TAP Series: Food Safety Training
Exam | Q&A Notes | 2026 Updated |
Verified Exam Material
• 5 most common risk factors -✓✓-Food from unsafe sources
-Contaminated equipment
-Poor personal hygiene
-Inadequate cooking
-Inadequate hot and cold holding
• USDA -✓✓United States Department of Agriculture
Regulates meat, poultry, eggs, and food crossing state boundaries/involves more than 1
state
• FDA -✓✓Food and Drug Administration
Regulates all food other than meat, poultry, and eggs
Publishes food code
• CDC and PHS -✓✓Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Public Health Service
Conducts research into causes of illness and assists in investigations
• Role of manager -✓✓-Ensure safety of customers
-Ensure food is safe from time it is delivered until food service
-Ensure rules are in place and followed
-Ensure staff knows their roles
-Be prepared for inspection
• Active Management controls -✓✓-Create a set of standard operating procedures
(SOPs)
- Ensure SOPs are followed
-Train staff
-Evaluate and revise
-Identify and control possible hazards throughout the flow of food
• Time and Temperature Controlled For Safety (TCS) -✓✓Most likely to become unsafe
,ex. Dairy, eggs, chicken, cooked rice, melons, sprouts, vacuum packaged food, meats,
fish, cooked potatoes
• Ready to Eat Food -✓✓ex. Vegetables, fruits, deli, and bakery items
• Biological Contaminants -✓✓Also known as Pathogens.
Bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi
• Chemical Contaminants -✓✓-Cleaners, sanitizers, poisons, pesticides
-Can cause Vomiting and Diarrhea
-Ready to eat food and acidic foods are at risk
-Can be prevented by using approved chemicals, keeping chemicals in their original
containers and stored away from food, following the manufacturer's directions, and
using appropriate kitchenware
• Physical Contaminants -✓✓-Hair, fingernails, bandages, glass, metal shavings,
staples, bones, dirt, bits of packaging
-Symptoms include cuts, dental damage, choking, bleeding, and pain
-All foods are at risk
-Can be prevented by watching for items that can spill into food, limit wearing jewelry
(plain wedding band is permitted), wearing hair and beard nets, closely inspecting food
when receiving and rejecting broken or damaged packaging, and taking precautions
when cleaning up broken glass and other broken packaging
• FATTOM: the 6 factors that affect bacterial growth -✓✓Food
Acidity
Temperature
Time
Oxygen
Moisture
• Consumer Advisory -✓✓-Statements related to increased risk of eating raw or under
cooked animal derived foods
-Must be on menus and/or menu boards, placards, table tents, or accessible & readable
materials
• Shigella spp.
Characteristics -✓✓-Found in human feces, remains for weeks after symptoms have
ended
-Occurs when eating/ drinking contaminated food
-Transferred by flies
-Only small amounts needed for infection
• Shigella spp.
Food most at risk -✓✓-Those easily contaminated by hands
, -Salads with TCS foods
-Foods washed in contaminated water
• Shigella spp.
Prevention -✓✓-Exclude food workers with diarrhea who have been diagnosed with
illness caused by Shigella spp.
-Use proper handwashing techniques
-Control flies
• Salmonella Typhi
Characteristics -✓✓-Bacteria found in blood and feces of humans infected with Typhoid
Fever
-Bacteria can remain in feces for weeks after symptoms have ended
-Only a small amount is needed for infection
Severity depends on health of infected individual
-Found in ready to eat food and beverages
• Salmonella Typhi
Prevention -✓✓-Exclude food workers with diarrhea who have been diagnosed with
illness caused by Salmonella Typhi
-Use proper handwashing techniques
-Cook foods to minimum internal temperatures
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Characteristics -✓✓-Bacteria carried by farm animals
-Only small amount is needed for illness
-Severity of symptoms is based on health of impacted person and amount ingested
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Food Most at Risk -✓✓-Poultry and Eggs
-Meat
-Dairy
-Produce (tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe)
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Prevention -✓✓-Cooking poultry and eggs to minimum internal
temperatures
-Prevent cross contamination between poultry and ready to eat foods
-Exclude food workers vomiting or with diarrhea who have been diagnosed with illness
caused by Nontyphoidal Salmonella
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
Characteristics -✓✓-Bacteria found in intestines of cattle
-Contamination happens during slaughter
-Also found in infected humans and contaminated water
Exam | Q&A Notes | 2026 Updated |
Verified Exam Material
• 5 most common risk factors -✓✓-Food from unsafe sources
-Contaminated equipment
-Poor personal hygiene
-Inadequate cooking
-Inadequate hot and cold holding
• USDA -✓✓United States Department of Agriculture
Regulates meat, poultry, eggs, and food crossing state boundaries/involves more than 1
state
• FDA -✓✓Food and Drug Administration
Regulates all food other than meat, poultry, and eggs
Publishes food code
• CDC and PHS -✓✓Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Public Health Service
Conducts research into causes of illness and assists in investigations
• Role of manager -✓✓-Ensure safety of customers
-Ensure food is safe from time it is delivered until food service
-Ensure rules are in place and followed
-Ensure staff knows their roles
-Be prepared for inspection
• Active Management controls -✓✓-Create a set of standard operating procedures
(SOPs)
- Ensure SOPs are followed
-Train staff
-Evaluate and revise
-Identify and control possible hazards throughout the flow of food
• Time and Temperature Controlled For Safety (TCS) -✓✓Most likely to become unsafe
,ex. Dairy, eggs, chicken, cooked rice, melons, sprouts, vacuum packaged food, meats,
fish, cooked potatoes
• Ready to Eat Food -✓✓ex. Vegetables, fruits, deli, and bakery items
• Biological Contaminants -✓✓Also known as Pathogens.
Bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi
• Chemical Contaminants -✓✓-Cleaners, sanitizers, poisons, pesticides
-Can cause Vomiting and Diarrhea
-Ready to eat food and acidic foods are at risk
-Can be prevented by using approved chemicals, keeping chemicals in their original
containers and stored away from food, following the manufacturer's directions, and
using appropriate kitchenware
• Physical Contaminants -✓✓-Hair, fingernails, bandages, glass, metal shavings,
staples, bones, dirt, bits of packaging
-Symptoms include cuts, dental damage, choking, bleeding, and pain
-All foods are at risk
-Can be prevented by watching for items that can spill into food, limit wearing jewelry
(plain wedding band is permitted), wearing hair and beard nets, closely inspecting food
when receiving and rejecting broken or damaged packaging, and taking precautions
when cleaning up broken glass and other broken packaging
• FATTOM: the 6 factors that affect bacterial growth -✓✓Food
Acidity
Temperature
Time
Oxygen
Moisture
• Consumer Advisory -✓✓-Statements related to increased risk of eating raw or under
cooked animal derived foods
-Must be on menus and/or menu boards, placards, table tents, or accessible & readable
materials
• Shigella spp.
Characteristics -✓✓-Found in human feces, remains for weeks after symptoms have
ended
-Occurs when eating/ drinking contaminated food
-Transferred by flies
-Only small amounts needed for infection
• Shigella spp.
Food most at risk -✓✓-Those easily contaminated by hands
, -Salads with TCS foods
-Foods washed in contaminated water
• Shigella spp.
Prevention -✓✓-Exclude food workers with diarrhea who have been diagnosed with
illness caused by Shigella spp.
-Use proper handwashing techniques
-Control flies
• Salmonella Typhi
Characteristics -✓✓-Bacteria found in blood and feces of humans infected with Typhoid
Fever
-Bacteria can remain in feces for weeks after symptoms have ended
-Only a small amount is needed for infection
Severity depends on health of infected individual
-Found in ready to eat food and beverages
• Salmonella Typhi
Prevention -✓✓-Exclude food workers with diarrhea who have been diagnosed with
illness caused by Salmonella Typhi
-Use proper handwashing techniques
-Cook foods to minimum internal temperatures
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Characteristics -✓✓-Bacteria carried by farm animals
-Only small amount is needed for illness
-Severity of symptoms is based on health of impacted person and amount ingested
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Food Most at Risk -✓✓-Poultry and Eggs
-Meat
-Dairy
-Produce (tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe)
• Non-Typhoidal Salmonella
Prevention -✓✓-Cooking poultry and eggs to minimum internal
temperatures
-Prevent cross contamination between poultry and ready to eat foods
-Exclude food workers vomiting or with diarrhea who have been diagnosed with illness
caused by Nontyphoidal Salmonella
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
Characteristics -✓✓-Bacteria found in intestines of cattle
-Contamination happens during slaughter
-Also found in infected humans and contaminated water
