ServSafe Preventing Cross-Contamination 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A food handler finishes slicing raw chicken and immediately begins chopping lettuce on the same cutting board without washing it. This is an example of:
- Time-temperature abuse
- Cross-contamination (Correct answer)
- Poor personal hygiene
- Improper thawing
Correct answer: Cross-contamination
Using the same cutting board for raw poultry and ready-to-eat produce without cleaning and sanitizing in between is a classic example of cross-contamination.
Question 2: Which of the following is the correct order for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing a cutting board?
- Sanitize, rinse, wash
- Rinse, wash, sanitize
- Wash, sanitize, rinse
- Wash, rinse, sanitize (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Wash, rinse, sanitize
The correct three-compartment sink procedure is wash, rinse, then sanitize to ensure all pathogens are eliminated.
Question 3: Raw ground beef is stored on a shelf directly above sliced deli meats in a walk-in cooler. What is the primary food safety concern?
- The beef will spoil faster at that temperature
- Juices from the beef can drip onto and contaminate the deli meats (Correct answer)
- Deli meats require a warmer storage temperature
- The shelf cannot support the weight of both items
Correct answer: Juices from the beef can drip onto and contaminate the deli meats
Raw meat stored above ready-to-eat foods creates a risk that raw juices will drip down and contaminate the ready-to-eat items.
Question 4: A sushi chef uses color-coded cutting boards — red for raw meat and yellow for raw poultry. What additional board color should be used for ready-to-eat foods like vegetables?
- Blue
- Green (Correct answer)
- White
- Orange
Correct answer: Green
In the standard ServSafe color-coding system, green cutting boards are designated for produce and ready-to-eat foods.
Question 5: Which practice BEST prevents cross-contamination when handling allergen-containing foods?
- Rinsing allergen-free foods with hot water before serving
- Using dedicated equipment and utensils that are not shared with allergen-containing foods (Correct answer)
- Storing allergen-containing foods at a lower temperature
- Labeling allergen-containing foods after they are plated
Correct answer: Using dedicated equipment and utensils that are not shared with allergen-containing foods
Dedicated, separate equipment prevents allergen proteins from transferring to allergen-free dishes.
Question 6: A server carries a stack of clean plates but places their thumb inside one plate while handling them. This action could cause:
- Physical contamination of the food
- Biological cross-contamination from the server's hand to the plate surface (Correct answer)
- Chemical contamination from cleaning residue
- No food safety issue as long as the server's hands look clean
Correct answer: Biological cross-contamination from the server's hand to the plate surface
Touching food-contact surfaces (inside of plates) with bare hands can transfer bacteria from the handler's skin to the plate.
Question 7: During a busy dinner service, a cook tastes soup with a spoon and places it back on the pot handle for later use. What food safety rule is being violated?
- Temperature control for safety
- No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food
- Prevention of cross-contamination via utensils (Correct answer)
- Proper receiving procedures
Correct answer: Prevention of cross-contamination via utensils
Reusing a tasting spoon without washing and sanitizing it introduces mouth bacteria back into the food, causing cross-contamination.
ServSafe Preventing Cross-Contamination 4
A food handler finishes slicing raw chicken and immediately begins chopping lettuce on the same cutting board without washing it.
This is an example of: