Two days after a catered event, the health department calls to say several guests have laboratory-confirmed Salmonella. What is the manager's best first step in the outbreak response?
a.Publicly deny any connection to the event before reviewing the banquet production records
b.Cooperate with the health department, preserve suspect food and records, and identify the implicated items
c.Discard the suspect food, purge the event's production logs, and await the inspectors
d.Instruct the staff not to answer questions and keep serving the same banquet menu tonight
Explanation
In a suspected foodborne-illness outbreak, the manager should cooperate fully with the regulatory authority, set aside and label any suspect food so it can be tested, and preserve production and employee-health records. Denying a connection before the records have been reviewed states a conclusion the operation has not yet earned, discarding the suspect food and the logs destroys the evidence the investigation depends on, and silencing staff while the same menu keeps going out leaves the public exposed. Early, honest cooperation protects the public and the business.
Practice all 500 questions free — no signup required.
Own the complete ServSafe Food Protection Manager guide — PDF + EPUB, $19.99 →
Related questions on this topic
- During a HACCP-based cooking step, the critical limit is a final internal temperature of 165°F for poultry. Which HACCP principle covers checking the temperature with a thermometer on every batch?
- A monitoring check finds that a batch of chicken reached only 150°F, below the 165°F critical limit. Which HACCP principle governs what the cook does next?
- A manager reviews the temperature logs each week, calibrates thermometers, and confirms the HACCP plan is working as intended. Which HACCP principle is this?
- A supplier issues a Class I recall for a brand of frozen ground beef the restaurant has in its walk-in. What is the correct handling of the recalled product?
- A regulation requires that at least one employee with management authority be a certified food protection manager. What does this credential demonstrate?
- The municipal water main breaks and the restaurant loses all running water during service. What must the manager do?
Last reviewed: · editorial process
PrepPass team · Verified against ServSafe Food Protection Manager Exam · How we review