The ServSafe Manager Practice Test: 2024 Sample Questions and Vital Info

The ServSafe program, accredited by the American national Standards Institue (ANSI) and developed by the National Restaurant Association, offers food safety training programs and study materials for different roles in the kitchen industry. The ServSafe examination for managers evaluates managerial knowledge on 10 topics regarding different aspects of food safety in the restaurant industry. Every commercial kitchen in the US must have at least one worker certified for food safety management.

While food safety information may seem like common knowledge, a simple mistake made by an unintending, uneducated employee can lead to a widespread foodborne illness. For this reason, the National Restaurant Association has developed the ServSafe Food Manager Certification Exam, standardizing this vital knowledge across the nation.

The exam is 2 hours long with 90 multiple choice questions, 10 of which are pilot questions used for research. You can take the ServSafe manager exam online or in-class, with both options demanding a certified proctor. With only 80 seconds on average per question, studying with a proper ServSafe test prep can definitely make the difference between passing and failing. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the different test topics covered below before exam day.

To access the ServSafe exam online, you will need an access code and an online proctor. Make sure that online testing is available in your state and county before purchasing a code, and read ServSafe’s Online Proctor Exam Instructions.

For the printed version, you will have to contact a certified proctor in your area and purchase an answer sheet.

The following are all the available language versions for the ServSafe Manager Test:

Additionally, you may request exam accommodations for a variety of reasons, such as disability, extended time and assistance in reading.

There are 10 information categories assessed in the ServSafe manager exam, including:

1. Providing Safe Food — covers the challenges when dealing with food safety, potential causes for foodborne illnesses and overall measures taken to ensure safe food.
2. Forms of Contamination — covers different possible contaminations in food, foodborne illness outbreak response and food allergens.
3. The Safe Food Handler — covers the duties of food handlers in terms of food safety.
4. The Flow of Food: An introduction — covers food monitoring in terms of time and temperature.
5. The Flow of Food: Purchasing, Receiving, and Storage — covers proper methodology throughout the food’s journey from supplier to kitchen.
6. The Flow of Food: Preparation — covers food prepping correct methodology in terms of cooking, cooling, and reheating.
7. The Flow of Food: Service — covers guidelines for service staff and holding food.
8. Food Safety Management Systems — covers the methodologies for preventing foodborne illness.
9. Safe Facilities and Pest Management — covers the standards and regulations required for different types of kitchen equipment, washing stations and pest control.
10. Cleaning and Sanitizing — covers guidelines for dishwashing, cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen.

Each section assesses broad and thorough information, with some questioning basic, easy-to-miss details while others demand specific kitchen practices and knowledge. Let’s look at some of these questions:

1. Always eliminate answer choices that are certainly wrong. These will usually be the options describing extreme behaviors, such as quickly prepping and selling all expired items.
2. While some questions require in-depth knowledge of kitchen work, others can be answered based on common knowledge. Start with solving commonsense questions and save precious time for the more challenging ones.
3. The ServSafe manager exam revolves around a large database of kitchen practices, information and facts, which may be difficult to remember. Find a good ServSafe test prep and solve as many practice tests as you can before taking the test, thus keeping the knowledge fresh in your memory.
   
   

Passing the ServSafe manager exam demands scoring higher than 70% — answering correctly at least 56 out of the 80 questions, with the rest used for research purposes. Once submitting the exam, you will receive a fail/pass notification and the option to see the results on your ServSafe user under SCORES.

You will need to purchase a new exam access code each time a retest is needed. The ServSafe test can be taken only twice within 30 days, and failing again will mean waiting 60 days from your recent attempt. No more than 4 attempts are allowed within a 12-month period. Please note that retesting requires certified supervision as well.

In most states, the ServSafe certification is recognized by the National Restaurant Association for a 5-year period, but we recommend that you check the recognition period of your state and county.

_{source: ServSafe}

The ServSafe certification is recognized in most jurisdictions where a Food Protection Manager Certification is required. However, some states and counties may require specific training or licenses in addition to the ServSafe certification. These can be found in the ServSafe’s regulatory requirements map or by contacting the local health department for clarifications.

ServSafe Manager Certification is for managers and staff members in charge who must have adequate food safety knowledge under required food protection standards. Food handler Certification ensures basic food safety knowledge for individuals in food handling positions. In addition to these two certifications, you may also find the ServSafe Alcohol and ServSafe Allergens training programs.

Besides food safety, different food franchises in the US demand applicants to go through aptitude evaluations. If you are planning to apply to a restaurant franchise or a concept eatery, be sure to prepare for potential assessments in your employment journey.