Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) Food Safety Officer Exam 2025 : Exam Plan & Syllabus

Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission (MPPSC) Food Safety Officer Exam 2025 – Examination Plan and Syllabus

Examination Plan

Marking Scheme

The examination for the Food Safety Officer Exam 2025 will consist of a written test and an interview. The breakdown of marks is as follows:

Question Paper Plan

• The examination will be conducted in a single session for a duration of 3 hours.
• The question paper will be objective (multiple-choice) type.
• Section ‘A’ (General Studies) will have 50 objective questions, and Section ‘B’ (Subject – Food Science & Technology) will have 100 objective questions, making a total of 150 objective questions.
• Each question will carry 3 marks, for a total of 450 marks for the written examination.
• Each question will have four options (A, B, C, D), and candidates must select the correct option. Selecting more than one option will result in the answer being cancelled.
• It is mandatory to obtain a minimum of 40% marks separately in Section ‘A’ and Section ‘B’.
• For Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), Economically Weaker Section (EWS), and Persons with Disabilities (PH) categories domiciled in Madhya Pradesh, a 10% relaxation in minimum passing marks will be provided, meaning they must secure a minimum of 30% marks separately in each section.
• Merit will be calculated by combining the marks from both sections.
• Negative marking will be applied. For every correct answer, 3 marks will be awarded, and for every incorrect answer, 1 mark will be deducted. The formula for scoring is (3R – W), where R is the number of correct answers and W is the number of wrong answers.
• The question paper will be available in both Hindi and English languages.
• After the examination, a provisional answer key will be published on the commission’s website, and objections can be submitted online within 5 days. A non-refundable fee of ₹150 per objection and a portal fee of ₹40 per session will be charged.
• In case of a discrepancy between Hindi and English translations, the Hindi translation will be considered final.
• If a question has more than one correct option, all correct options will be accepted.
• If none of the given options are correct, the question will be deleted from the paper.
• The preliminary exam results will be declared based on the final answer key, excluding deleted questions.

Interview

• The interview will be for 50 marks.
• There are no minimum passing marks for the interview.
• Candidates three times the number of advertised posts (and those with equal marks) based on their merit in the written examination will be provisionally declared successful for document submission and interview.
• Candidates absent from the interview will be deemed ineligible for selection.

Syllabus

Section ‘A’ – General Studies

Unit-01: History of Madhya Pradesh

• Ancient History of Madhya Pradesh – Prehistoric, Protohistoric, and Historic Periods.
• Medieval History of Madhya Pradesh.
• Modern History of Madhya Pradesh.
• Freedom Movement in Madhya Pradesh.
• Tribal History and Tribal Literature of Madhya Pradesh.

Unit-02: Geography of Madhya Pradesh

• Geographical location and extent of the state, major Rivers, mountains.
• Climate: Seasons, Soils, Temperature, Rainfall, Forest types and Forest produce.
• Agriculture: Major crops, Sources of irrigation, Irrigation projects.
• Thermal power projects, Non-conventional energy sources, Major Minerals.
• Population size, Growth and Literacy, Transportation, Food processing industries.

Unit-03: Politics and Economy of Madhya Pradesh

Politics of Madhya Pradesh

• Governor, Chief Minister, Cabinet, Vidhan Sabha, High Court, Lokayukta.
• State Secretariat, Chief Secretary, Divisional Commissioner, Police Commissioner.
• District Administration, Urban Administration, Local Self Government, Panchayati Raj Institutions.
• State Election Commission, State Information Commission, State Scheduled Castes Commission, State Scheduled Tribes Commission, State Backward Classes Commission, State Commission for Women.
• Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989; Panchayats Extension to Schedule Areas (PESA) Act, 1996; Environment Protection Act, 1986; Madhya Pradesh Govansh Vadh Pratishedh Adhiniyam, 2004.

Economy of Madhya Pradesh

• Overview of the Economy of Madhya Pradesh.
• Status of Agriculture and Rural Development in Madhya Pradesh.
• Development of Industrial and Infrastructural Framework in Madhya Pradesh.
• Status of Education, Health and Skill Development in Madhya Pradesh.
• Status of Madhya Pradesh in Sustainable Development Goals, Ease of Doing Business and Multidimensional Poverty Index.

Unit-04: Tribes of Madhya Pradesh: Heritage, Folk Culture and Folk Literature (with special reference to MP)

• The geographical spread of tribes in Madhya Pradesh, constitutional provisions related to tribes.
• Major tribes of Madhya Pradesh and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Tribal welfare programs.
• Tribal culture of Madhya Pradesh: Traditions, special arts, festivals, celebrations, language, dialects and literature.
• Madhya Pradesh tribal’s contribution to the freedom struggle of India and iconic tribal personalities of state.
• Popular institutes related to tribes of Madhya Pradesh, tribal museums, publications etc..
• Folk culture and folk literature of Madhya Pradesh.

Unit-05: Important Contemporary Events of International, National and Madhya Pradesh & Information and Communication Technology

• Important International and National Contemporary Events.
• Important Contemporary Events and Major Public Welfare Schemes of Madhya Pradesh.
• Prominent Personalities and Important Places of Madhya Pradesh.
• Computer, Information and Communication Technology, E-governance.
• Basic knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Data Science and Internet of Things.

Section ‘B’ – Food Science and Technology

Unit-I: Introduction to Basic Food Science

• History of food & its preservation.
• Traditional Food and their importance. Role of Food fortification. Aspects of eat right challenges in India. Tribal foods of Madhya Pradesh.
• Food Constituents- Carbohydrate, Proteins, Fat, Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes: Chemical structure, classification and functions.
• Metabolic Pathway, Digestion and Absorption; Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Vitamins, Fibres and Minerals.
• Properties of Food; Physical, Acid, Base & Buffer, Chemical, Colloids.

Unit-II: Food Microbiology

• General characteristics of micro-organism; Classification, Morphology, Physiology, Growth, Nutrition and Reproduction; Microbial growth.
• Food Poisoning and Food Borne Disease, Food Toxins. Rapid methods in detection of micro-organisms.
• Food Fermentation; Fermented Food Products and Beverages.
• Food spoilage of specific food groups (Milk and Milk products, Meat, Poultry, Fish, Cereal, Pulses, Oil, Fruits, Vegetables, Canned Food Products).
• Microbial techniques; Types of micro-organism, their morphology, culture and media preparation, SPC, TPC.

Unit-III: Food and Nutrition

• Food and Nutrition; its functions, classification and sources.
• Balance diet, Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), Basal energy metabolism; (BV, NPU, BMR, PER, BMI) calculations.
• Techniques for assessment of Human Nutritional status, causes and preventions of Malnutrition.
• Programme of Nutrition and Health in India (MDMP, ICDS, National Food Security Mission).
• Macro and micro nutrients deficiency diseases and their prevention.

Unit-IV: Food Preservation, Packaging and Storage

• Food preservation, Principles and its methods.
• Thermal and Non-Thermal Food Preservation Technology.
• Food Packaging; Concept of food packaging, Type of packaging, Packaging Laws and Regulations, Evaluation of food packaging materials, Packaged commodities rules.
• Novel Technologies in Food packaging and recent development.
• Food Storage; Storage structures, practices, environment and its interaction with stored product.

Unit-V: Indian Farming System

• Status of Agriculture in India, Types of traditional and modern farming systems. Components of Farming System, Farming-based Livelihood Systems-Crops and cropping systems.
• Livestock; Dairy, Piggery, Goatry, Poultry, Duckery systems.
• Horticultural Crops, Agro-forestry systems, Aquaculture, Duck/Poultry-cum-Fish, Dairy-cum-Fish, Piggery-cum-Fish. Small, medium and large enterprises including value chains and secondary enterprises as livelihood components for farmers.
• Commercial farming-based livelihood-models by NABARD, ICAR (State Agricultural Universities and KVKs).
• Schemes and Programs by Central and State Government, Public and Private Organizations involved in promotion of farming-based livelihood opportunities.

Unit-VI: Food Safety, Quality Control, Hygiene & Standard

• Food Safety; Definition, Scope, Importance, Standard, and Factors affecting.
• Hazards and Risks; Types of hazards – Physical, Chemical, Biological hazards. Management of hazards.
• Hygiene and Sanitation in Food Service Establishments; Introduction, Sources of contamination and their control. Waste Disposal.
• Pest and Rodent Control, Personnel Hygiene.
• Basic concepts of Food Safety Management, PRPs; GHPs, GMPs, SSOPs. HACCP, ISO Series, TQM.
• FSMS 22000, ISO 22000:2005, Global Food Safety Management systems.

Unit-VII: Integrated Agriculture Production Technology

• Salient feature of Agriculture and livestock of Madhya Pradesh.
• Crops production; Cereals, Pulses, Oilseeds and Millets; Horticulture Crop Production; Vegetable, Fruits, Flowers.
• Spices; Turmeric, Ginger, Coriander, Cumin, Fenugreek, Carom and Fennel.
• Animal Husbandry; Livestock Production, Goatry, Poultry, Duckery, Fisheries, Aquaculture, Apiculture, Agro forestry Systems, Concept of Sustainability.
• Post Harvest Management, Energy Management, Water Harvesting & Management, Soil Health, Crop Management, Pest Management.

Unit-VIII: Animal Product Processing

• Composition of Meat, Types of Meat, Slaughtering, Tenderization and Curing.
• Fish and Poultry processing.
• Physical, Chemical, Nutritional and Functional characteristics of Egg. Processing of Egg and Egg products.
• Composition and properties of Milk and their different processed products (Concentrated and dried, Fermented, Cream, Ice Cream, Butter, Cheese).
• Milk adulterants and its detection.

Unit-IX: Food Processing Technology

• Use of non-thermal technologies (Micro Filtration, High Pressure processing, Ultra Filtration, Reverse Osmosis), Ultra-high voltage electric fields, Cold Plasma.
• Nutraceuticals and functional foods, Junk foods.
• Method of food preservation; Thermal Processing, Pasteurization, Concentration, Canning, Dehydration, Freezing, Fermentation, Irradiation and Food additives.
• Aseptic preservation, Hurdle Technology, Hydrostatic Pressure Technology, Microwave Processing.
• Innovative Thermal Technologies (Ohmic heating, Dielectric heating, Infrared and Induction heating) in food processing.

Unit-X: Food Laws, Regulation, Certification and Development Schemes

• National and International Food Laws and Standards, Food Regulatory Regime, FSSAI, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Global Scenario CAC.
• Food Safety and Standards Act. FSSAI Rules-2006; Food Adulteration, Misbranding, Common Adulterants in Foods. Duties and Responsibilities of Food Safety Authorities.
• Certification; Procedure, Auditing, Certifying and Accrediting Bodies. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), AGMARK, Weights and Measures Act, Principle, Implementation, Documentation, Types of records.
• Organic Food and Genetically Modified Food.
• Food institutes; CFTRI, NIFTEM, ICAR, ICMR, DFRL.

For details candidates should visit official website of MPPSC¹

Reference and Notification Links

1. https://mppsc.mp.gov.in/uploads/syllabus/Exam_Plan_and_Syllabus_Food_Safety_Officer_Exam_2025_Dated_26_06_2025.pdf ↩︎