ServSafe Manager Practice Exam

After washing her hands, a food handler applied a hand sanitizer, rubbed it in, and immediately continued chopping vegetables on a cutting board. What did she do wrong?

1. Used the wrong sanitizer

2. Did not let the sanitizer dry

3. Chopped too quickly

4. Failed to wash hands

The correct answer is: Did not let the sanitizer dry

Applying hand sanitizer after washing hands can be a good practice for additional microbial reduction. However, the critical error in this scenario lies in not allowing the sanitizer to dry completely before proceeding to chop vegetables. Hand sanitizers are designed to work effectively when they are allowed to evaporate on the skin, which can take several seconds to a minute, depending on the formulation. If the individual immediately resumed food preparation without allowing the sanitizer to dry, the effectiveness of the product may be compromised. This could lead to the transfer of contaminants from the surface of the hands to the food, which poses a food safety risk. To maintain safe food handling practices, it is crucial for food handlers to ensure that sanitizers dry completely before handling food or clean utensils to minimize the risk of foodborne illness.