What is the difference between ServSafe and National Registry?
The ServSafe Manager Certification verifies that a person who works in a food service outlet (like a restaurant, resort cook, or theme park chef) has sufficient food safety knowledge to protect the public from foodborne illness. The ServSafe Manager Certification is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the entire ServSafe Curriculum follows the FDA Food Code.
The National Registry of Food Safety Professionals (NRSFP) is a VERY similar test, although the questions are given in story format rather than simply asking the test-taker to identify the right question. In other words, they give you a scenario and you answer what the person in that setting should do or not do. The NRSFP is focused on making sure that DELI MANAGERS and BUFFET MANAGERS are ready to do their job safely… so the questions are focused around questions of RTE foods that are Hot held or cold held for service. If none of this makes sense… do some reading. You are SERIOUSLY not ready for this exam.
HOW DOES IT HELP YOU MAKE MONEY?
Many state, county and city governments require food service employees to become certified. ServSafe is not the only certification program, but they have the most highly regarded certificate in the food service industry.
Food manager certification is required by most jurisdictions. Usually it is required that at least one certified food manager must be on the staff. Sometimes it’s required that a certified food manager must be present at all times food is being prepared or served. A few jurisdictions require two certified managers to be present at these times. Essentially the food managers duty is to monitor the safety of the food and to train the other employees about good food safety practices. This all means that if YOU are ServSafe certified and are applying for a job that has such a requirement, it is MUCH MORE LIKELY that you will be hired – and very frequently, paid significantly more than otherwise. In other words, if you go to McDonalds, someone on staff has this certification at any given time – they have to. We have had several students get jobs with higher pay immediately… just because they had a copy of their ServSafe Food Safety Manager Certificate with them during the interview.
WHAT’S THE TEST LIKE?
Both tests are made up of 80 test questions (plus ten additional, ungraded pilot/research questions). These 80 questions are broken down as follows:
- Management of Food Safety Practices (11.25%, 9 questions)
- Hygiene and Health (17.5%, 14 questions)
- Safe Receipt, Storage, Transportation and Disposal of Food (16.25%, 13 questions)
- Safe Preparation and Cooking of Food (18.75%, 15 questions)
- Safe Service and Display of Food (10%, 8 questions)
- Cleanliness and Sanitation (13.75%, 11 questions)
- Facilities and Equipment (12.5%, 10 questions)
A passing score is 75% or higher. This is obtained by answering at least 60 out of 80 questions correctly. The exam has 90 questions; however there are 10 pilot questions that are for research purposes only. PLEASE NOTE: You could answer 60 questions correctly while testing and still fail the exam (if ten of the questions you answered correctly were the pilot questions).
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR A STUDENT TO PREPARE?
Memorize, Drill, and Practice. ServSafe is CONTENT-HEAVY, not concept-heavy. That means that when completing an assignment or watching a video, you aren’t learning new concepts, you are learning facts.
Content has to be MEMORIZED, concepts need only be UNDERSTOOD. Skip the videos, don’t complete the drill exercises, cheat your way through assessments and you may earn a decent grade on the ASSIGNMENTS, but there is little chance you will pass.
Here are the three categories of information most students should prepare to memorize:
- the lingo, the acronyms, the specialized terms that restaurant professionals use when talking about their workplace; many students are unfamiliar with ventilation systems, air curtains, coving, single/multiple tank conveyor dishmachines, etc. To pass the test you have to become familiar with all these terms; for many students, the only way to learn them is to memorize them
- there are multiple temperatures associated with cooking food and sanitation – to pass the test, you must be able to remember all the minimum cooking temperatures; the only way to learn them is to memorize them
- there are multiple viruses, bacteria, parasites, and toxins that can potentially hurt people; their names can be confusing and the only way to learn them is to memorize them