ServSafe Manager Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

Start with the temperature danger zone of 41°F to 135°F, where pathogens grow fastest. Then lock in the holding rules — hot TCS food at 135°F or above, cold TCS food at 41°F or below — and the key cooking minimums, like 165°F for poultry and stuffed items and 155°F for ground meat. These numbers show up repeatedly across exam questions in different scenarios.

Cooked TCS food must cool from 135°F to 70°F within two hours, then from 70°F to 41°F within four more hours, for six hours total. The common trap is treating it as a single six-hour window — if the food doesn't hit 70°F in the first two hours, it fails even if it reaches 41°F on time. Exam questions love to test that first two-hour checkpoint.

Watch for questions that swap similar numbers, like 155°F for ground meat versus 165°F for poultry, or that test the four-hour limit for TCS food left in the danger zone — after four hours total it must be thrown out, not reheated. Another frequent trap involves sick employees: workers with vomiting, diarrhea, or jaundice, or a diagnosis like Norovirus or Hepatitis A, cannot work with food at all. Also remember that only time, not coffee or food, lowers a person's blood alcohol level.

Memorize the handwashing standard: at least 20 seconds with soap and warm running water at a designated handwashing sink, never a prep or utility sink. Know all nine major food allergens — milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. For cross-contamination, remember the three-part answer: separate raw from ready-to-eat foods, use separate equipment, and clean and sanitize surfaces.

Use it for a quick final review, not as your only study tool — run through the temperatures, time limits, and allergen list once or twice, then stop and get a full night's sleep. Cramming new material the night before rarely helps; the cheat sheet works best as a refresher for concepts you've already practiced. On exam morning, glance over the numbers one last time, since temperature and time questions reward exact recall.