Certified Professional Food Safety (CP-FS) Practice Exam

How often should food contact surfaces be cleaned and sanitized?

1. Once a day

2. After every use

3. Once a week

4. Before the first food preparation of the day

The correct answer is: After every use

Food contact surfaces should be cleaned and sanitized after every use to ensure optimal safety and hygiene in food handling environments. This practice helps to prevent cross-contamination, which is a significant risk factor in foodborne illnesses. When surfaces are used for different types of food, especially when transitions occur between raw and ready-to-eat foods, cleaning and sanitizing minimizes the likelihood of harmful pathogens transferring from one food to another. By ensuring that every utilization of these surfaces is followed by proper cleaning and sanitizing, food safety is significantly enhanced, protecting both consumer health and food quality. Other options, while they may suggest some level of cleaning, do not provide the same level of safety. For example, cleaning once a day or once a week would allow for potential contamination to persist on surfaces for extended periods, increasing the risk of foodborne pathogens. Similarly, cleaning just before the first food preparation of the day would fail to address any contamination that might occur during other food handling processes that happen throughout the day. Therefore, the practice of cleaning and sanitizing after every use is critical in maintaining a safe food preparation environment.