CEC Food Safety and Sanitation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A cook prepares a 5-gallon batch of beef stock at 190°F. Per the FDA Food Code, by when must it reach 70°F?
- Within 1 hour
- Within 2 hours (Correct answer)
- Within 4 hours
- Within 6 hours
Correct answer: Within 2 hours
Cooked TCS food must cool from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F or lower within the next 4 hours.
Question 2: Which pathogen is most often linked to large batches of meat gravy or chili that cooled too slowly?
- Clostridium perfringens (Correct answer)
- Vibrio vulnificus
- Hepatitis A
- Campylobacter jejuni
Correct answer: Clostridium perfringens
C. perfringens spores survive cooking and multiply quickly in large masses of food that cool slowly.
Question 3: Leftover cooked rice was left at room temperature overnight and then fried. Which hazard is most likely?
- Scombrotoxin
- Listeria monocytogenes
- Bacillus cereus toxin (Correct answer)
- Norovirus
Correct answer: Bacillus cereus toxin
Bacillus cereus forms a heat-stable emetic toxin in cooked rice held at room temperature.
Question 4: What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for stuffed pork chops?
- 145°F for 15 seconds
- 155°F for 17 seconds
- 160°F for 15 seconds
- 165°F for less than 1 second (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 165°F for less than 1 second
Stuffed meats, fish, poultry, and pasta must reach 165°F because the stuffing can harbor pathogens from raw juices.
Question 5: Which method is approved for thawing a frozen turkey?
- On a sheet pan on the prep counter
- In a sink of warm water at 100°F
- Submerged under running potable water at 70°F or below (Correct answer)
- In a hot holding cabinet at 135°F
Correct answer: Submerged under running potable water at 70°F or below
Thawing under running water at 70°F or below is approved, along with refrigeration, cooking, and microwaving followed by immediate cooking.
Question 6: Ready-to-eat TCS food made in-house and held at 41°F can be kept for how long, counting the day of preparation as day 1?
- 3 days
- 5 days
- 7 days (Correct answer)
- 10 days
Correct answer: 7 days
The Food Code allows a maximum of 7 days at 41°F or less for date-marked ready-to-eat TCS food.
Question 7: A line cook reports jaundice that started two days ago. What should the person in charge do?
- Restrict the cook to non-food-contact duties
- Exclude the cook and notify the regulatory authority (Correct answer)
- Allow work if the cook wears gloves
- Let the cook work once the jaundice fades
Correct answer: Exclude the cook and notify the regulatory authority
Jaundice within the last 7 days may indicate Hepatitis A, so the employee must be excluded and the health department notified.
