Quebec food safety manager attestation (certificate) exam — built from the MAPAQ guide, Québec.ca and the Règlement sur les aliments
Practice on the go and jump straight back to where you left off.
About the exam
The food establishment manager (« gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire ») training lasts 12 hours and leads to an attestation from the Quebec ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation (MAPAQ). It is aimed mainly at the person in charge of hygiene and food safety in an establishment: the operator or a trusted member of staff. Ask your authorized trainer which language the training and exam are offered in; the MAPAQ Guide is in French.
According to Québec.ca, the exam lasts 60 minutes, the pass mark is 60% and it is open book: the MAPAQ Guide des bonnes pratiques d’hygiène et de salubrité alimentaires, which is published in French, may be consulted. The MAPAQ does not publish the number of questions. ExamHub's test mode draws 50 questions in 60 minutes with a 60% target: that is a typical practice length, not the official exam.
The MAPAQ does not publish topic weights either. The test mode follows each category's share of the bank below; that is an ExamHub estimate, not an official weighting. Looking for the food handler training? See the MAPAQ food handler practice test.
Working in a kitchen or bar outside Québec? Practise for British Columbia's FoodSafe Level 1 course, for Ontario's Smart Serve alcohol training, or for the Red Seal cook exam.
What's covered
Each question is filed under the rule it tests, which can differ from the page it was taken from.
Try a few
Three samples from the question bank, with the answer and the explanation.
Why: The operator must ensure that at least 10% of these employees, including the person responsible for control, hold an attestation: 10% of 30 is 3 (Regulation respecting food, s. 2.2.4.2).
Why: A person who fails may retake the exam within 90 days of the date of receiving the notice of failure, without having to take the training again (Regulation respecting food, s. 2.2.4.6).
Why: Water boiled for one minute is suitable only for a boil-water advisory; water covered by a do-not-consume notice is unfit for human consumption, even when boiled (Québec.ca).
FAQ
According to Québec.ca, the exam lasts 60 minutes, the pass mark is 60% and the MAPAQ Guide des bonnes pratiques d’hygiène et de salubrité alimentaires (a French-language document) may be consulted during it. An authorized trainer gives the exam. The MAPAQ does not publish the number of questions: ExamHub's test mode uses 50 questions, 60 minutes and a 60% target as a practice setting (a typical length, not the official exam). Source: Québec.ca, Formation de gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
Under the Regulation respecting food (s. 2.2.4.1), the operator of a place or vehicle where food is prepared for sale, or where the activity of restaurateur is carried on, must entrust the control of hygiene and food safety to a holder of this attestation. It can be the operator or a trusted member of staff. Source: Regulation respecting food, CQLR c. P-29, r. 1 (LégisQuébec), checked on 10 Nov 2026.
The MAPAQ’s trainer document says a person exempted from the training must be proficient in French or English because the exam is written. It does not list English-language sessions, so ask your authorized trainer. The Québec.ca pages for this training are partly translated, and the MAPAQ Guide is published in French, so the official reference material is mostly in French. ExamHub's questions are available in English and French. Source: MAPAQ, Information aux formateurs autorisés, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
The food handler training lasts at least 6 hours, the manager training at least 12 hours, and it includes all the content of the handler training. Managers also learn risk analysis and assessment, risk management, legal standards and the development of continuing training activities. To practise for the handler exam, see the MAPAQ food handler practice test. Source: Québec.ca, Formation de gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
You register with an authorized trainer, and each trainer sets the cost of its own service, so fees differ from one trainer to another. The length of the training (12 hours) and its topics are set by law. The trainer gives the exam, and the MAPAQ issues the attestation, which you receive by mail after passing. Source: Québec.ca, Formation de gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
You have 90 days from receiving the notice of failure to ask your trainer for a retake, without having to take the training again (Regulation respecting food, s. 2.2.4.6). Source: Québec.ca, Formation de gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire, and the Regulation respecting food (LégisQuébec), checked on 10 Nov 2026.
No. According to Québec.ca, the attestation is valid for life. It is issued to the person who took the training, not to their employer, so you can use it with different employers over time. Source: Québec.ca, Formation de gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
In some cases. A person can send the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire du Québec (ITAQ) a written request with proof of equivalent training or at least 3 years of experience in hygiene and food safety control or food preparation. They must still score at least 60% on the exam, otherwise they are subject to the training (s. 2.2.4.7). According to the Québec.ca list, an attestation earned through an equivalent training, including elsewhere in Canada, is automatically valid in Québec, with no steps to take (see also s. 2.2.4.5.1). Source: Québec.ca, Recognition of prior learning, acquired skills and equivalents, and the Regulation respecting food (LégisQuébec), checked on 10 Nov 2026.
Storage temperatures, work methods that prevent contamination, personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitizing, environmental sources of contamination, microbiological, physical and chemical hazards, the origin and labelling of food, risk analysis and management, legal standards, and continuing staff training. Source: Québec.ca, Formation de gestionnaire d’établissement alimentaire, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
From the MAPAQ Guide des bonnes pratiques d’hygiène et de salubrité alimentaires, the Québec.ca pages on food establishments and the Regulation respecting food (ss. 2.2.4.1 to 2.2.4.9). Every question is original and rests on a checked passage of these sources; the content of the official exam is not reproduced. Sources: MAPAQ Guide, Québec.ca and LégisQuébec, checked on 10 Nov 2026.
Sources
Checked on 10 Nov 2026. Rules, fees and hours change, so confirm details on these official pages before you book.
The Québec.ca pages for this training are only partly translated, so some sources above are in French. ExamHub is independent of the MAPAQ and the ITAQ.