HPSC Food Safety Officer 25/2026: Selection Stages and What to Revise

HPSC Advertisement 25/2026 for 45 Food Safety Officer posts does not print a syllabus or marks. It says the Commission generally selects through a screening test, then a subject knowledge test, then an interview. Eligibility, dates and posts are on the recruitment page.

What the advertisement says

• The screening test, if held, uses OMR sheets checked only by machine. A wrongly darkened name, roll number or booklet series gets the sheet rejected.
• No re-checking of OMR sheets and no re-evaluation of subject knowledge test answer sheets is allowed.
• HPSC can skip the screening test, or shortlist on marks, a higher degree or experience if applications are many.
• The post is under the Food and Drugs Administration Department, and recruitment follows its service rules, published at fdaharyana.gov.in.

Because the paper is not printed, the job itself is the best guide. A Food Safety Officer is the inspector created by the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Revise what an inspector needs to know.

The law an FSO works under

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 replaced the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, and several other food orders. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was set up under it in 2008. Learn the sections by the officer they create:

Also learn the definitions of "unsafe food", "sub-standard" and "misbranded" food, and the main regulations of 2011: licensing and registration, packaging and labelling, food product standards and food additives, contaminants and toxins, and laboratory and sampling analysis. Small businesses with an annual turnover up to Rs 12 lakh need registration, and bigger ones need a state or central licence.

Food science

The degree list covers food technology, agriculture, veterinary science, chemistry, microbiology and medicine. The subject knowledge test is likely to test the common ground:

• Adulteration and detection: metanil yellow in turmeric and pulses, argemone oil in mustard oil (epidemic dropsy), starch in milk products (iodine test), and brick powder in chilli powder.
• Contaminants and toxins: aflatoxin from Aspergillus flavus in groundnut and maize, lead and arsenic, pesticide residues and maximum residue limits.
• Microbiology: food-borne pathogens (Salmonella, Clostridium botulinum, Listeria, Staphylococcus aureus), water activity, pasteurisation and sterilisation.
• Preservation and processing: pasteurisation of milk, canning, drying, freezing, irradiation, and permitted preservatives.
• Quality systems: HACCP and its seven principles, good manufacturing and hygiene practices, and Codex Alimentarius.
• Nutrition and labelling: nutrition facts, the veg and non-veg symbols, fortification of salt, oil, milk, wheat flour and rice (the +F logo).

Haryana and general awareness

The advertisement does not say whether the screening test has a general awareness part. Keep some time for it anyway. For a Haryana post, that means Haryana's districts, history, economy and schemes, and current affairs on food safety. Examples are the Eat Right India movement, the State Food Safety Index published by FSSAI, and food testing labs.

A practice set on the Act and food science is on the practice page.