Ontario Food Handler: Personal hygiene and handwashing

All 34 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. Which symptom means a worker should not prepare or serve food?

   1. A sore ankle
   2. A sore throat
   3. Mild hunger
   4. Tired eyes

2. Why is light-coloured clothing recommended for food handlers?

   1. It is easy to see when it gets dirty
   2. It keeps germs from sticking
   3. It shows the restaurant's brand
   4. It reflects heat from the stove

3. You have a small cut on your finger. What does the guide require before you handle food?

   1. A bandage alone is enough
   2. Antiseptic cream and no covering
   3. Nothing if the cut is small
   4. A bandage covered by a glove

4. How should a hairnet or hat be worn while preparing food?

   1. Pushed back on the head so the hairline shows
   2. Over the top of the head only
   3. Only when the kitchen is hot
   4. Covering all hair, off the forehead and neck

5. A cashier also hands out pastries. After handling money, what should she do?

   1. Blow on her hands to dry them
   2. Use a hand towel and continue
   3. Wait five minutes before serving
   4. Wash her hands before serving food

6. Why can a worker with hepatitis A infect customers before feeling sick?

   1. Symptoms always start within an hour
   2. The virus is shed a week or two before symptoms
   3. Hepatitis A cannot spread through food
   4. The virus only spreads after a fever

7. An employee has a skin disease. What does the regulation require before they work in contact with food?

   1. A signed note from a co-worker
   2. Written approval from the medical officer
   3. Wearing long sleeves at all times
   4. Verbal approval from the head chef

8. According to the guide, what is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, including foodborne illness?

   1. Washing hands correctly
   2. Using bottled water
   3. Wearing a hairnet
   4. Taking vitamins daily

9. While plating salads, you brush your moustache with your fingers. What should you do next?

   1. Wash your hands before continuing
   2. Put on gloves over dirty hands
   3. Wipe your fingers on a towel
   4. Finish the plates, then wash

10. Which pair of tasks should one person avoid doing in the same shift, if possible?

    1. Washing dirty dishes and stacking clean ones
    2. Mopping and sweeping the floor
    3. Reading new orders and plating the finished food
    4. Labelling and dating containers

11. A busser has just cleared dirty plates. What must he do before setting clean cutlery on a table?

    1. Wipe his hands on a napkin
    2. Nothing if his hands look clean
    3. Use the same cloth as before
    4. Wash his hands

12. Why must you wash your hands after using the toilet even if you used plenty of toilet paper?

    1. It is only a customer courtesy
    2. Toilet paper is not sanitary
    3. Toilet paper contains chemicals
    4. Germs can pass through toilet paper

13. What is the first step in the six-step handwashing method?

    1. Apply hand sanitizer
    2. Dry your hands with a towel
    3. Turn off the tap
    4. Wet your hands with warm water

14. Apart from employer policy, when does the guide say food handlers must wear gloves?

    1. Whenever handling any raw vegetables
    2. During every minute of a shift
    3. Only when touching cooked meat
    4. When covering a bandaged cut or infection

15. You need to sneeze and have no tissue. What should you do?

    1. Hold it in and keep working
    2. Sneeze into your upper sleeve
    3. Turn and sneeze over the sink
    4. Sneeze into your hands

16. No-touch techniques matter most for which kind of food?

    1. Food that won't be cooked after you touch it
    2. Raw meat being trimmed
    3. Frozen food going into storage
    4. Food that will be deep-fried right after you touch it

17. Why should food handlers avoid wearing nail polish?

    1. It weakens the fingernails
    2. It can chip and fall into food
    3. It stains the cutting boards
    4. It makes gloves too tight

18. Why should you never blow into a plastic bag to open it?

    1. It wastes a lot of bags
    2. Germs from your mouth get into the bag
    3. It fogs up the bag so you cannot see inside
    4. It tears the bag too easily

19. You switch from cutting raw chicken to making sandwiches while wearing gloves. What should you do?

    1. Wipe the gloves with a cloth
    2. Keep the same gloves on
    3. Rinse the gloved hands well under very hot water
    4. Remove gloves, wash hands, put on a new pair

20. Which is a no-touch technique for serving a muffin?

    1. Picking it up with waxed paper
    2. Holding it with bare fingertips
    3. Using a hand you just rinsed
    4. Lifting it by the paper cup edge

21. How long should you lather your hands with soap when washing them?

    1. 15 to 20 seconds
    2. 5 seconds
    3. 2 to 3 seconds
    4. 2 minutes

22. When you use disposable gloves, what must you still do?

    1. Wash hands only once a shift
    2. Reuse the same pair all day
    3. Wash hands before and after using them
    4. Rinse the gloves under the tap between tasks

23. Why does the guide advise against using a cloth handkerchief at work?

    1. It may shed lint into the food
    2. Germs on it get back onto your hands
    3. Paper tissue is cheaper
    4. Cloth is not allowed in kitchens

24. After a bout of vomiting and diarrhea, when can a food handler go back to work?

    1. The next morning, no matter what
    2. 24 hours after symptoms stop
    3. 2 hours after the last symptom
    4. As soon as they feel hungry

25. If the medical officer of health asks for tests to confirm a food handler is not carrying a disease, what must the handler do?

    1. Refuse unless they feel sick
    2. Wear a mask instead of testing
    3. Switch to another restaurant
    4. Submit to the required medical tests

26. Which sink should food handlers use to wash their hands?

    1. A sink used only for handwashing
    2. The three-compartment dish sink
    3. The food preparation sink
    4. The mop sink in the back room

27. You wake up with diarrhea before a kitchen shift. What should you do?

    1. Tell your supervisor and not handle food
    2. Work but wash hands more often
    3. Work only at the cash register
    4. Take medicine and start your shift

28. A cook sneezes over a tray of sliced fruit. What must happen to the fruit?

    1. Throw it away
    2. Serve it within an hour
    3. Rinse it under cold water
    4. Cover it with plastic wrap

29. Under Ontario's Food Premises Regulation, what is a food handler not allowed to do while handling food?

    1. Drink water on break
    2. Use tobacco
    3. Talk to customers
    4. Wear a wristwatch

30. A server who only waits on tables starts ladling soup in the kitchen. What changes?

    1. She now needs to wear headgear
    2. She no longer needs to wash hands
    3. She must wear two pairs of gloves
    4. She must switch to a dark uniform

31. What is the last step of the six-step handwashing method?

    1. Wipe your hands on your apron
    2. Touch the tap to check it is off
    3. Shake your hands dry over the sink
    4. Turn off the tap with a paper towel

32. Why does the guide advise against wearing rings and watches while handling food?

    1. They slow down your work
    2. They may be lost or stolen in a busy kitchen
    3. They can set off metal detectors
    4. They trap dirt and make handwashing harder

33. You arrive for your shift and put on your apron. What should you do before touching any food?

    1. Wash your hands
    2. Check your phone messages
    3. Put on gloves without washing
    4. Wipe your hands on the apron

34. Which task means you must wash your hands before handling food again?

    1. Taking out the garbage
    2. Reading the menu board
    3. Walking to the walk-in cooler
    4. Turning on the dishwasher fan