Canada Exam Prep
MAPAQ Food Handler overview

MAPAQ Food Handler: Drinking water and water advisories

Potable water for food and ice, well water testing, hot water at 60 °C, and what to do under a boil-water or do-not-consume advisory.

  • 12 questions
  • Topic drill
0/12
Drinking water and water advisories · Question 1Score 0/0

A boil-water advisory is issued. What should you do with ice already made from network water?

Study reference: MAPAQ Guide to good hygiene and food safety practices and quebec.ca (Oct 2026), Ch. 11 Drinking water — Guide, Drinking water; quebec.ca Boil-water and do-not-consume advisories

All 12 questions in this test

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

  1. A boil-water advisory is issued. What should you do with ice already made from network water?

    1. Rinse it with hot water
    2. Throw it out
    3. Keep it for staff drinks
    4. Serve it if it is fully frozen

  2. Who must provide another source of drinking water during a boil-water advisory?

    1. The municipality, delivered to the business
    2. The establishment's operator
    3. The food supplier
    4. Each employee, for their own use

  3. What water must be used to make ice in an establishment?

    1. Water from the dish sink
    2. Filtered rainwater
    3. Drinking water
    4. Any water, since freezing purifies it

  4. During a boil-water advisory, how long must water be boiled to use as substitute water?

    1. One minute
    2. Ten seconds
    3. Ten minutes
    4. One hour

  5. An establishment uses an artesian well. How often must the water be tested?

    1. Once every five years
    2. Once a month
    3. Twice a year
    4. Only at opening

  6. Under a do-not-consume advisory, is network water safe once boiled?

    1. Yes, after ten minutes of boiling
    2. No, it stays unsafe even when boiled
    3. Yes, if chlorine is added
    4. Yes, after one minute of boiling

  7. What minimum temperature must the establishment's hot water reach?

    1. 40 °C
    2. 82 °C
    3. 50 °C
    4. 60 °C

  8. How long must the measures for a water advisory stay in place?

    1. Until the tap water looks clear and smells normal
    2. Exactly 24 hours after the advisory is announced
    3. One week, after which normal use can resume
    4. Until the authorities lift the advisory

  9. During a boil-water advisory, for which manual dishwashing steps may network water be used?

    1. Pre-wash and wash with detergent only
    2. Every step, including sanitizing
    3. The final rinse only
    4. No step, even with detergent

  10. Can food be prepared with chemically treated water, such as chlorinated water, during an advisory?

    1. Yes, if it is well diluted
    2. Yes, for soups only
    3. Yes, if the advisory lasts over a week
    4. No, never

  11. During a boil-water advisory, what should be done with coffee and drink machines connected to the network?

    1. Shut them down until the advisory is lifted
    2. Use them if the water comes out hot
    3. Rinse them once, then use them
    4. Use them for staff only

  12. What should be offered to customers who want water during a boil-water advisory?

    1. Lukewarm network water
    2. Filtered tap water
    3. Tap water with ice
    4. Bottled water

Drinking water and water advisories: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Drinking water

  • Water used to prepare food, clean and sanitize equipment and make ice must be potable.
  • Well water (not municipal): tested twice a year, preferably spring and fall, and treated if needed.
  • Hot and cold water available; hot water at least 60 °C.
  • Boil-water advisory: stop using the water for food, ice, handwashing and cleaning food-contact equipment; the operator supplies another potable source.

Boil-water and do-not-consume advisories

  • Under any advisory, the water is considered non-potable.
  • Inform staff; stop using the water to prepare and store food and to wash hands (unless told otherwise for a do-not-consume advisory).
  • Shut down machines fed by the network (ice, water, juice, soft drinks, coffee).
  • Discard ice and foods made or reconstituted with the affected water.
  • Substitute water: bottled, tanker, or boiled one minute (boil-water advisories only; do-not-consume water stays unsafe even if boiled).
  • Post signs at preparation taps; offer bottled water to customers.
  • Manual dishwashing: non-potable water only for pre-wash and wash with detergent; rinse and sanitize with substitute water.
  • Never use chemically treated (chlorinated) water to prepare food.
  • Heat-sanitizing dishwasher: hottest (at least 82 °C) and longest cycle; chemical dishwasher: sanitize manually afterwards with substitute water.
  • Keep the measures until the advisory is lifted.

Study the Drinking water and water advisories rules as flashcards →

Other topics

Full practice tests