RDN Food Safety 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to FDA guidelines, what is the maximum time ready-to-eat refrigerated foods can be held after preparation before they must be discarded?
- 7 days (Correct answer)
- 3 days
- 10 days
- 5 days
Correct answer: 7 days
The FDA Food Code specifies that ready-to-eat foods prepared from commercially processed ingredients can be held for a maximum of 7 days at 41°F or lower.
Question 2: A dietitian discovers that a commercial kitchen has been thawing frozen meat by leaving it on the counter at room temperature. Which FDA-approved thawing method should be recommended instead?
- Refrigerator thawing at 41°F or below (Correct answer)
- Placing in hot water at 110°F
- Thawing in a warm oven at 175°F
- Leaving on counter if covered with foil
Correct answer: Refrigerator thawing at 41°F or below
Refrigerator thawing is the safest method as it keeps food out of the temperature danger zone throughout the thawing process.
Question 3: Which foodborne illness is caused by a preformed toxin and typically causes symptoms within 1–6 hours of ingestion, with no fever?
- Staphylococcal food poisoning (Correct answer)
- Salmonellosis
- Shigellosis
- Campylobacteriosis
Correct answer: Staphylococcal food poisoning
Staphylococcus aureus produces a heat-stable enterotoxin in food; since illness results from the preformed toxin, onset is rapid (1–6 hours) and typically lacks fever.
Question 4: In HACCP, a Critical Control Point (CCP) is best defined as:
- A step where control can be applied to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard (Correct answer)
- Any point in production where a quality check occurs
- The final inspection before food is served
- A record-keeping checkpoint in the food process
Correct answer: A step where control can be applied to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard
A CCP is a specific point in the food production process where a control measure can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a food safety hazard to an acceptable level.
Question 5: Botulism toxin from Clostridium botulinum is most likely to develop in which food storage scenario?
- Improperly home-canned low-acid vegetables stored at room temperature (Correct answer)
- Refrigerated pasteurized milk stored at 38°F
- Frozen vegetables kept at 0°F
- Commercially canned tomatoes with pH 4.0
Correct answer: Improperly home-canned low-acid vegetables stored at room temperature
C. botulinum thrives in anaerobic, low-acid environments at room temperature; improperly canned low-acid foods provide ideal conditions for toxin production.
Question 6: A school nutrition program is assessing food allergy protocols. Which of the following is classified as one of the FDA's 'Big Nine' major food allergens?
- Sesame (Correct answer)
- Corn
- Peas
- Gelatin
Correct answer: Sesame
As of January 1, 2023, sesame became the 9th major food allergen recognized by the FDA under FALCPA, joining milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans.
Question 7: When storing foods in a walk-in refrigerator, which storage order from top to bottom is correct according to food safety guidelines?
- Ready-to-eat foods → whole seafood → whole cuts of beef → ground meats → whole poultry (Correct answer)
- Whole poultry → ground meats → whole cuts of beef → seafood → ready-to-eat foods
- Ready-to-eat foods → whole poultry → ground meats → seafood → whole cuts of beef
- Seafood → whole cuts of beef → ground meats → whole poultry → ready-to-eat foods
Correct answer: Ready-to-eat foods → whole seafood → whole cuts of beef → ground meats → whole poultry
Foods should be stored based on their required minimum internal cooking temperatures, with ready-to-eat foods on top and foods requiring the highest cooking temperature (poultry) on the bottom.
RDN Food Safety 3
According to FDA guidelines, what is the maximum time ready-to-eat refrigerated foods can be held after preparation before they must be discarded?