NRFSP HACCP Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What must a food service manager do when monitoring shows a critical limit has not been met?
- Continue the process and re-monitor in an hour
- Apply the established corrective action immediately (Correct answer)
- Serve the food and document the deviation
- Wait for the health inspector to advise
Correct answer: Apply the established corrective action immediately
When a critical limit is not met, the pre-established corrective action — such as discarding food or reprocessing — must be applied immediately.
Question 2: Which HACCP principle involves confirming that the HACCP plan is working effectively?
- Hazard analysis
- Corrective action
- Verification (Correct answer)
- Record-keeping
Correct answer: Verification
Verification (Principle 6) involves activities such as audits, testing, and reviewing records to confirm the HACCP plan is being followed and is effective.
Question 3: Why is record-keeping considered an essential HACCP principle?
- It is required only by local health departments
- It provides documented evidence that the HACCP plan was followed and hazards were controlled (Correct answer)
- It helps calculate food costs
- It replaces the need for employee training
Correct answer: It provides documented evidence that the HACCP plan was followed and hazards were controlled
HACCP records provide documented proof that monitoring was performed, critical limits were met, and corrective actions were taken when needed.
Question 4: A food thermometer reads 160°F when ground beef must reach 155°F. What does this indicate about the CCP?
- A violation — temperature was too high
- The critical limit was met — the CCP is under control (Correct answer)
- A corrective action is needed
- The thermometer must be recalibrated
Correct answer: The critical limit was met — the CCP is under control
A temperature of 160°F exceeds the 155°F critical limit for ground beef, meaning the CCP is under control and the hazard has been addressed.
Question 5: Which step comes immediately after identifying Critical Control Points in building a HACCP plan?
- Establishing corrective actions
- Establishing critical limits (Correct answer)
- Setting up monitoring procedures
- Conducting a hazard analysis
Correct answer: Establishing critical limits
After CCPs are identified, the next step is to establish critical limits — the specific, measurable standards that must be met at each CCP.
Question 6: What is the difference between monitoring and verification in a HACCP plan?
- They are the same activity
- Monitoring checks CCPs during operations; verification confirms the whole system is working (Correct answer)
- Verification is done daily; monitoring is done monthly
- Monitoring is done by inspectors; verification by employees
Correct answer: Monitoring checks CCPs during operations; verification confirms the whole system is working
Monitoring is the routine measurement at CCPs during production; verification is a higher-level check that the entire HACCP system is functioning as intended.
NRFSP HACCP Principles 2
What must a food service manager do when monitoring shows a critical limit has not been met?