# Food safety quiz for restaurant employees: 20 questions with an answer key

*Guides · Mays Team · September 26, 2026*

![Mays cover card: Food safety quiz for restaurant employees: 20 questions with an answer key — Twenty questions, every answer traced to the Food Code](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__food-safety-quiz-restaurant-employees-answer-key__cover.61f1a3cbc8.png)

Training a new hire on food safety usually means walking them through the kitchen and saying the important parts out loud. A week later, ask them the hot-holding temperature and you'll find out what stuck. A short written quiz turns "I told them" into "they know it," and the questions they miss tell you what to re-teach.

This quiz has 20 questions on what every food employee needs on day one, an answer key with the [FDA Food Code 2026](https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2026) section behind every answer, and a plan for running it.

*This quiz checks your own training. It isn't a food handler course or a food manager certification, and it doesn't replace what your state requires; see* [*food manager and food handler training in Florida*](https://www.mays.app/blog/florida-food-manager-food-handler-training) *for one state's rules, and check your health department's. Your state may enforce an older edition of the Food Code, so check any number your inspector reads differently.*

## Why a quiz, and what it should cover

The Food Code puts training on the person in charge: they make sure *"EMPLOYEES are properly trained in FOOD safety, including FOOD allergy awareness, as it relates to their assigned duties"* (§2-103.11(O)). It also asks that food employees are told, *"in a verifiable manner"*, about their duty to report illness (§2-103.11(P)). A signed quiz is a simple way to show both.

The questions below stick to rules that apply in almost every café and restaurant. Add two or three of your own at the end: your sanitizer's pass range, where the handwashing sink is at each station, who the person in charge is on each shift.

## The quiz

Print it, or copy it into your training system. Circle one answer for each question.

---

**\[Café / restaurant name\] — Food safety quiz**

Name: ………………………… Position: ………………… Date: ……………

**Handwashing and hands**

**1.** How long should the whole handwashing process take, at least?

a) 5 seconds · b) 10 seconds · c) 20 seconds · d) 1 minute

**2.** Where may you wash your hands?

a) The three-compartment sink · b) The prep sink · c) The mop sink · d) Only a handwashing sink

**3.** Which of these is **not** a time you must wash your hands?

a) After using the restroom · b) Before putting on gloves to work with food · c) Between switching from raw chicken to slicing tomatoes · d) Before you sit down for your break

**4.** You're making a sandwich that won't be cooked. What do you use to handle the bread, meat and lettuce?

a) Clean bare hands · b) Gloves, tongs, deli tissue or another utensil · c) Bare hands, as long as you washed them · d) A wiping cloth

**5.** When do you change single-use gloves?

a) Once a shift · b) When they're torn or dirty, when you switch tasks, and after an interruption · c) Only when they rip · d) Every hour

**Being sick at work**

**6.** Which of these symptoms do you report to the person in charge before you work?

a) Vomiting · b) Diarrhea · c) Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice) · d) All of these

**7.** True or false: if a doctor tells you that you have norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, Salmonella, shiga toxin-producing E. coli or typhoid fever, you report it to the person in charge, even if you feel fine.

True · False

**8.** Where may you eat or drink during your shift?

a) Anywhere in the kitchen · b) Only in the designated area, or from a closed drink container handled so it doesn't contaminate hands or food · c) At the prep table if you're careful · d) Nowhere

**Temperatures**

**9.** Cold food like sliced deli meat, cut tomatoes and cooked rice must be kept at:

a) 45°F or colder · b) 41°F or colder · c) 50°F or colder · d) 32°F or colder

**10.** Hot food on the line or in a hot-holding cabinet must be kept at:

a) 120°F or hotter · b) 130°F or hotter · c) 135°F or hotter · d) 165°F or hotter

**11.** Raw chicken must be cooked until all of it reaches:

a) 145°F · b) 155°F · c) 160°F · d) 165°F

**12.** A burger made from ground beef must be cooked until all of it reaches at least:

a) 135°F for 15 seconds · b) 145°F for 15 seconds · c) 155°F for 17 seconds · d) 165°F

**13.** Leftover soup that was cooked, cooled and is now being reheated to hold hot must reach:

a) 135°F · b) 145°F · c) 155°F · d) 165°F for 15 seconds

**14.** Cooling cooked food: from 135°F it must get down to 70°F within ……, and to 41°F within a total of …….

a) 1 hour / 4 hours · b) 2 hours / 6 hours · c) 4 hours / 8 hours · d) 6 hours / 12 hours

**15.** Which is **not** a safe way to cool a big pot of chili?

a) Splitting it into shallow pans · b) Stirring it in an ice-water bath · c) Leaving the full stockpot covered on the counter overnight · d) Using a blast chiller

**16.** Which is a safe way to thaw frozen chicken?

a) On the counter at room temperature · b) In the walk-in cooler · c) In a sink of warm, still water · d) Next to the oven

**Labels, allergens and chemicals**

**17.** You prepare chicken salad on Monday and keep it at 41°F or colder. Counting Monday as Day 1, what's the last day it can be used?

a) Wednesday · b) Friday · c) Sunday · d) The next Monday

**18.** Which of these is **not** one of the nine major food allergens?

a) Sesame · b) Soy · c) Corn · d) Shellfish

**19.** Between uses, a wet wiping cloth for counters is kept:

a) Over your shoulder · b) On the counter · c) In a bucket of sanitizer solution at the right strength · d) In your apron pocket

**20.** Where do you store a spray bottle of cleaner?

a) On the shelf above the prep table · b) Next to the flour · c) Away from food, and never above food, equipment or single-use items · d) Anywhere, as long as it's labeled

**Our own rules** (add yours)

**21.** Our sanitizer's pass range is: ………………………… **22.** The person in charge on this shift is: …………………………

Score: …… / 20 · Passed: Y / N · Reviewed with: ………………………… Date: ……………

---

## The answer key

| \# | Answer | Why | Food Code 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | c | Hands and exposed arms are cleaned *"for at least 20 seconds"*, with 10 to 15 seconds of scrubbing in the middle. | §2-301.12(A), (B)(3) |
| 2 | d | Hands are washed in a handwashing sink, not in a sink used for food prep or warewashing, or the mop sink. | §2-301.15 |
| 3 | d | The others are on the list: after the toilet room (B), before donning gloves for a food task (H), and when switching between raw food and ready-to-eat food (G). Going on a break isn't, but coming back is: wash after eating or drinking (D) and before you touch food again. | §2-301.14 |
| 4 | b | Food employees *"may not contact exposed, READY-TO-EAT FOOD with their bare hands"* and use utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs, single-use gloves or dispensing equipment. | §3-301.11(B) |
| 5 | b | Single-use gloves are used for one task and discarded when damaged or soiled, or when interruptions occur. | §3-304.15(A), (C) |
| 6 | d | Vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever and an infected, draining wound are the reportable symptoms. | §2-201.11(A)(1) |
| 7 | True | A diagnosis of any of those six illnesses is reported. | §2-201.11(A)(2) |
| 8 | b | Eating and drinking only in designated areas; a closed beverage container is allowed if it's handled to prevent contamination. | §2-401.11 |
| 9 | b | Cold holding at 41°F or less. | §3-501.16(A)(2) |
| 10 | c | Hot holding at 135°F or above (some roasts may be held at 130°F). | §3-501.16(A)(1) |
| 11 | d | Poultry to 165°F (instantaneous). | §3-401.11(A)(3) |
| 12 | c | Ground (comminuted) meat to 155°F for 17 seconds, or one of the time and temperature options in that section. | §3-401.11(A)(2) |
| 13 | d | Cooked, cooled food reheated for hot holding reaches at least 165°F for 15 seconds. | §3-403.11(A) |
| 14 | b | *"Within two hours from 57ºC (135ºF) to 21ºC (70ºF)"* and *"Within a total of six hours"* to 41°F or less. | §3-501.14(A) |
| 15 | c | Approved methods include shallow pans, smaller portions, rapid cooling equipment and an ice-water bath, among others. | §3-501.15(A) |
| 16 | b | Thawing under refrigeration that keeps food at 41°F or less is one of the approved methods; running water at 70°F or below, or as part of cooking, are others. | §3-501.13 |
| 17 | c | Ready-to-eat food held at 41°F or less is used within seven days, *"The day of preparation shall be counted as Day 1."* Monday to Sunday is seven days. | §3-501.17(A) |
| 18 | c | The major food allergens are milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans and sesame. | Chapter 1, "Major food allergen" |
| 19 | c | Wet wiping cloths are held between uses in a sanitizer solution at the right concentration. | §3-304.14(B) |
| 20 | c | Chemicals are separated from food, equipment and single-use items, and not stored above them. | §7-201.11 |

## Running it

1. **Teach first.** Run the quiz at the end of a new hire's first or second shift, after the [orientation checklist](https://www.mays.app/blog/new-employee-orientation-checklist) and the station walk-through.
2. **Set a pass mark.** Pick one, for example \[16\] out of 20, and always require the handwashing, illness and temperature questions to be right.
3. **Go over every wrong answer the same day,** at the station where it matters: the thermometer at the hot-holding well, the date label on the chicken salad.
4. **Retake** the questions they missed after a shift or two, until they pass.
5. **Keep the sheet** with their training records, signed by the trainer.
6. **Repeat it** for everyone every \[6 months\], and when you change a recipe, a sanitizer or a procedure.

If the whole team misses the same question, the problem is the training, not the team. Our [handwashing procedure](https://www.mays.app/blog/handwashing-procedure-hand-sink-checklist), [thawing guide](https://www.mays.app/blog/thaw-frozen-food-safely-restaurant-thawing-log), [illness reporting form](https://www.mays.app/blog/employee-illness-reporting-form-exclusion-chart) and [sanitizer bucket procedure](https://www.mays.app/blog/sanitizer-bucket-wiping-cloth-procedure-test-log) are good places to start re-teaching.

## Your quiz checklist

- \[ \] Quiz printed or entered in your training system
- \[ \] Your own house questions added
- \[ \] Pass mark set, with must-pass questions
- \[ \] Run for every new hire within their first shifts
- \[ \] Wrong answers reviewed the same day, at the station
- \[ \] Signed sheets kept with training records
- \[ \] Repeated for the team on a schedule

## Where Mays fits

- **The quiz in the app.** In **Learning → Modules** on the web, create a module and use **Add question** to type each question as **Multiple choice** or **True / False**, choose the correct answer and add an **Explanation (shown to learner after answer)** — the "Why" column above works well. Set the **Passing score (%)** (80 to start with). See [Creating training modules](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/create-learning-modules).
- **Or draft it from your own text.** Put your food safety SOPs in the **Knowledge Base** and click **Generate from docs**: the AI writes questions only from your text and shows the sentence each one came from, and you review them before publishing.
- **A certificate when they pass.** Tick **Compliance-critical (issues a PDF certificate on pass)** when you create the module. See [Training certificates](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/training-certificates).
- **Everyone who should take it.** **Assign** the module to a location, role or department, with an optional due date, and new hires in that role get it too. **Who's taken it** shows each person's attempts, best score and every answer. See [Assigning training](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/assign-training).
- **Reminders on shift.** Pop quizzes send at most one question a day from an unfinished module to people on a published shift. See [Snap quizzes](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/snap-quizzes).

Learning is part of the **Pro** plan and is switched on by the Mays team, and only admins create and assign modules. Mays doesn't send reminders before a due date or flag a late module, so check **Who's taken it** yourself. A Mays module is your own training, not a state-approved food handler course; keep outside certificates on the person's **Certificates** tab (see [Food safety certificates](https://www.mays.app/help/team-roles/food-safety-certificates)).

## Twenty questions, then the station

A quiz doesn't make anyone safe on its own. What it does is show you, in ten minutes, whether the new barista knows the cold-holding number and where to wash their hands. Ask the questions, fix the wrong answers at the station, and ask again.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or [book a walkthrough](https://www.mays.app/book?from=blog-food-safety-quiz-restaurant-employees-answer-key) and we'll set up your first training module with you.

## Related help articles

- Knowledge & training: [Creating training modules](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/create-learning-modules) — Turn your knowledge base articles and documents into a short quiz. The AI drafts the questions from your own text, you review and edit them, then publish the module for your team.
- Knowledge & training: [Assigning training](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/assign-training) — Send a published training module to whole locations, roles, departments or single people, with an optional due date, then see who has taken it, their best score and every answer.
- Knowledge & training: [Snap quizzes](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/snap-quizzes) — A pop quiz is a push notification with one question from a module someone hasn't passed yet. Mays sends at most one a day, only to people on shift, inside the hours an admin sets.
- Knowledge & training: [Taking training in the app](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/take-quizzes-on-mobile) — Your training modules are under Profile → Learning in the Mays app. Answer one question at a time, see your score, and learn from the explanation under each answer.
- Knowledge & training: [Training certificates](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/training-certificates) — When someone passes a compliance-critical module for the first time, Mays creates a PDF certificate with their name, score and date. Admins set the certificate's look under Learning → Settings.
- Team & roles: [Food safety certificates](https://www.mays.app/help/team-roles/food-safety-certificates) — Keep food handler cards and food protection manager certificates on file with their expiry dates, see who is missing one or due at each location, and get reminders before a card expires.

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