Take the 5-question Food Safety quiz HERE.

Answers with full explanations are below. Need to obtain or renew your ServSafe Manager certification? Click here to see our online & in-person course options.

Food Safety Quiz – Question 1:

Foodborne viruses such as norovirus and Hepatitis A are primarily transmitted through?

• Answer: Feces

  • This may be gross, but it’s true! So, how does fecal matter containing these viral particles get on to food? Usually it will be from an infected food handler who probably should have stayed at home, but came to work while sick, or before enough of the virus has shed from their bodies to no longer be contagious.
  • Although vomit from an infected person can also transmit the virus, it is thought that extremely tiny fecal particles are the main culprit causing infection. The best way to prevent a viral foodborne illness outbreak from occurring in your food service operation is to maintain a personal hygiene program which will limit people who may potentially spread norovirus or Hepatitis A to food.
  • A good personal hygiene program should include:
    • Standards for handwashing
    • Clothing or uniform requirements (make sure clothes are clean)
    • Limiting bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods
    • Maintaining and enforcing an employee health policy
  • Did you know? Enough fecal matter from an individual infected with norovirus, which would fit on the pointy end of a sewing needle, contains enough of the virus to infect 100,000 people!

Food Safety Quiz – Question 2:

Which of the following pathogens causes an illness also referred to as Typhoid Fever?

• Answer: Salmonella typhi

  • Due to public awareness of handwashing and personal hygiene this is not as common as it once was. Salmonella typhi is a bacteria mostly spread person to person much like the aforementioned viruses norovirus and Hepatitis A. 
  • Most outbreaks involving this type of Salmonella are from poor personal hygiene practices, or not excluding food service staff who are potentially contagious with this bacteria.
  • You can prevent an outbreak from this bacteria by establishing and monitoring a solid personal hygiene program.  See Question 1 for items to include in your program.
  • Did you know? Mary Mallon, also known as Typhoid Mary, was the first asymptomatic (no symptoms of infection) carrier identified in the United States, perhaps leading to the death of several dozen people!  Check out the Wikipedia article HERE.

Food Safety Quiz – Question 3:

Raw ground beef, raw pork chops, raw poultry, fresh salmon, and fresh apples need to be stored into a refrigerator.  Which factor should be used to determine the order in which the items should be stored from top to bottom?

• Answer: Internal cooking temperatures of the food

  • Simply put, storing different foods on the appropriate shelf in the cooler will prevent cross-contamination. We want any droppage or leakage from food stored above,  to fall onto food below which has a higher cook temperature. The science behind the storage order is based on the cook temperature in which Salmonella spp. will be killed in that particular food.

• • • Top shelf: Ready-to-eat food, fruits, vegetables – Cook temperature of 135°F
      • Being on the top shelf will prevent any dripping or leaking from other foods onto these items

• • • 2nd shelf: Raw seafood (whole or intact pieces) – Cook temperature of 145°F
      • Since the seafood is whole or in larger intact pieces, any Salmonella spp. would only be on surface of the food. Simply put, you only need to kill bacteria on the outside, or the surface of the item.

• • • 3rd shelf: Raw beef/pork (whole or intact pieces) – Cook temperature of 145°F
      • Since the meat is whole or in larger intact pieces, any  bacteria Salmonella spp. would only be on surface of the food. Simply put, you only need to kill bacteria on the outside, or the surface of the item.

• • • 4th shelf: Raw ground, chopped, injected, mechanically tenderized beef/pork/seafood – Cook temperature of 155°F
      • The bacteria Salmonella spp. has been mixed, pushed, or penetrated into the food while being processed. Simply put, we need to kill bacteria inside and outside of the food.

• • • 5th shelf: Raw poultry (if it once had wings and feathers, except for ostrich) – Cook temperature of 165°F
      • Birds we eat, such as chicken and turkey, naturally carry Salmonella spp. in their guts or intestinal tracts. We have to assume any raw poultry will have the highest amount of the bacteria Salmonella spp.

Food Safety Quiz – Question 4:

When cooling food we are allowed 6 hours for the entire process, but why is it that we have only 2 hours to reach 70°F, while another 4 hours to reach 41°F?

• Answer: Bacterial growth is faster in the beginning and slower at the end

  • Although bacteria can grow anytime food is in the temperature danger zone, 41°F – 135°F, bacteria will grow the fastest between temperatures of 70°F – 125°F (think, EXTREME danger done).  This is why we have a shorter time allowed when cooling food from 135°F to 70°F.  Once we clear the first stage, bacterial growth begins to slow rapidly, and will decline exponentially as the temperature of the food drops, thus we have more time to finish the cooling process.
  • Did you know? Improper cooling and holding food at improper temperatures is the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks at charitable events such as a potluck or fundraiser!
  • Did you know? This is the most $$-expensive violation on the health inspection report! Remember, when cooling food you are REQUIRED to monitor and know the amount of time the food has sat in the temperature danger zone. If an inspectors asks, “How long has this been cooling?”, and there is any hesitation down to the minute in which the food has been in the danger zone, the entire product will be trashed without discrimination as to the original cost of the food item, or the cost to remake the product again.

Food Safety Quiz – Question 5:

According to the FDA Model Food Code, water at all handwashing stations must reach what temperature in order to effectively destroy pathogens on the hands?

• Answer: The temperature of the water isn’t to supposed to destroy pathogens on the hands

  • For anyone who originally took the food safety quiz, I sincerely apologize, this was a very sneaky question, but also a good reminder as to the actual purpose of handwashing. Officially, all water at handwashing stations does need to reach 85°F within 8-12 seconds, according to the 2022 FDA Food Code, but this isn’t to “destroy” pathogens on the hands. We really wouldn’t be able to wash our hands with water which is hot enough to kill pathogens without second or third degree burns also on our hands.
  • Simply put, handwashing is only to remove pathogens and send them down the drain into the septic or sewer systems, not “destroy” them.
  • Did you know? Almost all 50 states still require water to be 100°F or higher! This is because the actual rules and regulations for food service operations all come from the individual state governments, not the federal government which is where the FDA Food Code is derived.  The FDA Food Code is a science based document with guidelines which are updated every 4-6 years.
  • Every state uses the FDA Food Code to develop and write their respective rules and regulations for the food service industry within their state borders, which is why most state rules and regulations mirror the FDA Food Code, however, it usually takes 2-6 years before each state updates their rules and regulations to reflect the newest guidelines in the FDA Food Code.
  • Simply put, every state is usually one or two versions behind the most current version of the FDA Food Code. The states will update their rules eventually, but it takes a long time to make it through all the state level red tape.
  • Download the North Carolina or South Carolina Food Code Manuals – Click Here and scroll to the bottom to download in PDF.