Cross-Contamination Prevention Flashcards
6 cards from real Ontario Food Handler Certificate practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Cross-Contamination Prevention flashcards as text
What is cross-contamination in a food service environment?
Answer: The transfer of harmful substances or microorganisms from one food or surface to another
Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria, allergens, or other contaminants from one food, surface, or object to another. It is one of the leading causes of food-borne illness.
Which of the following is an example of direct cross-contamination?
Answer: Raw chicken juices dripping onto ready-to-eat salad in the refrigerator
Direct cross-contamination occurs when raw food or its juices come into direct contact with ready-to-eat food. Raw chicken dripping onto salad transfers Salmonella directly to the ready-to-eat food.
Where should raw meat be stored in a refrigerator relative to ready-to-eat foods?
Answer: On the bottom shelf below ready-to-eat foods
Raw meat must be stored on the bottom shelf to prevent juices from dripping onto ready-to-eat foods below. Ready-to-eat foods should always be stored above raw products.
What is the proper order for storing foods in a refrigerator from top to bottom?
Answer: Ready-to-eat foods, seafood/whole cuts of meat, ground meats, raw poultry
From top to bottom: ready-to-eat foods, then seafood and whole cuts of meat, then ground meats, and raw poultry on the bottom. This order is based on required cooking temperatures, with the highest risk at the bottom.
A food handler uses the same cutting board to cut raw chicken and then slice tomatoes for a sandwich. What type of contamination has occurred?
Answer: Indirect cross-contamination through a shared surface
This is indirect cross-contamination — bacteria from the raw chicken transferred to the cutting board, and then to the tomatoes. The cutting board served as the vehicle for contamination.
Which of the following is the BEST practice for preventing cross-contamination with cutting boards?
Answer: Use separate color-coded cutting boards for raw meats, vegetables, and ready-to-eat foods
Color-coded cutting boards dedicated to specific food types (e.g., red for raw meat, green for vegetables) prevent cross-contamination by ensuring raw meat surfaces never contact ready-to-eat foods.