ServSafe Personal Hygiene and Health 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A food handler who recently recovered from Salmonella Typhi (typhoid fever) wants to return to work. What must happen first?
- They may return after 24 hours with no symptoms
- They must receive written medical clearance before returning (Correct answer)
- They need only a negative rapid antigen test
- They may return if they wear gloves at all times
Correct answer: They must receive written medical clearance before returning
Salmonella Typhi is a Big 6 pathogen requiring written medical clearance before a food handler may return to work.
Question 2: Which behavior puts food at the greatest risk of contamination from a food handler?
- Wearing a clean uniform
- Touching your face and then handling food without washing hands (Correct answer)
- Using single-use gloves for ready-to-eat foods
- Keeping fingernails short and unpolished
Correct answer: Touching your face and then handling food without washing hands
Touching the face introduces pathogens from mucous membranes to hands, and then to food if hands are not washed immediately after.
Question 3: A food handler reports that they have been vomiting at home but feel better now. The manager should:
- Allow them to work since symptoms have stopped
- Exclude them from the operation until they meet return-to-work criteria (Correct answer)
- Assign them to dishwashing only
- Ask them to wear a mask and monitor symptoms during the shift
Correct answer: Exclude them from the operation until they meet return-to-work criteria
Vomiting is a symptom associated with several Big 6 pathogens and requires exclusion until return-to-work criteria are met, even after symptoms resolve.
Question 4: When must a food handler change gloves?
- Every 4 hours regardless of task
- When switching between handling raw and ready-to-eat foods (Correct answer)
- Only when gloves appear visibly soiled
- At the beginning and end of each shift
Correct answer: When switching between handling raw and ready-to-eat foods
Gloves must be changed when switching tasks — especially between handling raw proteins and ready-to-eat foods — to prevent cross-contamination.
Question 5: Which of the following is the best example of proper personal hygiene for food handlers regarding fingernails?
- Long nails with clear nail polish to prevent chipping
- Short, clean, unpolished nails or no nail polish (Correct answer)
- Artificial nails covered by single-use gloves
- Nails trimmed weekly with colored polish allowed
Correct answer: Short, clean, unpolished nails or no nail polish
Nails should be short, clean, and free of nail polish to prevent harboring bacteria and having polish chip into food.
Question 6: A food handler is assigned to work in the establishment but is restricted from handling food. Which situation most likely caused this restriction?
- The handler has a confirmed case of Norovirus
- The handler has a sore throat without fever (Correct answer)
- The handler was diagnosed with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli
- The handler has an infected wound on their arm
Correct answer: The handler has a sore throat without fever
A sore throat without fever warrants restriction from working with highly susceptible populations but not full exclusion from the operation.
Question 7: Why should food handlers avoid wearing jewelry such as rings and bracelets while working?
- Jewelry is considered unprofessional in food service
- Jewelry can harbor bacteria and fall into food (Correct answer)
- Jewelry interferes with proper uniform requirements only
- Jewelry is only a concern when handling raw meat
Correct answer: Jewelry can harbor bacteria and fall into food
Jewelry can trap bacteria in crevices and may fall into food, posing both a biological and physical contamination hazard.
ServSafe Personal Hygiene and Health 5
A food handler who recently recovered from Salmonella Typhi (typhoid fever) wants to return to work.
What must happen first?