This free practice test is pitched at certified food protection manager (CFPM) level — the ServSafe Manager, National Registry, Prometric and 360training exams. It is considerably harder than a food handler test: the questions are about managing a food safety system, not just following the rules at a station.
How to use it: decide your answer before opening “Show answer.” Keep a tally. The real CFPM exams require 75% to pass, so on these 20 questions 15 correct is the pass mark.
The 20 questions
1. What does “active managerial control” mean?
- Having a certified manager on duty at all times
- Proactively identifying and controlling the risk factors for foodborne illness before a problem occurs
- Passing your routine health inspections
- Keeping written records of all employee training
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Proactively identifying and controlling the risk factors for foodborne illness before a problem occurs. Active managerial control is the purposeful, ongoing control of the five CDC risk factors — poor personal hygiene, improper holding temperatures, inadequate cooking, contaminated equipment, and unsafe sources. It is proactive by definition. Passing an inspection is an outcome, not the control itself.
2. A food employee reports a sore throat with fever. In a general food service operation, what must the person in charge do?
- Exclude them from the establishment entirely
- Restrict them from working with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils and single-service items
- Allow normal duties as long as they wear a mask
- Take no action unless they also have a cough
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Restrict them from working with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils and single-service items. This is the exclusion-versus-restriction distinction managers are tested on. Sore throat with fever means restrict in a general operation. It becomes a full exclusion only if you serve a highly susceptible population, such as a hospital or nursing home.
3. An employee is diagnosed with Hepatitis A. What is required?
- Restrict them from food preparation only
- Exclude them and notify the regulatory authority
- Allow them to work if they wear single-use gloves
- No action is needed while they have no symptoms
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Exclude them and notify the regulatory authority. Hepatitis A is one of the Big 6 pathogens (along with Norovirus, Shigella, Salmonella Typhi, nontyphoidal Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli). A diagnosis requires exclusion and notification of the regulatory authority. Reinstatement requires their approval.
4. Ready-to-eat TCS food prepared in-house and held at 41°F must be discarded after how many days?
- 3 days
- 5 days
- 7 days
- 10 days
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 7 days. Seven days maximum, counting the day of preparation as day 1. The clock only runs at 41°F or below; if the food is held warmer, the allowed time shortens. Food frozen during the period pauses the count.
5. Leftover soup is being reheated for hot holding. What does the Food Code require?
- 135°F within 4 hours
- 155°F within 2 hours
- 165°F for 15 seconds within 2 hours
- 145°F within 1 hour
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 165°F for 15 seconds within 2 hours. Reheating previously cooked and cooled TCS food for hot holding requires 165°F for 15 seconds, reached within 2 hours. Note this differs from food being reheated for immediate service, and from commercially processed food opened and reheated, which needs only 135°F.
6. Chili has cooled to 70°F after 2 hours. What must happen next?
- It must reach 41°F within the next 4 hours
- It must reach 41°F within the next 2 hours
- It may be held at 70°F until the next morning
- It must be reheated to 165°F and the cooling restarted
Show answer
Correct answer: A — It must reach 41°F within the next 4 hours. Stage one (135°F to 70°F) has been met within its 2-hour limit. Stage two allows a further 4 hours to reach 41°F, for 6 hours total. If stage one had been missed, the food would have to be reheated to 165°F and cooling begun again, or discarded.
7. In a HACCP plan for fried chicken, the cooking step is best described as:
- A prerequisite program
- A critical control point
- A corrective action
- A verification procedure
Show answer
Correct answer: B — A critical control point. Cooking is a critical control point: it is the point at which the biological hazard can be eliminated, and loss of control at that step results in an unacceptable risk. Prerequisite programs are the supporting practices such as cleaning schedules and supplier approval.
8. Which of these processes requires a variance from the regulatory authority?
- Cooking hamburgers to order
- Smoking food as a method of preservation rather than for flavour
- Hot holding soup on a steam table
- Cooling stock overnight in a walk-in
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Smoking food as a method of preservation rather than for flavour. Smoking as preservation, curing, using food additives to render food non-TCS, reduced oxygen packaging of certain foods, sprouting seeds, offering live shellfish from a display tank, and custom-processing animals all require a variance plus a HACCP plan.
9. The water supply is interrupted in the middle of service. What must the person in charge do?
- Continue service using bottled water
- Cease operations and notify the regulatory authority
- Finish the current shift, then close
- Substitute hand sanitiser for handwashing until it returns
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Cease operations and notify the regulatory authority. A water supply interruption is an imminent health hazard, as are sewage backup, fire, flood and extended power loss. The operation must stop and notify the regulatory authority; it may not reopen until approved. Hand sanitiser is never a substitute for handwashing.
10. A customer vomits in the dining room. Under the Food Code, the operation must:
- Clean the area with a standard detergent
- Follow a written procedure for the cleanup, using a disinfectant effective against Norovirus
- Close the establishment for 24 hours
- Discard all food in the building
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Follow a written procedure for the cleanup, using a disinfectant effective against Norovirus. Every operation is required to have a written procedure for responding to vomiting and diarrhoeal events. Norovirus has an extremely low infectious dose and survives many ordinary cleaners, so the procedure must specify an effective disinfectant, proper PPE, and a contamination radius.
11. How long must shellstock identification tags be retained?
- 7 days from delivery
- 30 days from delivery
- 90 days from the date the last shellfish from that container was served
- One year from delivery
Show answer
Correct answer: C — 90 days from the date the last shellfish from that container was served. Ninety days, counted from the date the last shellfish from the container was sold or served — not from delivery. The tags are the traceback record if an illness outbreak is investigated, so the date written on the tag matters.
12. A menu offers a hamburger cooked to order. What is required?
- Nothing, provided the customer requests it
- A consumer advisory containing both a disclosure and a reminder
- A variance from the regulatory authority
- A full HACCP plan for the grill station
Show answer
Correct answer: B — A consumer advisory containing both a disclosure and a reminder. Raw or undercooked animal foods on the menu need a consumer advisory with two parts: a disclosure identifying which items are raw or undercooked, and a reminder that consuming them increases the risk of foodborne illness. Both parts are required — one alone is a violation.
13. Which of the following is one of the major food allergens that must be declared in the United States?
- Garlic
- Sesame
- Corn
- Black pepper
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Sesame. Sesame became the ninth major allergen under the FASTER Act, effective January 2023. The nine are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.
14. What is the minimum air gap required between a supply pipe outlet and the flood rim of the sink below it?
- Equal to the diameter of the supply pipe
- Twice the diameter of the supply pipe, and never less than 1 inch
- Half an inch is sufficient
- Six inches
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Twice the diameter of the supply pipe, and never less than 1 inch. An air gap is the only backflow prevention method that cannot fail mechanically, which is why the Code specifies it for the highest-risk connections. Twice the pipe diameter, minimum 1 inch.
15. In a high-temperature dishmachine, the surface of the utensils must reach at least:
- 140°F
- 160°F
- 180°F
- 194°F
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 160°F. The utensil surface must reach 160°F, which is what a maximum-registering thermometer or temperature-sensitive label measures. The 180°F figure people remember is the minimum final rinse temperature at the manifold (165°F for a stationary-rack, single-temperature machine).
16. A deli holds cold sandwiches using time alone as a public health control, with no temperature control at all. The maximum time before discard is:
- 2 hours
- 4 hours
- 6 hours
- 8 hours
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 4 hours. Four hours, after which the food must be discarded — it cannot be returned to refrigeration. A separate 6-hour option exists only for food that starts at 41°F or below and never exceeds 70°F, with the temperature monitored. Either way the food must be marked with its discard time.
17. What is the correct ice-point method calibration temperature for a thermometer?
- 0°F
- 32°F
- 41°F
- 212°F
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 32°F. 32°F in an ice-water slurry. The boiling-point method uses 212°F at sea level, but it must be adjusted for altitude — roughly 1°F lower per 550 feet — which is why the ice-point method is generally preferred.
18. Live shellfish should be received at an air temperature of:
- 41°F or below
- 45°F or below
- 50°F or below
- 70°F or below
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 45°F or below. Live molluscan shellfish are received at an air temperature of 45°F, with an internal temperature no greater than 50°F. Shell eggs are likewise received at an ambient air temperature of 45°F. Most other refrigerated TCS foods are received at 41°F.
19. Under the Food Code, the person in charge must be:
- Reachable by phone during operating hours
- Present at the establishment during all hours of operation
- Able to arrive within 30 minutes if called
- Present only while food is actively being prepared
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Present at the establishment during all hours of operation. The PIC must be physically present during all hours of operation and must be able to demonstrate knowledge of foodborne illness prevention when asked by an inspector. Being on call does not satisfy this.
20. Which food may NOT be served to a highly susceptible population?
- Pasteurised shell eggs
- Raw seed sprouts
- Chicken cooked to 165°F
- Commercially processed pasteurised juice
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Raw seed sprouts. Raw seed sprouts are prohibited for highly susceptible populations, as are raw or undercooked animal foods and unpasteurised juice or milk. Sprouts are grown in warm, humid conditions that are ideal for pathogen growth, and they are eaten raw.
Score yourself
| 18–20 correct | Comfortably above the pass mark. Book the exam. |
| 15–17 correct | At or just above the real 75% pass mark. Review what you missed first — the real exam is 80–90 questions, so there is more room to lose ground. |
| 11–14 correct | Below passing. Work through a full manager course before paying the exam fee. |
| 10 or fewer | Start with the course material. Most of the gap is usually employee health policy, date marking and HACCP rather than temperatures. |
Answer key
| # | Answer | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Proactively identifying and controlling the risk factors for foodborne illness before a problem occurs |
| 2 | B | Restrict them from working with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils and single-service items |
| 3 | B | Exclude them and notify the regulatory authority |
| 4 | C | 7 days |
| 5 | C | 165°F for 15 seconds within 2 hours |
| 6 | A | It must reach 41°F within the next 4 hours |
| 7 | B | A critical control point |
| 8 | B | Smoking food as a method of preservation rather than for flavour |
| 9 | B | Cease operations and notify the regulatory authority |
| 10 | B | Follow a written procedure for the cleanup, using a disinfectant effective against Norovirus |
| 11 | C | 90 days from the date the last shellfish from that container was served |
| 12 | B | A consumer advisory containing both a disclosure and a reminder |
| 13 | B | Sesame |
| 14 | B | Twice the diameter of the supply pipe, and never less than 1 inch |
| 15 | B | 160°F |
| 16 | B | 4 hours |
| 17 | B | 32°F |
| 18 | B | 45°F or below |
| 19 | B | Present at the establishment during all hours of operation |
| 20 | B | Raw seed sprouts |
How the real manager exam differs from a handler test
A food handler course asks whether you know the rules. A manager exam asks whether you can run a system that keeps other people following them. Expect:
- 80–90 questions rather than 15–40, with a 2-hour limit and a 75% pass mark.
- Proctoring — at a test centre or by webcam. You cannot simply click through it at home unsupervised.
- Scenario questions: an employee reports a symptom, a delivery arrives at the wrong temperature, an inspector raises a finding — what do you do, in what order.
- Management topics a handler test skips entirely: employee health policy and the exclusion/restriction decision, HACCP and critical control points, variances, consumer advisories, facility and equipment standards, pest management, and crisis response to imminent health hazards.
- Validity of roughly 5 years, against 2–3 for most handler cards.
The exam domains
Accredited CFPM exams are built to the Conference for Food Protection standard, which is why the content is so consistent between providers. The questions above are drawn from across these areas:
- Foodborne illness and hazards: the Big 6 pathogens, biological, chemical and physical hazards, and the major allergens.
- Personnel: employee health policy, the exclusion and restriction decisions, hygiene, and training and supervision.
- Purchasing, receiving and storage: approved sources, receiving temperatures, shellstock tags, date marking and FIFO.
- Preparation and service: cooking, cooling, reheating, hot and cold holding, time as a public health control, and consumer advisories.
- Facilities and equipment: backflow prevention, warewashing, ventilation, lighting, waste and pest management.
- Food safety management systems: active managerial control, HACCP principles, variances, SOPs, and responding to imminent health hazards.
Next step: get certified in your state
Manager certification rules vary by state and sometimes by county — some states mandate a certified manager on every shift, some only require it for certain establishment types, and a few counties add their own permit on top of the national certificate.