ServSafe practice test answers, with the reason

• 152°F (67°C)
• 180°F (82°C) — correct
• 192°F (89°C)
• 200°F (93°C)

180°F (82°C). Heat sanitising depends on surface temperature and contact time, so the final rinse has to reach at least 180°F at the dish. The trap is that 165°F is also a number you have memorised — for cooking poultry. Two different jobs, two different numbers. FDA Food Code 4-501.110

• 12:00 p.m.
• 2:00 p.m.
• 3:00 p.m. — correct
• 4:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m. Cold food may be held without temperature control for six hours, provided it starts at 41°F or below and never rises above 70°F — and the discard time is written on the label. Six hours from 9:00 a.m. is 3:00 p.m. The trap is counting from when service started rather than when the food left refrigeration. FDA Food Code 3-501.19

• Identifying risks
• Monitoring
• Corrective action — correct
• Re-evaluation

Corrective action. A measurement missed the standard and somebody fixed it, on the spot. The loop is: identify the risk, set the standard, monitor it, correct the deviation — and re-evaluate the system if the same deviation keeps returning. If the question mentions a pattern rather than a single event, the answer is usually re-evaluation. FDA Food Code Annex 4

• The gloves should have been reusable for the raw beef
• The gloves should have been cleaned and sanitised before the buns
• The cook should have washed hands before putting the same gloves back on
• The cook should have washed hands and put on new gloves — correct

Wash hands, new gloves. Gloves are single-use and become a contaminated surface the moment they touch raw meat. The two distractors that mention cleaning or reusing gloves exist because they sound thorough — but gloves are never washed. FDA Food Code ch. 3 — glove use

• 5 seconds
• 8 seconds
• 10 seconds — correct
• 18 seconds

10 seconds. Ten to fifteen seconds of vigorous scrubbing, working the soap under the nails and up the forearms, then rinse and dry with something disposable. Rushing this step is the commonest handwashing failure there is. FDA Food Code 2-301.12 - How to wash hands

• Wash their hands — correct
• Rinse their gloves
• Change their apron
• Use hand sanitiser

Wash their hands. Anything on the body can transfer to the hands, and from the hands to the food. Wash with soap and warm running water - sanitiser is not a substitute and is not allowed in place of it. FDA Food Code 2-301.14 - When to wash

• The prep sink
• The utility sink
• A sink designated for handwashing — correct
• The three-compartment sink

A sink designated for handwashing. Hands are washed in a sink that exists for that purpose, with soap and warm running water. A prep sink, a dish sink or a mop sink is never acceptable - each one is either already contaminated or meant for something else. FDA Food Code 5-205.11 - Use of handwashing sinks

No — and nobody legitimately has those, because the item pool is copyrighted and rotated between sittings. Every question here is original practice material written from the public FDA Food Code. If a site offers to sell you the real answers, it is either lying or breaking the law.

No. Recognising a correct answer is a much weaker skill than producing it under a clock, and the exam phrases the same fact differently from the page you memorised. Reading answers without answering first is the most common way to study for three weeks and still fail.

The FDA Food Code — the same public document the exam is built on. Every explanation cites the chapter or section, so you can check any claim rather than trusting a prep site.

Anywhere that publishes worked questions with the rule behind each answer. What you will not find is the real exam: the item pool is copyrighted and rotated, so a site selling you the actual questions is either lying or committing a copyright offence. The useful substitute is a set of exam-style questions written from the public FDA Food Code, with the answer and the source rule shown for each one — which is what the worked questions on this page are.

At a 70% pass mark across about 90 questions the line lands near 68 correct, so you can miss roughly 22. Treat that as the shape of the line rather than a guarantee, because ServSafe sets the cut score and has changed it between exam versions. Aim for 85% in practice so one badly worded question cannot push you under.

• What is cleaned and when
• What is cleaned, when, and by whom
• What is cleaned, when, by whom, and how — correct
• What is cleaned, when, by whom, how, and why

What is cleaned, when, by whom, and how. A usable schedule names the item, the frequency, the person responsible and the method - four columns. Leave any one out and nobody can tell whether the job was actually done. FDA Food Code ch. 4 - Cleaning of equipment and utensils

• Waiting until the bin was full
• Using the dumpster
• Setting the bag on the prep table — correct
• Tying the bag shut

Setting the bag on the prep table. A full garbage bag is a contamination source. Put it on a food-contact surface and that surface has to be cleaned and sanitised before it is used again. Bag up away from prep. FDA Food Code ch. 4 - Food-contact surfaces

• Away from food and utensils — correct
• Beside the prep area
• In the dishwashing area
• In the dry storage room

Away from food and utensils. Cleaning a bin splashes. Do it where the splash cannot reach food, utensils or anything that touches them - and never in a sink that is used for something else. FDA Food Code ch. 5 - Waste disposal

• Before switching to a different type of food — correct
• Once every six hours
• Whenever the handler changes gloves
• At the end of the shift

Before switching to a different type of food. Switching from raw protein to ready-to-eat food is the classic trigger, but the rule is wider: any time the surface may have been contaminated - a task change, four hours of continuous use, a break, or any interruption. FDA Food Code 4-602.11 - Frequency of cleaning

• Sanitising
• Air-drying
• Rinsing — correct
• Re-washing

Rinsing. Clean, then rinse, then sanitise, then air-dry. The rinse matters because detergent left on the surface can neutralise the sanitiser and stop it working. FDA Food Code ch. 4 - Cleaning and sanitising

• Air-drying the items
• Washing the items in detergent
• Immersing the items in sanitiser
• Scraping, rinsing or soaking the items — correct

Scraping, rinsing or soaking the items. Nothing goes into the wash water with food still on it. Scrape, rinse or soak first; then wash in the first sink, rinse in the second, sanitise in the third, and let everything air-dry. FDA Food Code 4-301.12 - Manual warewashing

• Walls
• Cutting boards — correct
• Storage shelves
• Garbage bins

Cutting boards. Clean and sanitise anything that touches food - boards, knives, tongs, plates, prep tables. Floors, walls and shelving only have to be kept clean, because the food never touches them. FDA Food Code 4-601.11 - Food-contact surfaces

• Plates
• Knives
• Walls — correct
• Tongs

Walls. Sanitising exists for food-contact surfaces. Walls, floors and ceilings need to be cleaned often enough to stay clean and pest-free, but they do not touch the food. FDA Food Code 4-601.11 - Clean versus sanitised

• Label the bottle with what is in it. — correct
• Read the safety data sheet first.
• Use a new wiping cloth.
• Note on the original container that some was decanted.

Label the bottle with what is in it.. Working containers of chemicals have to be labelled with the common name of the product. An unlabelled bottle of clear liquid is how somebody ends up dressing a salad with sanitiser. FDA Food Code ch. 7 - Poisonous or Toxic Materials

• Propped in a corner
• In a clean bucket
• In the utility sink
• Hung up to air-dry — correct

Hung up to air-dry. A wet mop head left standing in a bucket is a warm, moist place for bacteria to multiply. Hang it so the head dries and the handle stays off the floor. FDA Food Code ch. 6 - Physical Facilities

• Touch a container to feel whether it is cool.
• Hold an infrared thermometer close to the case.
• Put the probe between the shipping boxes.
• Open a container and put the probe into the sour cream. — correct

Open a container and put the probe into the sour cream.. To know the temperature of the food you have to measure the food. Infrared reads the surface of the box; a probe between the boxes reads the air. Open one container, insert a sanitised probe, and record it. FDA Food Code ch. 3 - Receiving / ch. 4 - Thermometers

• Cool it to 41 degrees F (5 degrees C) or lower
• Serve it immediately
• Reheat it to 165 degrees F (74 degrees C)
• Throw it out — correct

Throw it out. Hot food held without temperature control is limited to four hours, and this is well past that. Reheating does not undo the time the food spent in the danger zone, so it goes in the bin and the outage goes in the log. FDA Food Code 3-501.19 / ch. 8 - Power outage

• A HACCP plan
• Closure of the operation — correct
• An evaluation of the situation
• Business as usual

Closure of the operation. When the operation loses something it cannot function safely without - water, power, sewer, refrigeration - the choice is fix it now or close. Serving food through a boil-water notice is how one restaurant makes an entire town ill. FDA Food Code ch. 8 - Imminent health hazards

• Becoming certified in food safety — correct
• Taking cooking temperatures
• Monitoring employee behaviour
• Running self-inspections

Becoming certified in food safety. Certification is the documented proof, and it is what most states require the food protection manager to hold. The other three are things a manager should do every day - but they are not what a regulator asks to see. FDA Food Code ch. 2 - Certified food protection manager

• Management oversight — correct
• Corrective action
• Re-evaluation
• Identifying risks

Management oversight. Walking the floor, watching, asking and correcting on the spot is management oversight - the step that makes the other four work. Procedures nobody checks are procedures that quietly stop happening. FDA Food Code Annex 4 - Active managerial control

• Identifying risks
• Monitoring
• Corrective action — correct
• Re-evaluation

Corrective action. A measurement missed the standard and somebody fixed it - that is corrective action. If the same deviation keeps turning up, the next step is re-evaluating the system itself, because the problem is upstream. FDA Food Code Annex 4 - Active managerial control

• Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP)
• Quality control and assurance
• Food safety management
• Active managerial control — correct

Active managerial control. HACCP is a written system for one process; active managerial control is the ongoing work of running the whole operation against the risk factors - unsafe sources, poor personal hygiene, cross-contamination, time-temperature abuse and inadequate cleaning. FDA Food Code Annex 4 - Active managerial control

• To keep every area clean and pest-free
• To identify and tag faulty equipment
• To prevent foodborne illness by controlling risks and hazards — correct
• To use the right methods for buying and receiving food

To prevent foodborne illness by controlling risks and hazards. Everything else on that list is one of the controls. The system exists to stop people getting sick, by finding the hazards before service does. FDA Food Code ch. 8 - Food safety management systems

• A garbage disposal
• Better lighting
• More sanitising
• Working ventilation — correct

Working ventilation. Hoods and exhaust fans carry grease vapour and steam out of the room before either can settle. Clean the filters on schedule and the walls stay dry - and the fire risk goes with the grease. FDA Food Code ch. 6 - Ventilation

• The children get a lower level of service.
• The handler will get sicker there.
• Children are a highly susceptible population. — correct
• The children will refuse to eat.

Children are a highly susceptible population.. Sore throat with fever is on the reportable symptom list, and the rules tighten when the people being served are highly susceptible - young children, the elderly, anyone immunocompromised. Exclusion protects them, not the handler. FDA Food Code ch. 2 - Employee health