ServSafe Practice Test 1 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A food handler notices a coworker sneeze into their hand and then return to preparing food without washing. What is the BEST immediate action?
- Continue working since it was just one sneeze
- Ask the coworker to wash their hands and put on new gloves (Correct answer)
- Report it to the health department right away
- Discard all food in the kitchen
Correct answer: Ask the coworker to wash their hands and put on new gloves
The coworker must wash hands and re-glove because hands contaminated by a sneeze can transfer pathogens to food.
Question 2: Which practice helps prevent cross-contamination when storing foods in a walk-in refrigerator?
- Store all items on the same shelf regardless of type
- Place raw poultry above ready-to-eat foods
- Store ready-to-eat foods on the top shelf above raw meats (Correct answer)
- Keep all food in open containers for airflow
Correct answer: Store ready-to-eat foods on the top shelf above raw meats
Ready-to-eat foods must be stored above raw meats to prevent drip contamination from raw proteins.
Question 3: What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for ground beef?
- 145°F (63°C)
- 155°F (68°C) (Correct answer)
- 165°F (74°C)
- 135°F (57°C)
Correct answer: 155°F (68°C)
Ground beef must reach 155°F (68°C) for 15 seconds to kill pathogens that may be present throughout the grind.
Question 4: A manager finds a box of canned goods with several severely dented cans along the seams. What should be done?
- Use the cans immediately before they spoil further
- Discard the seam-dented cans and retain the undamaged ones (Correct answer)
- Flatten the dents and store the cans normally
- Refrigerate the cans to slow any bacterial growth
Correct answer: Discard the seam-dented cans and retain the undamaged ones
Seam or deep dents can compromise the seal, creating risk of contamination including Clostridium botulinum; those cans must be discarded.
Question 5: Which symptom would NOT require a food handler to be excluded from working with food?
- Jaundice
- Vomiting
- Mild headache (Correct answer)
- Diarrhea
Correct answer: Mild headache
A mild headache is not a symptom associated with foodborne illness transmission, so it does not require exclusion from food handling duties.
Question 6: How long can hot TCS food safely remain in the temperature danger zone during prep before it must be discarded?
- 1 hour
- 2 hours
- 4 hours (Correct answer)
- 6 hours
Correct answer: 4 hours
TCS food must not be in the temperature danger zone (41°F–135°F) for more than 4 cumulative hours before it becomes unsafe.
Question 7: When using a three-compartment sink, in which order should the steps be performed?
- Rinse, wash, sanitize, air-dry
- Wash, sanitize, rinse, air-dry
- Wash, rinse, sanitize, air-dry (Correct answer)
- Sanitize, rinse, wash, air-dry
Correct answer: Wash, rinse, sanitize, air-dry
The correct order is wash in detergent, rinse off detergent residue, sanitize to kill pathogens, then air-dry to avoid recontamination.
ServSafe Practice Test 1 3
A food handler notices a coworker sneeze into their hand and then return to preparing food without washing.
What is the BEST immediate action?