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MAPAQ Food Handler overview

MAPAQ Food Handler: Personal hygiene and health

When and how to wash hands, hand sanitizer, illness and exclusion periods, wounds and gloves, work clothes, jewellery, hair and beard covers, tasting food and moving between zones.

  • 13 questions
  • Topic drill
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Personal hygiene and health · Question 1Score 0/0

What is a healthy carrier?

Study reference: MAPAQ Guide to good hygiene and food safety practices and quebec.ca (Oct 2026), Ch. 9 Personal hygiene — Guide, Handwashing; Health and injuries; Dress; Movement

All 13 questions in this test

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

  1. What is a healthy carrier?

    1. A food with no bacteria at all
    2. An employee who never gets sick
    3. A person who carries pathogens without symptoms
    4. A person vaccinated against all diseases

  2. A cook has had diarrhea. When can he go back to handling food?

    1. As soon as he feels well enough to work again
    2. 48 hours after symptoms have completely stopped
    3. After 12 hours in a row without any symptoms
    4. After one full week off, whatever his symptoms

  3. When must a food handler wash their hands?

    1. Before work and after the toilet, smoking or raw food
    2. Only when dirt is clearly visible on the hands
    3. Only at the end of the shift, before going home
    4. Only right before serving a plate to a customer

  4. Can hand sanitizer gel replace handwashing?

    1. Yes, after handling raw meat
    2. No, it does not replace handwashing
    3. Yes, if it contains alcohol
    4. Yes, during rush hours

  5. Which item may a food handler wear if it cannot contaminate food?

    1. A MedicAlert bracelet
    2. False nails
    3. Earrings
    4. A wedding ring

  6. Which item is required at a handwashing station?

    1. A hand towel shared by the team
    2. A hand dryer in the cooking area
    3. A shared bar of soap
    4. Single-use individual towels

  7. A cook's moustache extends past the corners of his mouth. What must he do?

    1. Nothing, only beards are covered
    2. Wear longer gloves
    3. Wear a beard cover
    4. Shave before every shift

  8. A cook wants to taste his sauce. Which practice is correct?

    1. Taste it with clean fingers, since hands were washed
    2. Use a spoon once, then send it to be washed
    3. Reuse the same tasting spoon after wiping it on a cloth
    4. Taste it with the serving ladle, then stir the sauce

  9. When must gloves be changed?

    1. Never, since they can be washed just like hands
    2. After handling raw food and before cooked food
    3. Only once, at the end of the work shift
    4. Only if there is a visible hole or tear in them

  10. An employee has a non-infected cut on a finger. What must he do to handle food?

    1. Cover it with a cloth bandage only, with no glove
    2. Cover it with a waterproof dressing and wear a glove over it
    3. Wash his hands more often and skip the bandage
    4. Leave the wound open to the air so it heals faster

  11. An employee has visible jaundice. How long must she be kept off work?

    1. Until 48 hours after the symptoms have ended
    2. No removal is needed if she feels well enough
    3. For one day, then back to regular duties
    4. Until one week after the illness began

  12. Gloves used to handle food must not be made of which material?

    1. Vinyl
    2. Polyethylene
    3. Nitrile
    4. Latex

  13. A delivery person wants to bring crates straight into the preparation area. What does the guide say?

    1. Delivery people should not enter the preparation area
    2. It is allowed as long as he wears a clean apron
    3. It is allowed if he knows the kitchen staff well
    4. It is allowed if he is in a hurry to finish his route

Personal hygiene and health: 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 ↗

Handwashing

  • Wash hands and forearms before starting work and whenever there is a risk of contamination: after smoking, using the toilet or handling raw food.
  • Hot water and liquid or powdered soap from a dispenser; steps: wet, soap, scrub nails, hands and wrists, rinse, dry.
  • Do not wipe hands on work clothes. Hand sanitizer gel does not replace handwashing.
  • Enough handwashing stations: hot and cold drinking water, sink, mixing faucet, soap dispenser, single-use towels, drainage.

Health and injuries

  • With a transmissible disease or symptoms (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever): tell the employer, see a doctor if needed, avoid all contact with food.
  • Enteric symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting): off work until 48 hours after symptoms fully stop, or reassigned to tasks with no transmission risk.
  • Visible jaundice: off work until one week after onset.
  • A "healthy carrier" carries pathogens without symptoms, so hygiene rules apply at all times.
  • Infected skin lesion on a visible area: no food preparation or equipment washing.
  • Non-infected lesion: clean waterproof dressing; on hands, wrists or forearms, wear gloves over it.
  • Gloves: required with a non-infected hand injury; clean, waterproof, long enough; not made of or powdered with latex; do not replace handwashing; single-use, never washed.
  • Change gloves when soiled or torn, when changing tasks, after raw food and before cooked food, after touching a contaminated surface.
  • Gloves are not needed on clean, uninjured hands and can give a false sense of security.

Dress and conduct

  • Clean clothes used only for work; hairnet or cap covering all hair; beard cover if needed (a moustache past the corners of the mouth).
  • Remove watches, bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces, piercings, false nails and false eyelashes.
  • Nails short, clean and unpolished.
  • Allowed if they cannot contaminate food: glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, MedicAlert bracelet, thermometer, pen, name tag.
  • No eating in preparation or washing areas; taste with a single-use spoon, not over the food, then send it to be washed.
  • Avoid moving from contaminated zones to the preparation area (delivery people, care attendants stay out of the kitchen).

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