ServSafe - ServSafe Food Safety Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the term for a manager's ongoing, proactive approach to identifying and controlling foodborne illness risk factors?
- Crisis intervention
- Active managerial control (Correct answer)
- Reactive food safety
- Corrective action planning
Correct answer: Active managerial control
Active managerial control means managers continuously identify, monitor, and correct food safety risks before they cause illness, rather than waiting for problems to arise.
Question 2: A food handler is observed not washing hands after handling raw chicken. What is the manager's first responsibility?
- File an incident report with the health department
- Immediately correct the behavior and retrain the employee (Correct answer)
- Send the employee home for the day
- Post a handwashing reminder sign near the sink
Correct answer: Immediately correct the behavior and retrain the employee
Managers must immediately correct unsafe food handling practices on the spot to prevent contamination, and follow up with retraining to ensure the employee understands the correct procedure.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes a Food Safety Management System (FSMS)?
- A list of approved vendors used by the establishment
- A group of policies and procedures that actively controls risks throughout the flow of food (Correct answer)
- A government-mandated inspection schedule
- A record of employee food handler certifications
Correct answer: A group of policies and procedures that actively controls risks throughout the flow of food
An FSMS is a set of interrelated policies, procedures, and practices designed to actively prevent foodborne illness by controlling hazards at every step in the flow of food.
Question 4: A manager wants to verify that food temperatures are being monitored correctly throughout each shift. Which tool is most effective for this purpose?
- Customer comment cards
- A temperature log completed by employees at regular intervals (Correct answer)
- A posted menu with cooking temperatures
- An annual health department inspection report
Correct answer: A temperature log completed by employees at regular intervals
Temperature logs provide a written record that employees are checking and recording food temperatures at scheduled intervals, allowing managers to spot trends and identify gaps in monitoring.
Question 5: Under which circumstance should a manager restrict (rather than exclude) a food handler from working with food?
- The employee has been diagnosed with Hepatitis A
- The employee has a minor cut on their hand covered with a bandage and glove (Correct answer)
- The employee has symptoms of jaundice
- The employee reports diarrhea that started that morning
Correct answer: The employee has a minor cut on their hand covered with a bandage and glove
A food handler with a bandaged wound covered by a single-use glove can be restricted to tasks that avoid bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. Exclusion is required for diagnosed reportable illnesses and symptoms like jaundice or diarrhea.
Question 6: A manager receives a shipment of ground beef with an internal temperature of 50°F (10°C). What is the correct action?
- Accept the shipment and refrigerate it immediately
- Accept the shipment but cook it within two hours
- Reject the shipment and document the refusal (Correct answer)
- Place the shipment in the freezer to salvage it
Correct answer: Reject the shipment and document the refusal
Ground beef must be received at 41°F (5°C) or below. A delivery at 50°F indicates a cold-chain failure and must be rejected. The manager should document the rejection for supplier accountability.
ServSafe - ServSafe Food Safety Management 1
What is the term for a manager's ongoing, proactive approach to identifying and controlling foodborne illness risk factors?