yournextjob
Sign in Post a job

Free tools

Food safety awareness test

A quick refresher on food hygiene, then a 10-question quiz to check what you know. Useful before a kitchen, catering, care or hospitality role where you will be handling food.

Practice and awareness only. This is a self-check quiz for fun and to refresh the basics. It is not an accredited qualification and it does not replace a real Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate or the training your employer provides. Always follow your own workplace's food safety management system.

The basics, in two minutes

Food safety is about stopping people getting ill from the food you serve. Most food poisoning comes down to a handful of avoidable mistakes, so a few solid habits go a long way. In the UK the overarching law is the Food Safety Act 1990, which makes it an offence to sell food that is unsafe or not what the customer expects.

The 4 Cs

Nearly everything in food safety fits under the 4 Cs.

  • Cross-contamination

    Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods apart, use separate or colour-coded boards and equipment, and store raw meat at the bottom of the fridge.

  • Cleaning

    Clean and disinfect surfaces and equipment as you go. Follow a clean-as-you-go routine and use the right products at the right strength.

  • Cooking

    Cook and reheat food to a safe core temperature so any harmful bacteria are destroyed.

  • Chilling

    Keep chilled and frozen food cold. Get hot food you want to keep down to fridge temperature quickly and do not leave food sitting out.

Temperatures that matter

Bacteria multiply fastest in the danger zone, between 8°C and 63°C, so the aim is to keep food either properly cold or properly hot and to move it through that range quickly.

StageTemperature
Chilling (fridge)8°C or below, aim for around 5°C
Danger zone (avoid)8°C to 63°C
Cooking / reheating core75°C (82°C for reheating in Scotland)
Hot-holding63°C or above

The 14 allergens

By law there are 14 named allergens that must be declared. For some people even a trace can cause a severe or life-threatening reaction, so you must be able to give customers accurate information about what is in the food.

  • Celery
  • Cereals containing gluten
  • Crustaceans
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Lupin
  • Milk
  • Molluscs
  • Mustard
  • Tree nuts
  • Peanuts
  • Sesame
  • Soya
  • Sulphur dioxide (sulphites)

Personal hygiene and handwashing

Wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap before handling food, after using the toilet, after handling raw meat or waste, and after breaks. Keep cuts covered with a coloured waterproof plaster, tie hair back, wear clean protective clothing, and never handle food if you have sickness or diarrhoea.

HACCP: managing it all

Food businesses manage safety using HACCP, which stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a system for spotting where things could go wrong, deciding the critical points to control (such as cooking and chilling temperatures), and keeping checks in place so problems are caught before food reaches the customer.

Test yourself

Ten questions, one right answer each. The pass mark is 8 out of 10. Pick an answer for every question, then mark them to see your score and where you went wrong.

  1. What are the 4 Cs of food safety?
  2. What is the food safety danger zone, where bacteria multiply fastest?
  3. A fridge should keep chilled food at what temperature?
  4. What core temperature should food normally be cooked or reheated to in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?
  5. Hot food being held for service (hot-holding) must be kept at:
  6. How many named food allergens must be declared under UK law?
  7. Why do the 14 named allergens matter so much?
  8. When should a food handler wash their hands?
  9. What does HACCP mean?
  10. To avoid cross-contamination you should:

Ready to put it to work?

Browse live hospitality and catering jobs across the UK. Free to search, free to apply.

Hospitality jobs