ServSafe Food Handler Basic Food Safety Summary

A foodborne illness is a disease that is carried or passed to people by food. Germs, chemicals, or objects in food can cause it.

Wrong choices

• Weight gain from eating fatty food: Weight gain is not a disease passed to people by food.
• Food that has passed its sell-by date: A date on a package is not an illness. It is a label about quality or stock.
• Any stomachache caused by eating too much: Eating too much can make you uncomfortable, but it is not a disease carried by food.

A physical hazard is an object that gets into food, such as metal shavings, staples, glass, bandages, or dirt. It can cut or choke a guest.

Wrong choices

• Norovirus on a worker's hands: A virus is a germ. That is a biological hazard.
• Glass cleaner sprayed near open food: Glass cleaner is a chemical hazard, not a physical one.
• Salmonella bacteria on raw chicken: Bacteria are living germs. That is a biological hazard.

A chemical hazard comes from chemicals such as cleaners, sanitizers, polishes, and pesticides. They can make people sick if they get into food.

Wrong choices

• A staple from a delivery box: A staple is an object in food. That is a physical hazard.
• A small bone left in a fish fillet: A bone is an object in food. That is a physical hazard.
• Hepatitis A virus on a salad: A virus is a germ. That is a biological hazard.

Some people get sick more easily and more seriously from unsafe food. Higher-risk groups include older adults, young children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems. As people age, the immune system (the body's defense against germs) gets weaker.

Wrong choices

• Healthy college students: Healthy young adults are not in a higher-risk group.
• Office workers eating lunch at a cafe: Being an office worker does not raise the risk of foodborne illness.
• Healthy adults in their 30s: Healthy adults have strong immune systems. They are not in a higher-risk group.

Viruses usually get into food from people: an infected worker's hands or vomit. They do not grow in food, but a tiny amount can make guests sick. The best defense is correct handwashing, not touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands, and keeping sick workers away from food.

Wrong choices

• Freezing food overnight: Freezing does not kill viruses.
• Keeping food cold in the refrigerator: Viruses do not grow in food, so cold storage does not remove them. They spread from people's hands.
• Adding extra salt to food: Salt does not stop viruses.

Common symptoms of foodborne illness are diarrhea, vomiting, fever, nausea (feeling sick to your stomach), and stomach cramps. Some illnesses also cause jaundice (yellow skin and eyes).

Wrong choices

• Sneezing: Sneezing is a sign of a cold or allergy, not a common symptom of foodborne illness.
• Hair loss: Hair loss is not a symptom of foodborne illness.
• Itchy eyes from pollen: Itchy eyes from pollen are a seasonal allergy.

A biological hazard is a living germ or a toxin (poison) made by living things. Bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi are biological hazards. Salmonella is a type of bacteria.

Wrong choices

• Bug spray (pesticide) used near food: Pesticide is a chemical hazard.
• Sanitizer left on a cutting board: Sanitizer is a chemical hazard.
• A piece of broken glass: Glass is an object. That is a physical hazard.

Food must come from an approved, reputable supplier that is inspected and meets food safety laws. Food made or canned at home may not be served to guests.

Wrong choices

• Wild mushrooms a cook picked on a hike: Wild mushrooms can be poisonous. They must come from an approved source, not a worker's own picking.
• Any store, as long as the food looks fresh: Looking fresh does not show the food was made and handled safely.
• Food a cook canned at home: Food made in a home kitchen is not from an approved source and may not be served.

TCS food (time and temperature control for safety) is food that germs grow in easily, so it must be kept out of the danger zone. Cooked rice, beans, and vegetables are TCS foods, along with milk, eggs, meat, poultry, and seafood.

Wrong choices

• Uncooked dry rice: Dry rice has almost no moisture, so germs cannot grow well in it. It is not a TCS food.
• An unopened box of crackers: Crackers are dry. They are not a TCS food.
• A whole, uncut apple: A whole raw apple is not a TCS food.

Food most often becomes unsafe in four ways: time-temperature abuse (food stays at the wrong temperature too long), cross-contamination, poor personal hygiene, and poor cleaning and sanitizing.

Wrong choices

• Serving food on colored plates: Plate color has nothing to do with food safety.
• Cutting food into small pieces: Cutting food is normal prep work. By itself, it does not make food unsafe.
• Using a menu that has photos: A menu has nothing to do with food safety.