99 | — | 99 | 75 |
| Kerala PSC Microbiologist (Food Safety) 2017 | — | 99 | 99 | 75 |
| Kerala PSC Lecturer in Food Science 2015 | — | 97 | 97 | 75 |
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.
| Change | Compared papers | Before | After | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2023 (Special Recruitment) → Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2025 | 100 q 100 marks 90 min 1 section | 93 q 93 marks 90 min 1 section |
Questions
100 → 93
Marks
100 → 93
Section split
Food Safety & Food Science 100q → 93q
|
| 2023 | Kerala PSC Microbiologist (Food Safety) 2022 → Kerala PSC Junior Research Officer (Food Safety) 2023 | 98 q 98 marks 90 min 1 section | 100 q 100 marks 90 min 1 section |
Questions
98 → 100
Marks
98 → 100
Dropped
Microbiology & Food Safety
Added
Chemistry
|
| 2023 | Kerala PSC Junior Research Officer (Food Safety) 2023 → Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2023 (Special Recruitment) | 100 q 100 marks 90 min 1 section | 100 q 100 marks 90 min 1 section |
Dropped
Chemistry
Added
Food Safety & Food Science
|
| 2022 | Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2018 → Kerala PSC Microbiologist (Food Safety) 2022 | 99 q 99 marks 75 min 1 section | 98 q 98 marks 90 min 1 section |
Questions
99 → 98
Duration
75 → 90 min
Marks
99 → 98
Dropped
Food Safety & Food Science
Added
Microbiology & Food Safety
|
| 2018 | Kerala PSC Microbiologist (Food Safety) 2017 → Kerala PSC Technical Assistant Gr II (Food Safety) 2018 | 99 q 99 marks 75 min 1 section | 99 q 99 marks 75 min 1 section |
Dropped
Food Microbiology & General Knowledge
Added
Food Safety & Food Science
|
| 2017 | Kerala PSC Lecturer in Food Science 2015 → Kerala PSC Microbiologist (Food Safety) 2017 | 97 q 97 marks 75 min 1 section | 99 q 99 marks 75 min 1 section |
Questions
97 → 99
Marks
97 → 99
Dropped
Food Science & General Knowledge
Added
Food Microbiology & General Knowledge
|
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