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ServSafe Food Handler study guide

Everything the Food Handler exam asks about, written for the people who actually handle food. Six lessons, all of them free to read in full, all current with the ServSafe 9th Edition.

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Know Food Safety is an independent study resource. ServSafe is a registered trademark of the National Restaurant Association. We are not affiliated with them and we do not issue food handler cards.

THE COURSE

Six lessons, start to finish.

Read them in order and you will have covered the whole syllabus. Practice questions live in the question bank rather than in the lessons, so your answers are scored.

  1. 1Why Food Safety Matters and What the Exam CoversThis is a free study guide for the ServSafe Food Handler exam. It is written for the people who actually handle food: line cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, servers, baristas, bussers, deli clerks, and anyone whose manager just told them they need a food handler card by next week.
  2. 2Contamination, the Big Six Pathogens, and AllergensContamination means something got into food that should not be there. There are three kinds, and the exam expects you to be able to sort an example into the right one.
  3. 3Handwashing, Gloves, and Reporting IllnessPersonal hygiene is the largest single block of questions on the Food Handler exam, and it is the part of the job you control completely. This section answers the questions people search for most, directly and first.
  4. 4Cross-Contamination, Time, and Temperature ControlCross-contamination is the transfer of pathogens from one food, surface, or person to another. It is one of the five CDC risk factors, and it is the reason for most of the equipment and workflow rules in a kitchen.
  5. 5Receiving, Storing, Cleaning, and SanitizingChecking a delivery, storing what you accept in the right order at the right temperature, and the difference between cleaning a surface and sanitizing it.
  6. 6Facilities, Pests, Food Defense, and Exam DayGarbage, pests, and handwashing sinks, the Employees FIRST food defense framework, every number worth memorizing, and how to read the exam questions on the day.
Sitting the Manager exam?A different exam: 90 questions, proctored, passing at 70%. The Manager course covers all ten 9th Edition chapters in far more depth, and the first lesson is free.See the Manager course Practice for freeHundreds of Food Handler questions with explanations, free and without an account. The real exam is 40 questions and passes at 75%.Start practising

Written and reviewed by , Editor

Checked against the FDA Food Code 2022 and the November 2024 Supplement, and the ServSafe Manager Book, 9th Edition.

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