Introduction to Food Safety Review Questions and Answers

Introduction to Food Safety Review Questions and Answers

What is foodborne illness? • It is a disease that is carried or transmitted to people by food they have eaten.

How many people must experience a foodborne illness before it is considered an outbreak? • At least two or more people must experience the same illness after eating the same food before the incident is considered an outbreak.

What are the costs of foodborne illness? • • Loss of customers and sales. Damage to prestige and reputation. Legal fees. Increased insurance premiums. Lowered employee morale and absenteeism. Need for retraining. Embarrassment. Closure.

Who has a high risk of contracting a foodborne illness? Why? • Infants and preschool-age children. They haven’t built up adequate immune systems, the body’s defense against illness. • Pregnant women. A woman’s immune system is compromised during pregnancy; the health of the fetus she is carrying is also at risk. • The elderly. Their immune systems have weakened with age. • Other populations. This includes people with cancer or on chemotherapy, people with HIV/AIDS, and transplant recipients.

According to the CDC, what are some common risk factors responsible for foodborne illness? • • • Purchasing food from unsafe sources. Holding food at incorrect temperatures. Failing to cook food adequately. Practicing poor personal hygiene. Using contaminated equipment.

What is time-temperature abuse? • Allowing food to remain too long at temperatures favorable to the growth of foodborne pathogens.

What are some examples of how food can be time-temperature abused? • Failing to hold or store food at required temperatures. • Failing to cook or reheat food to temperatures that kill microorganisms. • Failing to cool food properly.

What is cross-contamination? • The transfer of pathogens from one surface or food to another.

What are some examples of when cross-contamination can occur? • When contaminated ingredients are added to food that receives no further cooking. • When cooked or ready-to-eat food is allowed to touch food-contact surfaces that have not been cleaned and sanitized. • When food that may be contaminated is allowed to touch or drip fluids onto cooked or ready-to-eat food. • When a foodhandler touches food that is contaminated and then touches cooked or ready-to-eat food. • When contaminated cleaning cloths are not cleaned and sanitized before being used on other food-contact surfaces.

What are some poor personal hygiene practices that can result in a foodborne illness? • Failing to wash hands properly after using the restroom, or whenever hands become contaminated. • Touching or scratching sores, cuts, or boils, and then touching food, foodpreparation surfaces, or utensils. • Coming to work when sick- for example, with vomiting or diarrhea.

What can be done to prevent foodborne illness? • • Control time and temperature. Prevent cross-contamination. Practice proper personal hygiene. Purchase from approved, reputable suppliers.