Certified Professional Food Safety (CP-FS) Practice Exam

According to the food safety standards, can an employee wear nail polish or have artificial nails while working with food?

1. Yes, both are allowed

2. No, neither is allowed

3. Yes, but only if gloves are worn

4. No, just a plain wedding band is permitted

The correct answer is: Yes, but only if gloves are worn

Wearing nail polish or having artificial nails while working with food can pose a risk to food safety, primarily due to the potential for either to harbor bacteria or to result in physical contaminants if they chip or break. However, if an employee is specifically using gloves, the risk of contamination from nail polish or artificial nails can be mitigated, as long as the gloves remain intact and are changed regularly. This means option C reflects an understanding of the balance between minimizing risk while allowing some personal expression. The requirement to wear gloves provides a barrier that can protect food from potential contaminants, assuming that the gloves are maintained properly. On the other hand, full prohibition of nail polish or artificial nails, as suggested in other options, may not account for the fact that with appropriate safety measures like gloves, some practices can be permitted within certain guidelines. Options suggesting that just a plain wedding band is permitted or that neither nail polish nor artificial nails are allowed do not provide the flexibility that the food safety standards sometimes allow when proper personal protective equipment is used.