What this section covers: Handwashing: how (20 seconds) and when, No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food; gloves, Reporting illness: exclusions and restrictions, Fingernails, jewelry, hair restraints, eating and drinking.
6 free practice questions
Click an answer: you see at once whether it is right, with the explanation.
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Question 1When must a food employee wash hands?
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Answer: B — After using the restroom.
Hands must be washed after using the toilet room and at many other times: before starting food preparation, after touching the face or hair, after handling raw food, after taking out trash and whenever switching tasks.
Checked against: FDA Food Code 2022, 2-301.14 When to Wash
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Question 2Where should a food employee wash hands?
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Answer: A — In a sink used only for handwashing.
Hands must be washed in a handwashing sink. Washing hands in a prep sink, a dishwashing sink or a mop sink can contaminate food, dishes or hands.
Checked against: FDA Food Code 2022, 2-301.15 Where to Wash
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Question 3You are wearing single-use gloves to make sandwiches and you stop to take out the trash. What should you do before making more sandwiches?
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Answer: D — Remove the gloves, wash your hands and put on new gloves.
Single-use gloves are used for one task only and changed when they get dirty or when the task is interrupted. Hands are washed before putting on a new pair.
Checked against: FDA Food Code 2022, 3-304.15 Gloves, Use Limitation
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Question 4Which piece of jewelry may a food employee wear while preparing food?
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Answer: B — A plain band ring, such as a wedding band.
While preparing food, employees may not wear jewelry on the arms and hands except a plain ring such as a wedding band. Watches, bracelets and rings with stones can hold germs and fall into food.
Checked against: FDA Food Code 2022, 2-303.11 Prohibition
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Question 5A cook calls the manager to say she has been vomiting since last night. What does the Food Code say should happen?
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Answer: D — She is excluded from the food establishment.
Food employees with vomiting or diarrhea are excluded, unless the symptom comes from a noninfectious condition. Vomiting and diarrhea can spread viruses such as norovirus through food, and gloves do not prevent it.
Checked against: FDA Food Code 2022, 2-201.12 Exclusions and Restrictions
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Question 6What is the purpose of a hair restraint in the kitchen?
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Answer: D — To keep hair from touching or falling into food and onto clean equipment.
Food employees wear hats, hair nets or beard restraints that keep their hair from contacting exposed food, clean equipment, utensils and linens.
Checked against: FDA Food Code 2022, 2-402.11 Effectiveness
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Personal hygiene on the food handler test
Hands spread more foodborne illness in kitchens than almost anything else, so this part of the test is mostly about handwashing and bare-hand contact.
| Rule | What the Food Code 2022 says |
|---|---|
| How to wash | At least 20 seconds in total: warm running water, soap, 10 to 15 seconds of scrubbing (under the nails too), rinse, dry with a single-use towel or dryer (2-301.12) |
| Where | Only in a handwashing sink, never in a prep, dish or mop sink (2-301.15) |
| When | Before starting food work, after the toilet, after touching hair or face, after raw food, when switching from raw to ready-to-eat, before putting on gloves, and more (2-301.14) |
| Ready-to-eat food | No bare-hand contact: use tongs, deli tissue, spatulas or single-use gloves (3-301.11) |
| Gloves | One task only; change when torn, dirty or when the task is interrupted (3-304.15) |
| Jewelry | Only a plain ring such as a wedding band on hands and arms (2-303.11) |
| Nails | Trimmed and clean; no polish or false nails unless wearing intact gloves (2-302.11) |
| Hair | Hats, nets or beard restraints (2-402.11) |
Hand sanitizer gel does not replace handwashing: it may only be used on hands that were already washed (2-301.16).
Sick at work
An employee with vomiting or diarrhea is excluded (sent home); with a sore throat and fever, restricted from exposed food, or excluded where a highly susceptible population is served (2-201.12). Source: FDA Food Code 2022.
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ServSafe is a registered trademark of the National Restaurant Association. passmock is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Restaurant Association, ANAB/ANSI, the FDA, any state health department or any food handler training provider. Original practice questions, not questions from the real test.
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