Food Recall Resource Centre -
Kids Food Safety Wheel Questions

Chill | Clean | Cook | Separate

Chill

questions and answers on Food Safety

Q1. Let's say you want to eat a frozen meal like lasagna. Is it safe to put the lasagna on the kitchen counter to defrost?

(True or false)

False. It's not safe to defrost at room temperature. An easy way to defrost food is to thaw it in a covered container on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Keeping food cold in the refrigerator (at or below 4°C /40°F) slows down bacterial growth which helps reduce the risk of illness caused by contaminated food.

Q2. You've made a big pot of mac & cheese and you can't eat it all. What's the best way to cool the leftovers?

(Multiple-choice)

1. Divide the leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling?
2. Place the whole pot in the refrigerator?
3. Leave the pot on the stove overnight to let it cool down?

The correct answer is A. Food cools faster when you divide it into shallow containers.

Cooling food quickly slows down bacterial growth which helps to reduce the risk of illness caused by contaminated food.

Q3. You're packing your lunch for school and it's a really hot day. What's a good way to keep your lunch chilled safely?

(Multiple-choice)

1. Use frozen gel packs in your lunch?
2. Use frozen juice packs in your lunch?
3. Use frozen berries in your lunch?

The correct answers are A and B. Both of these are good ways to help keep the food cold.

Keeping food cold slows down bacterial growth which helps reduce the risk of illness caused by contaminated food.

Q4. Should you eat pizza that has been left out on the counter overnight?

(Question and answer)

No! Bacteria multiply rapidly at room temperature and can make you sick. You can't tell if a food is contaminated with harmful organisms by looking at it, smelling it or tasting it.

You should throw out the pizza this time, but next time there are leftovers, refrigerate them within 2 hours or less, so they're safe to eat the next day. Keeping food cold (at or below 4°C /40°F) prevents bacterial growth which helps reduce the risk of illness caused by contaminated food.

Q5. A good way to keep the refrigerator cold is to fill it up with a lot of food.

(True or false)

False. A good way to keep food in the refrigerator cold is not to fill it up. By leaving some room, the cold air can circulate around the food and keep it cold.

Clean

questions and answers on Food Safety

Q1. When should you wash your hands?

(Multiple-choice)

1. Before and after touching raw food?
2. After using the washroom?
3. After playing with your pets?
4. All of the above?

The correct answer is D. To prevent cross contamination (bacteria spreading from one place to another) it's important to wash your hands all the time!

Q2. It's important to use soap, hot water and rubbing action when washing your hands.

(True or false)

True. The soap and the rubbing action remove the harmful organisms that may be on your hands. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds (the length of time it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice).

Q3. To wash your hands properly, you must wash them for at least how long?

(Multiple-choice)

1. 5 seconds?
2. 20 seconds?
3. 1 minute?

The correct answer is B. Always wash your hands for at least 20 seconds using soap and hot water and by rubbing your hands together.

A good way to make sure that you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds is to sing the Happy Birthday song twice while washing your hands.

Q4. You can you tell if food is contaminated just by looking at it.

(True or false)

False. You can't see, smell, or taste the harmful organisms that may make you sick. When in doubt – throw it out!

Q5. You grab an apple from the fridge, do you need to wash it before eating it?

(Question and answer)

Yes. It's important to wash fresh fruits and vegetables with clean running water to remove any dirt, sand and harmful organisms that might be on them.

Using soap in this case is not a good idea because some of the soap may stay on the fruit or vegetable that you eat. Soap is for hands, not for food.

Cook

questions and answers on Food Safety

Q1. You're heating leftover soup. Is it safe to eat the soup if it's just warm?

(True or false)

False. Leftovers such as soup, stew, and chili should be heated to a full rolling boil. Once the leftovers have boiled, cool until it's comfortable for you to eat.

Proper heating of leftovers destroys harmful organisms that may be present.

Q2. What does “cooking food safely” mean?

(Multiple-choice)

1. To use a recipe?
2. To use the right pots and pans?
3. To make sure the food is cooked to a safe temperature?

The correct answer is C. Food is cooked safely when it reaches an internal temperature high enough to kill harmful organisms that can cause illness.

Q3. What's a digital food thermometer?

(True or false)

1. A special type of thermometer used to check the temperature of different types of food?
2. Something used to check if you have a fever?
3. A stick used to roast marshmallows?

The correct answer is A.

Adults should use a digital food thermometer to check that food is cooked or reheated to a safe temperature.

Cooking food to a safe internal temperature destroys harmful organisms that may be present, and helps prevent illness caused by contaminated food.

Q4. A good way for an adult to tell if they've cooked your burger properly is by cutting it open to see the colour of the middle.

(True or false)

False. You can't tell if a burger is safe to eat by looking at it. The only way to tell if a hamburger is cooked is to use a digital food thermometer to check the temperature in the middle of the patty.

Your burger is done at 71°C (160°F)! Cooking food to a safe internal temperature destroys harmful organisms that may be present, and helps prevent illness caused by contaminated food.

Q5. What is the best way for adults to tell if they have cooked food properly?

(Multiple-choice)

1. Ask their friends?
2. Use a digital food thermometer to check the temperature?
3. Cook it until it's really dry?

The correct answer is B. Adults should use a digital food thermometer to check that food has reached a safe internal temperature.

Cooking food to a safe internal temperature destroys harmful organisms that may be present, and helps prevent illness caused by contaminated food.

Separate

questions and answers on Food Safety

Q1. It's barbeque day! The adult barbequing asks you to bring a plate to put the cooked burgers on. Should you bring the plate used for the raw hamburgers?

(Question and answer)

No. You can get sick by using the same plate (or utensils) for raw and cooked meat.

Harmful organisms that may be in raw meat can contaminate safely cooked meat. Always use a clean plate (and utensils) for the cooked meat to avoid cross-contamination (spreading bacteria from raw food to cooked food).

Q2. An adult takes you grocery shopping, how should you shop to be safe?

(Multiple-choice)

1. By placing raw meat and seafood in plastic bags before you put them into the shopping cart?
2. By not placing raw meat and seafood in the same bag with each other or other food?
3. By telling the store manager if you find raw meat or seafood juices dripping in the display cases?
4. All of the above?

The correct answer is D. You want to keep raw meat or seafood juices from touching each other or other food.

Q3. Dinner is not on the table yet, but you're hungry. Should you take a spoonful of chili out of the pot and then take another bite out of the pot with the same spoon?

(Question and answer)

No. You should not “double dip” because this spreads harmful organisms from your mouth to the food. Instead, use a clean spoon each time you taste.

Q4. You've used a pair of scissors to open a bag of milk. What should you do with the scissors now?

(Multiple-choice)

1. Wash them properly before putting them away?
2. Wipe them with a kitchen towel and then put them back in the drawer?
3. Rinse them quickly under the tap and put them back in the drawer?

The correct answer is A. Ask an adult to carefully wash scissors with soap and warm water or place them in the dishwasher to be cleaned. If you use scissors that have bacteria on it, you could contaminate the next food you use the scissors for. And remember, you can't see bacteria.

Q5. Cross contamination means:

(multiple-choice)

1. Someone gets mad at you?
2. You get cross-checked playing hockey?
3. Harmful organisms are spread from one place to another?

The correct answer is C. One way to avoid cross contamination is to always wash your hands. Wash hands after using the washroom, after playing with your pets, after touching raw meat, after throwing out the garbage, etc. Just remember to wash your hands all the time to help reduce the risk of illness caused by cross contamination.