This free practice test covers the topics that appear on most food handler card exams in the United States: temperature control, personal hygiene, cross-contamination, cooking temperatures, and cleaning and sanitizing. There are 15 questions.
How to use it: read each question and decide on your answer before you open “Show answer.” Keep a tally of how many you get right, then check your total against the scoring guide at the bottom. Most state and county programs require 70–75% to pass, so 11 out of 15 is roughly the real pass mark.
The 15 questions
1. What is the temperature danger zone for food?
- 20°F – 100°F
- 41°F – 135°F
- 32°F – 140°F
- 50°F – 120°F
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 41°F – 135°F. The danger zone is 41°F–135°F (5°C–57°C). Bacteria multiply fastest in this range. Keep cold food below 41°F and hot food above 135°F.
2. How long must you scrub your hands with soap when washing?
- 5 seconds
- 10 seconds
- 20 seconds
- 30 seconds
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 20 seconds. The FDA Food Code requires at least 20 seconds of vigorous scrubbing with soap before rinsing. The whole process, wet to dry, should take about 40 seconds.
3. What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for poultry?
- 145°F (63°C)
- 155°F (68°C)
- 165°F (74°C)
- 175°F (79°C)
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 165°F (74°C). Poultry must reach 165°F to kill Salmonella and Campylobacter. This is the highest of the standard cooking temperatures in the Food Code.
4. In a walk-in cooler, where should raw chicken be stored relative to raw beef?
- On the shelf above the beef
- On the same shelf
- On the shelf below the beef
- Anywhere, as long as both are covered
Show answer
Correct answer: C — On the shelf below the beef. Store by required cooking temperature, lowest on top to highest on the bottom: ready-to-eat → fish and whole cuts (145°F) → ground meat (155°F) → poultry (165°F). Chicken goes below beef so its drips cannot contaminate food that is cooked to a lower temperature.
5. What does FIFO mean in food storage?
- First In, First Out
- Fresh Ingredients, Fresh Output
- Food Inspection, First Order
- First Inventory, Fixed Output
Show answer
Correct answer: A — First In, First Out. FIFO means rotating stock so the oldest product is used first. New deliveries go behind existing stock, not in front of it.
6. Which symptom requires a food handler to be excluded from working with food?
- A mild headache
- A runny nose
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- A small cut on the hand, bandaged and gloved
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Vomiting or diarrhea. Vomiting and diarrhea are exclusion symptoms. The Food Code requires workers to report and be excluded for vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, or a diagnosis of one of the Big 6 pathogens.
7. A food handler has a cut on their finger. What is the correct action?
- Cover it with a bandage only
- Cover it with a bandage and wear a single-use glove over it
- Stop working until the cut has fully healed
- Clean it with sanitizer and carry on bare-handed
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Cover it with a bandage and wear a single-use glove over it. A bandage alone can fall off into food. The correct procedure is a bandage plus an impermeable single-use glove over it.
8. What is the correct way to cool a large pot of hot soup?
- Leave it on the counter until room temperature, then refrigerate
- Divide into shallow pans: 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 more hours
- Put the whole covered pot straight into the walk-in
- Cool it to 41°F any time before the end of the shift
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Divide into shallow pans: 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 more hours. The two-stage cooling rule: 135°F→70°F within 2 hours, then 70°F→41°F within the next 4 hours, 6 hours total. Shallow pans, ice baths and ice paddles speed this up. A deep covered pot cools far too slowly.
9. When may you handle ready-to-eat food with bare hands?
- After washing your hands with soap for 20 seconds
- When tongs are not close to hand
- Never — use utensils or single-use gloves
- When the food will be cooked again before serving
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Never — use utensils or single-use gloves. Ready-to-eat food is not cooked again, so anything you transfer to it survives to the customer. Most health codes prohibit bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food outright.
10. What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for ground beef?
- 145°F (63°C)
- 150°F (66°C)
- 155°F (68°C)
- 165°F (74°C)
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 155°F (68°C). Ground beef must reach 155°F because grinding spreads surface bacteria throughout the meat. A whole cut of beef is safe at 145°F because the bacteria stay on the outside.
11. What is cross-contamination?
- Using the wrong cooking temperature
- Transfer of harmful bacteria or allergens from one food or surface to another
- Mixing different foods in the same storage container
- Cooling food too slowly
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Transfer of harmful bacteria or allergens from one food or surface to another. Cross-contamination is the transfer of pathogens or allergens between foods, surfaces, equipment or hands. The classic example is cutting raw chicken and then cutting salad on the same unwashed board.
12. A food handler tests positive for Salmonella but feels perfectly well. What should happen?
- They may work if they wash their hands carefully
- They must be excluded until cleared by the health authority
- They may work if they wear gloves
- They may prepare food but not serve it
Show answer
Correct answer: B — They must be excluded until cleared by the health authority. A confirmed diagnosis of a reportable foodborne illness is a mandatory exclusion even with no symptoms, because a person can shed the pathogen while feeling fine. The worker must be cleared by the regulatory authority before returning.
13. What chlorine concentration is correct for sanitizing food-contact surfaces?
- 5–10 ppm
- 50–100 ppm
- 500–1000 ppm
- Any concentration — more is always safer
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 50–100 ppm. The Food Code specifies roughly 50–100 ppm chlorine. Below that it may not sanitize; far above it is a chemical hazard. Always test with strips rather than eyeballing the dilution.
14. What does TCS stand for?
- Temperature-Controlled for Safety
- Time/Temperature Control for Safety
- Total Contamination Standard
- Thermal Cooking Specification
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Time/Temperature Control for Safety. TCS food needs time and temperature control because it supports rapid pathogen growth. Examples: meat, poultry, dairy, cooked rice and pasta, cut melon, cut tomatoes and cut leafy greens.
15. You have just handled raw meat. What must you do before touching anything else?
- Rinse your hands briefly under cold water
- Wipe your hands on a clean dry towel
- Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, and clean and sanitize the surfaces used
- Put gloves on over your unwashed hands
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, and clean and sanitize the surfaces used. Gloves are not a substitute for handwashing, and putting them on over dirty hands just moves the contamination. Wash properly, dry on a single-use towel, then glove up.
Score yourself
| 13–15 correct | Comfortably ready. Book the real exam. |
| 11–12 correct | Around the real pass mark. Re-read the ones you missed, then go ahead. |
| 8–10 correct | Close, but work through the course material before paying for an exam. |
| 7 or fewer | Take the full training course first. Most of it is temperatures and timings, which come quickly once you sit down with them. |
Answer key
| # | Answer | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | 41°F – 135°F |
| 2 | C | 20 seconds |
| 3 | C | 165°F (74°C) |
| 4 | C | On the shelf below the beef |
| 5 | A | First In, First Out |
| 6 | C | Vomiting or diarrhea |
| 7 | B | Cover it with a bandage and wear a single-use glove over it |
| 8 | B | Divide into shallow pans: 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 more hours |
| 9 | C | Never — use utensils or single-use gloves |
| 10 | C | 155°F (68°C) |
| 11 | B | Transfer of harmful bacteria or allergens from one food or surface to another |
| 12 | B | They must be excluded until cleared by the health authority |
| 13 | B | 50–100 ppm |
| 14 | B | Time/Temperature Control for Safety |
| 15 | C | Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, and clean and sanitize the surfaces used |
Exam scenario: a food handler finds a large pot of soup in the walk-in cooler
This one shows up on food handler exams in several versions, and people search for it word for word. The numbers change from version to version; the rule behind the answer doesn’t.
A food handler finds a large, deep pot of soup in the walk-in cooler. It was cooked and put in the cooler 5 hours ago, and it now reads 80°F. What should happen to the soup?
- Leave it; it is in the cooler, so it will get cold eventually
- Stir it and give it another hour
- Throw it out
- Serve it today, as long as it is reheated to 135°F
Show answer
Correct answer: C — throw it out. Cooked food must cool from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F within 4 more hours. After 5 hours this soup is still above 70°F, so it missed the first deadline and has spent hours in the temperature danger zone. Reheating does not make it safe again. If staff catch the problem inside the first 2 hours, the soup can instead be reheated to 165°F and cooled again properly. The real mistake was cooling it whole: a large, deep pot holds heat for hours even in a walk-in. Divide it into shallow pans, or use an ice bath or ice paddle, as in question 8.
What the real food handler exam tests
Most state and county exams draw on the same five areas, and so do the questions above:
- Temperature control: the danger zone (41–135°F), minimum cooking temperatures by food type, and the two-stage cooling rule.
- Personal hygiene: handwashing technique and duration, when to wash, glove use, and the exclusion rules for illness.
- Cross-contamination: cooler storage order, separating raw from ready-to-eat, and bare-hand contact rules.
- Food storage: FIFO rotation, which foods count as TCS, and date labelling.
- Cleaning and sanitizing: sanitizer concentrations, test strips, and the order of operations — clean first, then sanitize.
After the practice test: get your state’s card
Requirements vary more than most people expect. Some states require no card at all; some accept any ANSI-accredited online course; and a few counties issue their own permit that a national course cannot replace — Clark County in Nevada, Cleveland County and Tulsa County in Oklahoma. Check your state before you pay for anything.