Cleaning & Sanitizing Quiz for the ServSafe Food Handler Exam

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1. What is the difference between cleaning and sanitizing?

   • They are two words for the same thing
   • Cleaning removes food and dirt; sanitizing reduces pathogens to safe levels
   • Cleaning kills germs; sanitizing just removes dirt
   • Sanitizing is only for floors

   Cleaning removes visible food and grease; sanitizing then reduces the pathogens left behind to safe levels. You must clean first, sanitizer can't work on a dirty surface.

2. After sanitizing dishes in a three-compartment sink, they should be:

   • Dried with a cloth towel
   • Air-dried
   • Rinsed again in plain water
   • Stacked while still wet

   Let sanitized items air-dry. A towel can re-contaminate them, and rinsing after sanitizing washes the sanitizer off before it finishes the job.

3. How should you check that a sanitizer solution is mixed to the right strength?

   • By its smell
   • Use a test strip or test kit
   • By how it looks
   • It doesn't need checking

   Use a test strip made for that sanitizer. Too weak won't sanitize; too strong can contaminate food and isn't any safer, only a test kit tells you it's right.

4. Hot-water immersion sanitizing (in a three-compartment sink) requires water of at least:

   • 110°F (43°C)
   • 150°F (66°C)
   • 171°F (77°C)
   • 212°F (100°C)

   To sanitize by hot water immersion, the water must be at least 171°F (77°C), with items held in it for the required time. That's far hotter than handwashing or wash water.

5. Which TWO factors affect how well a chemical sanitizer works?

   • Concentration of the solution
   • Contact time
   • The color of the wiping cloth
   • The size of the sink

   Sanitizer effectiveness depends on concentration, contact time, water temperature and pH. Get the mix and dwell time right; the cloth color and sink size are irrelevant.

6. Food-contact surfaces in constant use must be cleaned and sanitized at least every:

   • 1 hour
   • 2 hours
   • 4 hours
   • 8 hours

   Surfaces in continuous use are cleaned and sanitized at least every 4 hours, so pathogens don't build up over a long shift, and any time they're visibly soiled or you switch tasks.

7. A high-temperature dishwashing machine sanitizes with heat. Its final sanitizing rinse must reach at least:

   • 120°F (49°C)
   • 150°F (66°C)
   • 180°F (82°C)
   • 212°F (100°C)

   A high-temp machine's final rinse must hit 180°F (82°C) to sanitize (the dish surface itself must reach about 160°F). Check it with a heat-sensitive strip or thermometer, not by feel.

8. Cleaning chemicals and sanitizers must be:

   • Stored above the prep counter for easy reach
   • Kept in unlabeled spray bottles
   • Stored away from food and in clearly labeled containers
   • Stored between the flour and rice in dry storage

   Chemicals are stored away from and never above food, equipment or single-use items, always in labeled containers, an unlabeled or badly placed chemical is a poisoning waiting to happen.