ServSafe Test Questions Answers (Most Important)

ServSafe Test Questions Answers (Most Important): These important ServSafe Test Questions and Answers are an essential part of the ServSafe Food Handler and Food Manager courses. These courses provide training and certification to food service workers and managers on food safety and sanitation practices.

The ServSafe Test Questions and Answers cover a wide range of important topics, including foodborne illness, personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitizing, food safety regulations, temperature control, cross-contamination, and much more.

ServSafe Test Questions Answers (Most Important)

1. Name the six conditions that favor the growth of bacteria.

  1. Food: Specifically TCS food
  2. Acidity: Contains little or no acid
  3. Temperature: 41 ̊F to 135 ̊F (5 ̊C to 57 ̊C)
  4. Time: In the temperature danger zone
  5. Oxygen: May or may not be needed
  6. Moisture: Need moisture in the food to grow

2. What practice can prevent the spread of viruses?

  • Practicing good personal hygiene when handling food and food-contact surfaces; the quick cleanup of vomit is also important

3. Which types of food are most commonly linked with Norovirus?

  • Ready-to-eat food and shellfish from contaminated water

4. Once the soap has been applied, how long should hands and arms be scrubbed?

  • 10 to 15 seconds

5. Name a hand care practice, in addition to handwashing, that can prevent the spread of pathogens.

  • Keeping fingernails trimmed and filed
  • Keeping fingernails short and clean
  • Not wearing nail polish or false fingernails
  • Covering infected wounds on the hand or wrist with an impermeable cover, and then placing a single-use glove over the cover
  • Wearing single-use disposable gloves

6. Name some instances when food handlers must change their gloves.

  • As soon as they become dirty or torn
  • Before beginning a different task
  • After an interruption, such as taking a phone call
  • After handling raw meat, seafood, or poultry, and
  • before handling ready-to-eat food

7. What symptoms require a food handler to be excluded from the operation?

  • Sore throat with fever in an operation that primarily serves a high-risk population
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Jaundice for seven days or less
  • Is vomiting or has diarrhea and has been diagnosed with an illness caused by Norovirus, Shigella spp., non-typhoidal Salmonella, or Shiga toxin-producing
    E. coli
  • Has been diagnosed with an illness caused by hepatitis A or Salmonella Typhi

8. What are the components of correct work attire?

  • Clean hair restraint
  • Clean clothing
  • No jewelry on hands or arms, except for a plain band ring

9. What are the requirements for a supplier to be considered an approved food supplier?

  • They must be inspected and can show an inspection report
  • They must be in compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws

10. How long can chicken salad, prepped in-house and held at 41 ̊F (5 ̊C) or lower, be stored?

  • A maximum of seven days

11. What are the temperature requirements for receiving fresh meat and shell eggs?

  • Fresh meat: Internal temperature of 41 ̊F (5 ̊C) or lower
  • Shell eggs: Air temperature of 45 ̊F (7 ̊C) or lower

12. A food handler is prepping a pot of chili on May 1 using sausage and ground beef. The sausage has a use-by date of May 10. The ground beef has a use-by date of May 6. What should the use-by date of the chili be?

  • May 6

13. From top to bottom, in what order should duck, ground beef, salmon, and strawberries be stored in the same cooler?

  1. Strawberries
  2. Salmon
  3. Ground beef
  4. Duck

14. What are the four acceptable methods for thawing TCS food?

• In a cooler, keep its temperature at 41 ̊F (5 ̊C) or lower
• Submerged under running, drinkable water at 70 ̊F (21 ̊C) or lower
• In a microwave oven if it will be cooked immediately after thawing
• As part of the cooking process

15. Meat cooked in a microwave oven must be heated to what minimum internal temperature?

  • 165 ̊F (74 ̊C)

16. What are the time and temperature requirements for reheating beef stew that will be held for service?

  • it must be reheated to 165 ̊F (74 ̊C) for 15 seconds within two hours

17. What are the required minimum internal cooking temperatures for beef roasts, stuffed pork chops, and shell eggs for immediate service?

  • Beef roasts: 145 ̊F (63 ̊C) for four minutes
  • Stuffed pork chops: 165 ̊F (74 ̊C) for 15 seconds
  • Shell eggs for immediate service: 145 ̊F (63 ̊C) for 15 seconds

18. What are the time and temperature requirements for cooling TCS food?

  • Cool food from 135 ̊F to 70 ̊F (57 ̊C to 21 ̊C) within two hours, and from 70 ̊F to 41 ̊F (21 ̊C to 5 ̊C) or lower in the next four hours

19. What should be the internal temperature for holding hot TCS food?

  • 135 ̊F (57 ̊C) or higher

20. What are the two biggest hazards to food when serving it off-site?

  • Time-temperature abuse
  • Contamination

21. Name two ways to prevent customers from contaminating self-service areas.

  • Install sneeze guards
  • Label food items
  • Monitor guests
  • Place food in display cases, or package it in a way that protects it from contamination

22. Name two alternatives for avoiding bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food.

  • Wearing single-use gloves
  • Using spatulas, tongs, deli sheets, or other utensils

23. What are the requirements for holding potato salad without temperature control?

  • Hold the potato salad at 41 ̊F (5 ̊C) or lower before removing it from refrigeration
  • Label it with the time you removed it from refrigeration and the time you must throw it out
  • Make sure the food temperature does not exceed 70 ̊F (21 ̊C) while it is being served; throw out any food that exceeds this temperature
  • Sell, serve, or throw out the potato salad within six hours

24. What is the first step in setting up a HACCP system?

  • Conducting a hazard analysis

25. What are five common risk factors for foodborne illness that can be addressed by active managerial control of foodborne illness?

  • Purchasing food from unsafe sources
  • Failing to cook food correctly
  • Holding food at incorrect temperatures
  • Using contaminated equipment
  • Practicing poor personal hygiene

26. A point in the flow of food where identified hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to safe levels.

  • Critical control point (CCP)

27. Name an activity performed by an operation that requires a variance from the regulatory authority.

  • Smoking food as a method of food preservation
  • Curing food
  • Using food additives or adding components to preserve or alter food so that it no longer requires time and temperature control for safety
  • Custom-processing animals
  • Packaging food using a reduced-oxygen (ROP) method
  • Treating juice on-site, and packaging it for later sale
  • Sprouting seeds or beans

28. Cooking ground beef at 155 ̊F (68 ̊C) for 15 seconds is an example of this HACCP principle.

  • Establish critical limits

29. Where should cleaning tools and chemicals be stored in an operation?

  • In a separate area away from food and food-prep areas

30. What is the difference between cleaning and sanitizing?

  • Cleaning removes food and other dirt from a surface
  • Sanitizing reduces pathogens on a surface to safe levels

31. What is the main purpose of a vacuum breaker?

  • To prevent back-siphonage

32. What five factors influence the effectiveness of a sanitizer?

  1. Concentration
  2. Temperature
  3. Contact time
  4. Water hardness
  5. pH

34. What are the five necessary items in a handwashing station?

  • Hot and cold running water
  • Soap
  • A way to dry hands
  • Garbage container
  • Sign to indicate staff members are to wash hands before returning to work

35. What are the seven HACCP principles?

  1. Conduct a hazard analysis
  2. Determine critical control points (CCPs)
  3. Establish critical limits
  4. Establish monitoring procedures
  5. Identify corrective actions
  6. Verify that the system works
  7. Establish procedures for record-keeping and documentation

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