Read these in order — they map to how the courses themselves are structured. Each one ends with the things the exam is most likely to ask about that topic.
Module 1
Foodborne illness — why this whole course exists
Foodborne illness happens when contaminated food makes someone sick. The four big sources of contamination are biological (bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi), chemical (cleaners, pesticides), physical (hair, metal shavings, broken glass), and allergens (the same nine items every label has to declare).
The five most common mistakes that cause outbreaks: poor personal hygiene, time-and-temperature abuse, cross-contamination, contaminated equipment, and food from unsafe sources. Almost every exam question about "why did people get sick?" maps to one of these five.
High-risk groups: young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. They get sicker, faster, from the same dose.
Module 2
Personal hygiene + handwashing
Handwashing is the single biggest defense against foodborne illness. Wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — wet, lather, scrub (including under nails and between fingers), rinse, dry with a single-use towel or air dryer.
You must wash hands after using the restroom, before starting a shift, between handling raw and ready-to-eat foods, after eating/drinking/smoking, after touching your face or hair, and after taking out the trash.
Texas does not allow bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. Use single-use gloves, tongs, deli paper, or utensils. Gloves don't replace handwashing — wash before putting gloves on, and change them at least every 4 hours, when torn, or whenever you switch tasks.
Stay home — and tell your manager — if you have vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, or an infected open wound that can't be fully covered with a bandage and a glove.
Module 3
Time + temperature control (TCS)
TCS stands for time and temperature control for safety. TCS foods (dairy, meat, poultry, eggs, cut leafy greens, cooked rice/pasta, cream-based items) grow bacteria fast in the danger zone, which is 41°F to 135°F.
Cold-hold TCS food at 41°F or below. Hot-hold at 135°F or above. Don't leave TCS food in the danger zone for more than 4 cumulative hours.
Cook to internal temperature, verified with a calibrated thermometer: poultry, stuffed items, and casseroles to 165°F for 15 seconds; ground meat and ground seafood to 155°F for 15 seconds; seafood, pork, and whole-muscle beef steaks to 145°F for 15 seconds; vegetables for hot holding to 135°F.
Cooling has two stages: 135°F down to 70°F in 2 hours, then 70°F down to 41°F in 4 more hours. Total of 6 hours. Speed cooling by shallow pans, ice baths, or an ice paddle.
Reheat previously cooked food to 165°F within 2 hours before hot-holding it. Never reheat in a hot-holding unit — it can't pull heat through fast enough.
Module 4
Cross-contamination + storage order
Cross-contamination is moving harmful organisms from one food, surface, or person to another. Most common cause: storing or prepping raw meat over ready-to-eat foods.
Refrigerator storage order from top to bottom (lowest cook temp on top, highest cook temp on bottom): ready-to-eat foods, then seafood (145°F), then whole-muscle beef and pork (145°F), then ground meat (155°F), then poultry (165°F) on the bottom shelf.
Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw and ready-to-eat foods, or wash, rinse, and sanitize between uses. Color-coded boards are common but not required by Texas.
Wash, rinse, and sanitize: three steps, in that order. Cleaning removes visible soil; sanitizing reduces bacteria to safe levels. You can't sanitize a dirty surface.
Module 5
Cleaning, sanitizing, and the three-compartment sink
Three-compartment sink order: (1) scrape and pre-rinse, (2) wash in hot soapy water 110°F+, (3) rinse in clean water, (4) sanitize in a chemical or hot-water (171°F+) sanitizer, (5) air dry. Towel-drying re-contaminates.
Approved chemical sanitizers and concentrations: chlorine 50–99 ppm, quaternary ammonia per manufacturer label (commonly ~200 ppm), iodine 12.5–25 ppm. Test strips are required — eyeballing it is not allowed.
Sanitize food-contact surfaces every 4 hours of constant use, after every change between tasks (e.g. raw chicken → vegetables), and after a contamination event.
Store cleaning chemicals in their original labeled containers, away from food, food-contact surfaces, and single-use items.
Module 6
Allergens
Texas recognizes the same nine major allergens as federal law: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Sesame was added by the FASTER Act in 2021 and rolled in starting January 2023.
Cross-contact is the allergen version of cross-contamination. Even a microscopic trace of an allergen can cause a severe reaction. Wash hands and change gloves between tasks. Use clean utensils, a clean cutting board, and clean prep surfaces.
When a customer says "I have a [name] allergy," tell the person preparing the food and verify every ingredient — including sub-ingredients of mixes, sauces, and any pre-made component.
On cottage food labels, list allergens in a "CONTAINS:" statement using the common names above (e.g. "CONTAINS: WHEAT, MILK, EGGS"). Cakery's label maker does this automatically.
Module 7
Receiving, storage, and pests
Inspect every delivery before accepting. Reject TCS food above 41°F (or above 45°F for receiving with a 4-hour cool-down plan — Texas typically uses 41°F as the line), packaging that's torn or leaking, anything past its use-by date, and pest-damaged goods.
Use FIFO — first in, first out. Label every container with the receive date or made-on date so older stock gets used first. Date-mark TCS food held cold for more than 24 hours; it must be discarded after 7 days at 41°F.
Dry storage: cool (50–70°F) and dry, at least 6 inches off the floor, away from chemicals.
Pest control: signs of an infestation include droppings, gnaw marks, grease tracks along walls, and live or dead pests. Block entry (door sweeps, screens), deny food and water (sealed containers, no standing water), and keep a licensed pest operator on contract.
Module 8
Texas-specific: DSHS, cottage food, and what the test asks
Texas DSHS (Department of State Health Services) regulates food handler training. Every cottage food operator needs a current food handler certification from a DSHS-accredited program, renewed every 2 years.
If you hold a Texas Certified Food Manager certification, it counts in place of the food handler course. Household members who help in the home kitchen are exempt; non-household employees are not.
Standard cottage food operations don't need a permit, license, or inspection. Registration with DSHS is only required if you sell TCS items (cream-cheese frostings, certain cheesecakes), want to put a DSHS ID on your label instead of your home address, or operate as a cottage food vendor.
Sales are capped at $150,000 gross per year (indexed to inflation starting in 2026). Sales must be inside Texas — no out-of-state shipping. You can deliver in person anywhere in Texas and take online orders, but a person you control (you, an employee, or a household member) has to make the handoff.