ServSafe Food Handler · ServSafe Food Handler Assessment
ServSafe Food Handler: Basic Food Safety Concepts
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Overview
This chapter explains what a foodborne illness is, who gets sick most easily, and what kinds of hazards can make food unsafe. A foodborne illness is a disease carried or passed to people by food. When two or more people get the same illness after eating the same food, it is called an outbreak.
Common symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, fever, nausea, and stomach cramps. Some illnesses, such as Hepatitis A, can also cause jaundice, which means yellow skin and eyes. Older adults, young children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems get sick more easily and more seriously. Places such as nursing homes, hospitals, and day care centers serve these high-risk groups.
Hazards come in three kinds. Biological hazards are germs such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Chemical hazards are things like cleaners, sanitizers, and pesticides, and metal that moves from a galvanized container into acidic food. Physical hazards are objects such as metal shavings, glass, staples, and bones.
Food most often becomes unsafe through time-temperature abuse, cross-contamination, poor personal hygiene, and poor cleaning and sanitizing. Bacteria grow fastest in moist, low-acid TCS food, such as cooked rice, meat, and cut melons, when it sits in the danger zone. Viruses do not grow in food, but a tiny amount from a sick worker's hands can make people ill, and the FDA names six germs, the Big 6, that spread especially easily.
Key concepts
Foodborne illness
A disease carried or passed to people by food. An outbreak is when two or more people get the same illness after eating the same food.
Memory tipOutbreak = two or more people, same food.
Three kinds of hazards
Biological (germs such as bacteria and viruses, and toxins they make), chemical (cleaners, sanitizers, pesticides, metal from containers), and physical (objects such as glass, metal, staples, and bones).
Memory tipGerm, chemical, or object.
High-risk groups
Older adults, young children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems (for example, from cancer treatment or HIV). They get sick more easily and more seriously.
Memory tipVery young, very old, pregnant, or weak immune system.
TCS food
Food that needs time and temperature control for safety because germs grow in it easily. Examples are milk, eggs, meat, poultry, seafood, cooked rice and beans, cut melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens, and sprouts.
Memory tipMoist and low in acid usually means TCS.
Source: U.S. FDA Food Code 2022 · as of 2022
FAT TOM
The six things bacteria need to grow: Food, Acidity (little or none), Temperature (the danger zone), Time, Oxygen, and Moisture.
Memory tipTake away one of them to slow bacteria.
The Big 6
Six germs the FDA names as spreading easily from sick workers through food: Norovirus, Hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Salmonella Typhi, and nontyphoidal Salmonella.
Memory tipTwo viruses, Shigella, E. coli, and two kinds of Salmonella.
Source: U.S. FDA Food Code 2022 · as of 2022
Often tested
- Diarrhea, vomiting, fever, nausea, and cramps are common symptoms; jaundice can point to Hepatitis A.
- Viruses do not grow in food; they come from people, so handwashing is the best defense.
- Do not keep acidic food such as tomato sauce in galvanized (zinc-coated) containers.
- Food must come from an approved, reputable supplier; home-canned food may not be served.
- A whole melon is not TCS food, but a cut melon is.
Easy to confuse: Three kinds of hazards
| Kind | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Biological | Living germs and the toxins they make | Salmonella, Norovirus, Hepatitis A |
| Chemical | Chemicals or metals in food | Cleaners, sanitizers, pesticides, metal from galvanized containers |
| Physical | Objects in food | Glass, metal shavings, staples, fish bones |
3 sample questions
Verified practice questions from this unit.
Question 1. What is a foodborne illness?
- ① Weight gain from eating fatty food
- ② Food that has passed its sell-by date
- ③ Any stomachache caused by eating too much
- ④ A disease carried or passed to people by food
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ④ A disease carried or passed to people by food
Key point: Foodborne illness = disease carried by food
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.
Question 2. Which of these is a physical hazard?
- ① A small piece of metal from a can opener in the food
- ② Norovirus on a worker's hands
- ③ Glass cleaner sprayed near open food
- ④ Salmonella bacteria on raw chicken
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ① A small piece of metal from a can opener in the food
Key point: Physical hazard = an object in 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.
Question 3. Which of these is a chemical hazard?
- ① A staple from a delivery box
- ② A small bone left in a fish fillet
- ③ Cleaner sprayed onto a tray of open food
- ④ Hepatitis A virus on a salad
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation
Answer: ③ Cleaner sprayed onto a tray of open food
Key point: Chemical hazard = cleaners, sanitizers, pesticides
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.