HPSC Food Safety Officer Recruitment 2026: 45 Group-B Posts, Advt 25/2026

HPSC Food Safety Officer Recruitment 2026 fills 45 Group-B posts, a middle rank of Haryana government service, in the Food and Drugs Administration Department. The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) announced them in Advertisement No. 25/2026, published on 19 September 2026. The online form runs from 28 September to 19 October 2026, until 5 PM on the last day. Every applicant needs Hindi or Sanskrit as a subject in Matric, or Hindi in higher education. You also need a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate in one of the listed food, farm, science or medical subjects. The age limit is 18 to 42, counted on 19 October 2026, and the notice puts the pay at Rs 35,400.

HPSC Food Safety Officer Recruitment 2026 splits Haryana’s SC seats into DSC and OSC

Haryana splits its Scheduled Caste seats into DSC and OSC. One SC post makes up an earlier SC shortfall and is now part of this requisition. Within the 45, two seats are for ex-servicemen (General), and two are for persons with disabilities: one for low vision and one for deaf or hard of hearing candidates. A Haryana letter of 17 July 2026 limits the visual impairment seat to low vision candidates. The number of posts may go up or down.

Reserved seats go only to residents or domiciles of Haryana. Reserved category candidates from other states compete for the unreserved seats as General candidates.

Hindi or Sanskrit plus a food, farm, science or medical degree for HPSC FSO

You need a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree from a recognised university or institution in one of these groups:

• Food technology: Food Engineering; Food Engineering and Technology; Food Processing and Preservation; Food Processing Technology; Food Technology and Management; Food Biotechnology. Also Food Plant Operations Management; Food Process Engineering and Management; Food Processing; Food Safety and Quality Management; Process and Food Engineering.
• Dairy Technology, Biotechnology or Oil Technology;
• Agricultural science: Agriculture, Agriculture Engineering, Biotechnology, Dairy Technology, Fisheries, Food Technology, Food Nutrition and Dietetic, or Horticulture;
• Veterinary Sciences, Bio-Chemistry, Microbiology, Chemistry or medicine;
• Medical degrees: MBBS, BDS, BHMS, BUMS, BSMS, BAMS or Bachelor of Sowa Rigpa Medicine and Surgery. Another qualification also counts if the Food Authority notifies it with central government approval.

The post also needs training set by the Food Authority, but that is given after appointment. You are notified as a Food Safety Officer only after you complete it. Under the Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011, no one with a financial interest in making, importing or selling food can be appointed.

HPSC will not accept a claim of an equal qualification unless the service rules name it. The language rule is separate: Hindi or Sanskrit as a subject in Matric, or Hindi as a subject in higher education.

Rs 35,400 starting basic pay for the Food and Drugs Administration post

The notice gives the pay as “9300-34800+4200 GP, FPL-6 (Cell-1) Rs. 35400/-“. As a general explanation, FPL-6 is pay level 6 of Haryana’s pay matrix, and Cell-1 is its first step, which the notice puts at Rs 35,400. With no allowances printed, this page takes Rs 35,400 as the starting basic pay only and gives no in-hand figure.

Stacked age relaxations stop at 52 for HPSC FSO, except for ex-servicemen

Age is counted on the closing date, 19 October 2026. Under Haryana instructions of 25 March 2022, these groups get more years:

• Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes (non-creamy layer) of Haryana: 5 years, but only where seats are reserved for that category;
• persons with disabilities: 5 years, or 10 in all if they are also SC, ST, BC or EWS. The cap is 52, and this applies to Group A and B posts filled by open competition;
• wives of military personnel disabled in service, widowed or legally divorced women, judicially separated women living apart for over two years, and unmarried women: 5 years each;
• ex-servicemen: their military service plus three years, if they served at least six months without a break before release and were not dismissed or discharged for misconduct or inefficiency;
• people who worked on an ad hoc, contract, work-charged or daily wage basis for Haryana: their completed years on an equal post, not counting breaks. This covers any Haryana government department, board or corporation, including government-aided institutions. The cap is 52, and someone already appointed regularly with this relaxation cannot use it again.

Except for ex-servicemen, no one can go past 52 even with several relaxations combined. The disability relaxation applies even where no seat is reserved for disability, as long as the post suits that disability. Only the Matric certificate or an equal academic certificate is accepted as proof of date of birth.

Which BC-A and BC-B certificate year? HPSC Advt 25/2026 gives two answers

One rule in the notice contradicts itself. The upload list on page 15 asks for a BC-A or BC-B (non-creamy layer) certificate “issued on or before the closing date in the year 2025-26”. Non-creamy layer means a BC candidate not excluded as creamy layer under Haryana’s income and assets test (notification of 16 July 2024).

The reservation section disagrees, in four places:

• the certificate should be issued during 2026-27 only, from April 2026 to March 2027 (page 17);
• BC-A, BC-B and EWS certificates must be issued on or before the closing date and be valid for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (page 17);
• certificates issued during 2025-26 will not be accepted (page 18, Note 1);
• the certificate must be based on income of the financial year 2026-27 and issued after 1 April 2026 (page 18, Note 2).

Read together, these four lines suggest a certificate issued between 1 April 2026 and 19 October 2026. The notice has not settled the conflict itself. If you hold only a 2025-26 certificate, check with HPSC before 19 October 2026. Page 14 adds that if a category certificate fails these rules, HPSC considers the candidate in the General category, if eligible as General. HPSC’s technical helpline is 1800-1800-431, and the helpdesk e-mail is SR1-hpsc@hry.gov.in, on working days from 10 AM to 4 PM.

The EWS certificate must be valid for 2026-27 and issued after 1 April 2026. OBC certificates are not accepted: you need a certificate that names BC-A or BC-B. Women claiming reservation must use a caste certificate from the father’s side, not from the in-laws.

HPSC’s three possible stages: screening, subject test and interview

The notice says HPSC generally uses three stages: a screening test, a Subject Knowledge Test and an interview. It may also skip the screening test and go straight to the subject test and interview. It gives no exam date, syllabus or marks for this post.

If too many people apply, HPSC may shortlist by marks in the qualifying degree, by higher qualifications or by extra experience. So list every qualification and all relevant experience in the form, not just the minimum. Anything you leave out will not be counted later.

An OMR sheet is a machine-read answer sheet where you darken bubbles. If one is used, failing to darken the right circles for your name, roll number or booklet series means your OMR sheet is rejected automatically. There is no re-checking of OMR sheets or of Subject Knowledge Test answer sheets.

Haryana women and reserved groups pay Rs 250, Haryana applicants with 40% or more disability nothing

Pay online by net banking or card by 5 PM on 19 October 2026. The fee is not refunded and cannot be kept for another exam.

Sign the printout and upload it, or the HPSC form is rejected

1. Register through the apply link on hpsc.gov.in, which opens regn.hpsc.gov.in, with your mobile number. You get a Unique Registration Number (URN).
2. Log in and fill in the form for Advt 25/2026.
3. Upload your photo, signature, degrees, mark sheets and category, domicile and experience certificates.
4. Pay the fee.
5. Print the filled form, check it, sign it, and upload the signed copy.

If the signed copy is not uploaded, the form is treated as incomplete and rejected automatically. Nothing can be changed after you submit. If you made a mistake, fill a fresh form with a fresh fee before the closing date. Only the form with the highest application number counts, and fees are not moved between forms. You will also need your Aadhaar number or Virtual ID for biometric attendance at the exam.

Only certificates issued on or before 19 October 2026 count, and marks improved after that date are ignored.

Chemistry graduates can also look at BTSC Scientific Assistant 2026, and food science graduates at the BTSC Food Safety Officer 2026 drive in Bihar. Other openings are listed under Haryana government jobs and health department jobs.

✍️ Published byLokesh Rathore

Lokesh Rathore is a content writer with over 4 years of experience covering Government Jobs, Sarkari Result, Admit Card and Sarkari Yojana. He turns complex official notifications into clear, accurate and easy-to-follow updates for job seekers across India - with every post cross-checked against official government sources.

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