ServSafe Manager Practice Questions & Answers

Recognize contamination pathways

A cook uses the same unwashed cutting board for raw chicken and ready-to-eat melon. What is the most appropriate response?

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1. Keep using the board because the chicken was refrigerated.
2. Wipe the board with a dry towel and continue.
3. Rinse the melon after it touches the board and serve it.
4. Clean and sanitize the board before cutting the melon.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Employee health and hand hygiene

A food employee returns from the restroom and is about to put on gloves for sandwich preparation. Select every proposed response that fails to apply the control needed in this case.

Select all answers that apply.

1. Rinse the gloves while they are worn.
2. Put on gloves without washing hands.
3. Use hand antiseptic alone instead of handwashing.
4. Wash and dry hands, then put on new gloves.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Purchase and receive safely

A supplier offers home-canned low-acid vegetables from an unapproved private kitchen. What is the most appropriate response?

1. Reject it and use an approved supplier.
2. Serve the food quickly before any odor develops.
3. Accept the food if the price is low.
4. Accept the food after checking that the jars look clean.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Thaw and cook with conditions

A manager must thaw frozen meat safely for preparation tomorrow. Select every proposed response that fails to apply the control needed in this case.

Select all answers that apply.

1. Thaw it overnight on a room-temperature counter.
2. Leave it in a bucket of standing warm water overnight.
3. Thaw under refrigeration at 41 F or below.
4. Put it near a hot stove until the outside softens.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Protect food during service

A buffet uses the same customer plate for repeated self-service trips at a station that requires clean tableware. What is the most appropriate response?

1. Ignore plate contact because the buffet food is hot.
2. Provide a clean plate for the return trip.
3. Let the customer reuse a soiled plate against the serving utensil.
4. Wipe the plate with a shared towel and reuse it.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Clean, sanitize, and dry

A worker applies sanitizer to a visibly greasy food-contact surface without first cleaning it. Select every proposed response that fails to apply the control needed in this case.

Select all answers that apply.

1. Increase sanitizer strength without following its label.
2. Remove soil, rinse appropriately, then sanitize.
3. Assume sanitizer dissolves every type of grease.
4. Dry the dirty surface and call it sanitized.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Use active managerial control

A temperature log shows repeated cold-holding readings above the stated limit, but no action is recorded. What is the most appropriate response?

1. Assume a signed log means the food was safe.
2. Correct the deviation, assess food, and document the response.
3. Erase the high readings so the file looks compliant.
4. Keep recording the same readings without responding.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Ready-to-eat food and allergens

A server is arranging ready-to-eat bread with bare hands, with no approved alternative procedure. Select every proposed response that fails to apply the control needed in this case.

Select all answers that apply.

1. Touch only the outside edge of each slice.
2. Use suitable utensils or gloves after handwashing.
3. Continue because the bread is dry.
4. Wash hands once at opening and use bare hands all day.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Protect stored food

Raw chicken is stored above ready-to-eat salad in a refrigerator. What is the most appropriate response?

1. Keep the arrangement because both foods are cold.
2. Place a clean towel over the salad as the only protection.
3. Put a date label on the chicken and leave it overhead.
4. Store protected raw chicken below ready-to-eat food.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.

Measure and hold temperatures

A cook checks a thick roast with a probe that barely enters the hot surface. Select every proposed response that fails to apply the control needed in this case.

Select all answers that apply.

1. Touch the outside with a gloved hand to estimate doneness.
2. Use the oven thermostat in place of a food probe.
3. Record the surface temperature as the center temperature.
4. Measure the thickest relevant part with a suitable probe.

Reference basis: FDA Food Code 2022, January 18,2023 version. These are original learning questions, not questions reproduced from the references.