Preventing Cross-Contamination Flashcards
7 cards from real SERVSAFE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Preventing Cross-Contamination flashcards as text
A food handler wears single-use gloves while preparing a sandwich. After touching the cash register, the handler continues making the next sandwich without changing gloves. This is a problem because:
Answer: The gloves may now carry pathogens from the register onto the food
Non-food surfaces like cash registers harbor pathogens; gloves must be changed and hands washed whenever a food handler touches a non-food surface.
What is the safest way to store raw fish, raw ground beef, and raw whole steaks together in a refrigerator?
Answer: Store fish on top, steaks in the middle, and ground beef on the bottom shelf
Raw fish (145°F cook temp) is stored highest, whole steaks (145°F) in the middle, and ground beef (155°F) on the lowest shelf based on minimum internal cooking temperatures.
A food handler with a minor cut on their finger covers it with a bandage. What additional precaution must they take when handling ready-to-eat foods?
Answer: Wear a single-use glove over the bandage
A bandage alone is insufficient; a single-use glove must be worn over it to prevent the bandage from falling into food and to contain any blood-borne pathogens.
Which scenario represents cross-contamination through equipment rather than direct food-to-food contact?
Answer: Using the same meat slicer without cleaning it between slicing salami and turkey
Equipment-based cross-contamination occurs when a shared tool (slicer) transfers pathogens from one food to another without being properly cleaned and sanitized in between.
A prep cook accidentally drops a raw chicken breast on the floor, picks it up, and continues to use it. What is the correct action?
Answer: Discard the chicken and clean and sanitize the floor and any contaminated surfaces
Food that contacts the floor must be discarded, and all potentially contaminated surfaces must be cleaned and sanitized to prevent further spread.
When must food handlers change their single-use gloves during food preparation?
Answer: After handling money, touching their face, or switching between different food tasks
Gloves must be changed whenever they could have become contaminated — including after touching non-food surfaces, the face, or switching between food types.
A restaurant uses a color-coded system to prevent cross-contamination. A new employee uses a red (raw meat) cutting board to chop fresh herbs. The BEST immediate action is to:
Answer: Discard the herbs and retrain the employee on the color-coding system
Herbs used on a board designated for raw meat must be discarded due to potential pathogen transfer, and the employee needs retraining to prevent recurrence.