Quebec Food Hygiene and Safety Study Guide 2026

Two certificates: food handler and manager

Quebec has mandatory food hygiene and safety training (formation obligatoire en hygiène et salubrité alimentaires), run under the rules of the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ). There are two main certificates.

At least one person on the team must hold the manager certificate. The manager course adds risk analysis and evaluation, control procedures, corrective actions, training staff on hygiene rules and planning ongoing training.

MAPAQ also has a version for certain food aid organizations and a short training session that is mandatory for staff of certain childcare or accommodation services.

Training, the exam and your certificate

1. Choose an authorized trainer (formateur autorisé) from MAPAQ's list and register. Each trainer sets its own fees.
2. Take the training: 6 hours for food handlers or 12 hours for managers.
3. Write the exam with your trainer: 30 minutes for food handlers, 60 minutes for managers.
4. Pass with 60% or more. MAPAQ mails your certificate to you.

The exam is open book: you may consult MAPAQ's Guide des bonnes pratiques d'hygiène et de salubrité alimentaires. Open book does not mean easy. You will not have time to look up every answer, so learn the main ideas and know where things are in the guide.

If you fail, you have 90 days after you receive the notice of your result to ask your trainer for a retake.

The certificate is issued to you, not your employer, and it is valid for life. It goes with you when you change jobs. In some situations, recognition of prior learning lets a person go straight to the exam, and MAPAQ recognizes some equivalent training.

The 10% option

MAPAQ's fact sheet explains an option: if at least 10% of the staff concerned are properly trained, the certified manager does not have to be on site at all times. At least one person must still hold the manager certificate.

The staff concerned are people assigned to food preparation or who clean equipment that touches food, such as dishwashers. To find the number to train, use this formula: number of staff concerned x 10 / 100, then round.

Rounding works like this: 0.1 to 1.4 rounds to 1, 1.5 to 2.4 rounds to 2, 2.5 to 3.4 rounds to 3, and so on. For example, 15 staff x 10 / 100 = 1.5, which rounds to 2.

One person may be named food hygiene and safety manager for up to 12 establishments of the same operator or group, but that person counts toward the 10% calculation for only one of them.

A worked example

A Montréal restaurant has 28 staff who cook, prep food or wash dishes. Only staff assigned to food preparation or who clean food contact equipment are counted. 28 x 10 / 100 = 2.8, which rounds to 3. Under the 10% option, the restaurant needs one manager-certified person plus two other people with either the manager or the food handler certificate. With those three trained people, the manager does not have to be on site for every shift. The owner also manages a second restaurant, but the owner can count toward the calculation in only one of them.

What the courses teach

Both courses cover the same core topics:

• food storage temperatures
• work methods that prevent contamination
• general hygiene for anyone who touches food or food equipment
• cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting equipment
• contamination from the environment
• microbiological, physical and chemical hazards
• where food comes from and food labelling

Courses across Canada teach keeping cold food at 4°C or colder and hot food at 60°C or hotter, because germs grow fastest in between. Cook food to Health Canada's safe internal temperatures, such as 74°C for poultry pieces and leftovers and 71°C for ground beef and pork.

Wash your hands well before work, after the washroom, after raw meat and between tasks. Keep raw meat below ready-to-eat food, use clean boards and utensils, clean before you sanitize, and stay away from food when you are sick.

Cool cooked food quickly in shallow pans, reheat leftovers to at least 74°C, and thaw food in the refrigerator instead of on the counter. When a customer asks about allergies, check the recipe and the labels, and never guess.

Exam tips

• Know the numbers: 6 and 12 hours, 30 and 60 minutes, 60% to pass, 90 days to ask for a retake.
• The certificate is valid for life and belongs to you.
• Dishwashers and drink makers who add milk or fruit count as food handlers.
• Practise the 10% formula with a few staff numbers.
• Use the guide during the exam only to check, not to read from the start.

Practice test 1 on this page covers Quebec rules. The other sets cover food safety basics taught across Canada.