Certified Professional — Food Safety (CP-FS)

USA · National Environmental Health Association · professional · unverified source

48practice questions written to this syllabus
6subjects

Format

Unverified. Credential examination for food safety professionals in regulatory and industry roles; NEHA also runs the REHS/RS environmental health credential.

Over the years

Unverified: only the NEHA home page was confirmed.

Official source: https://www.neha.org/

Subjects this exam draws on

Food Microbiology: Spoilage, Pathogens & Detection9 questionsFood Toxicology, Contaminants & Allergens9 questionsFood Plant Sanitation, Cleaning & Pest Management9 questionsFood Law, Standards & Regulatory Affairs Worldwide6 questionsFood Safety Inspection, Sampling & Enforcement4 questionsFood Risk Analysis: Risk Assessment, Management & Communication11 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. In a ready-to-eat plant's environmental monitoring programme, swabs are tested for Listeria species rather than only for L. monocytogenes because:

  1. Conditions that allow any Listeria species to persist will allow the pathogen to persist
  2. Testing for L. monocytogenes requires a licence that food plants cannot obtain
  3. Listeria species grow only on food-contact surfaces and never in drains
  4. Listeria species other than L. monocytogenes cause most cases of human listeriosis
Answer and working

A. Conditions that allow any Listeria species to persist will allow the pathogen to persist

Listeria species share the niche and survival of L. monocytogenes, so they are a sensitive indicator of conditions that support it, prompting cleaning before the pathogen appears.

Food Microbiology: Spoilage, Pathogens & Detection · Indicator and index organisms

2. Why are infants often the most exposed group in dietary exposure assessments?

  1. Their foods are never tested for contaminants
  2. They absorb no contaminants from water
  3. They eat more food per kilogram of body weight
  4. Their body weight is not used in calculations
Answer and working

C. They eat more food per kilogram of body weight

Exposure is expressed per kg body weight; infants consume much more food and drink relative to their weight.

Food Toxicology, Contaminants & Allergens · Toxicity testing and risk characterisation

3. In a commonly used regulatory test protocol, what reduction must a food-contact sanitiser achieve against test bacteria in 30 seconds?

  1. 12-log (as for botulinum cook)
  2. 2-log (99%)
  3. 5-log (99.999%)
  4. 1-log (90%)
Answer and working

C. 5-log (99.999%)

The US sanitiser test protocol requires a 99.999% (5-log) reduction in 30 s for food-contact sanitisers. 1- and 2-log are far too small; 12-log is the thermal-processing target for C. botulinum spores, not a sanitiser standard.

Food Plant Sanitation, Cleaning & Pest Management · Principles of food plant sanitation and hygiene

4. FSMA was signed into law in:

  1. 2004
  2. 1938
  3. 2011
  4. 1990
Answer and working

C. 2011

FSMA was signed in January 2011; 1990 is NLEA, 2004 FALCPA and 1938 the FD&C Act.

Food Law, Standards & Regulatory Affairs Worldwide · USA: FD&C Act, FDA, USDA-FSIS and FSMA

5. What do most food laws require regarding the training of food handlers?

  1. Training commensurate with their work activities
  2. A university degree in food science for every handler
  3. No training, only an annual medical examination
  4. Training only for managers and never for handlers
Answer and working

A. Training commensurate with their work activities

Food handlers must be supervised and instructed or trained according to what they do; those running HACCP systems need adequate HACCP training. Degrees are not required for handlers.

Food Safety Inspection, Sampling & Enforcement · Training and education of food handlers

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