TheoryFree Food Manager Practice Test
Take a free Food Manager practice test for 2026 with questions, answers, explanations, PDF download and timed mock exam links.
Food Manager Questions
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Q1A prep cook is diagnosed with Hepatitis A after working three days while experiencing fatigue and nausea but no jaundice yet. Which action is MOST appropriate for the person in charge?
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✓ Correct answer: Exclude the employee from the operation and notify the regulatory authority
Hepatitis A is one of the Big 6 highly contagious pathogens requiring immediate exclusion from the operation (not merely restriction), and the regulatory authority must be notified because the illness is reportable under FDA Food Code 2-201.12.
Q2Which pathogen is uniquely hazardous among common foodborne organisms because it can grow and multiply at refrigeration temperatures as low as 32°F (0°C), making cold storage alone an insufficient control for contaminated ready-to-eat deli meats and soft cheeses?
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✓ Correct answer: Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria monocytogenes is psychrotrophic and can multiply at refrigeration temperatures (32°F/0°C and above), which is why time-temperature controls during cold storage are insufficient safeguards for Listeria-contaminated ready-to-eat products.
Q3A guest informs a server that they have a severe tree nut allergy. The kitchen uses shared fryers for items containing cashews and plain french fries. What is the BEST response?
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✓ Correct answer: Advise the guest that fries cannot be guaranteed allergen-free due to shared fryer cross-contact
Cooking does not destroy allergen proteins, and shared fryer oil transfers allergenic residues; the operation must honestly disclose the cross-contact risk so the guest can make an informed decision, consistent with FDA allergen communication standards.
Q4A foodborne illness cluster is traced to a restaurant where a server with no gastrointestinal symptoms handled bread rolls. Stool cultures confirm the server is an asymptomatic carrier of Salmonella Typhi. Under FDA Food Code, this employee must be:
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✓ Correct answer: Excluded from the operation until cleared by a medical practitioner or health authority
Salmonella Typhi is one of the Big 6 pathogens; even asymptomatic carriers must be fully excluded from the operation (not merely restricted) under FDA Food Code 2-201.12 due to the high risk of fecal-oral transmission.
Q5Which of the following was added as the ninth major food allergen in the United States under the FASTER Act of 2021?
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✓ Correct answer: Sesame
The FASTER Act (2021) added sesame as the ninth major allergen, joining milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans as required label disclosures on packaged foods.
Q6A large pot of beef stew is placed into an ice-water bath after service. After 2 hours, a probe thermometer reads 75°F (24°C). What should the person in charge do?
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✓ Correct answer: Discard the stew because the 2-hour cooling milestone of 70°F was not met
FDA Food Code requires food to cool from 135°F to 70°F within the first 2 hours; if 70°F is not reached within that window, the food has failed the first stage of the two-stage cooling requirement and must be discarded.
Q7Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S. Which characteristic makes it especially difficult to control compared to most bacterial pathogens?
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✓ Correct answer: It requires fewer than 20 viral particles to cause infection and can persist on surfaces for weeks
Norovirus has an extremely low infectious dose (as few as 18 viral particles) and can persist on hard surfaces for days to weeks; unlike bacteria, it does not replicate in food, but infectious quantities are deposited during handling by ill workers.
Q8Which of the Big 6 pathogens is primarily spread via the fecal-oral route through infected food handlers and has such a low infectious dose (as few as 10 organisms) that poor hand hygiene is the critical control point?
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✓ Correct answer: Shigella spp.
Shigella spp. is one of the Big 6 pathogens with a very low infectious dose; outbreaks are overwhelmingly linked to infected food handlers failing to practice proper handwashing, making it a key reason for excluding ill workers.
Q9A caterer vacuum-seals cooked salmon and stores it at 38°F. After 12 days the fish appears and smells normal, but a guest develops descending paralysis. Which organism and mechanism BEST explains this outcome?
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✓ Correct answer: Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type E, which grows at near-refrigeration temperatures and produces toxin without spoilage signs
Non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type E can grow and produce lethal neurotoxin at temperatures as low as 38°F in oxygen-reduced environments without producing off-odors or visible spoilage, which is why vacuum-packed fish is a regulated reduced-oxygen packaging concern under FDA Food Code.
Q10During an inspection, glass cleaner is stored on a shelf directly above commercially packaged dry pasta. This situation represents which type of contamination hazard?
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✓ Correct answer: Chemical contamination from improper storage of toxic compounds above food
Storing chemicals above food items risks chemical contamination through spills or drips; FDA Food Code requires toxic materials to be stored separately from and never above food, equipment, or single-use articles.
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