'Five-second rule' For Food Dropped On The Floor: Is It True?

1. What is the “Five-second rule”?

The five-second rule states that there is a permission to pick up food after it has been dropped.  Some may believe this assertion, whereas most people employ the rule as an amusing social fiction that allows them to eat a dropped piece of food.

2. Five seconds is all it takes

In 2003, a high-school student named Jillian Clarke stated that many kinds of foods were contaminated by even brief exposure to a tile inoculated with E. coli. She noticed that the bacteria were transferred within five seconds but did not specifically mention the number of bacteria the food caught.

3. How much bacteria transfers?

To find out how much bacteria actually transfer in five seconds, the professor at Clemson University as well as a food scientist Paul Dawson and his colleagues carried out an experiment. They found that the number of bacteria transferred to the food. The researcher contaminated various floor surfaces and they concluded that no matter how long the food sat on the floor,  the number of bacteria transferred to the food depends on the surface you might pick.

4.Depends on the surface

The interaction of bacteria with surfaces has important implications in a range of area. For example, carpeted surfaces transferred fewer bacteria to food than tile or stainless steel.

5.Depends on the food

From the point of some scientist,  it also depends on the type of food. Scientists also proved that wet food picked up more bacteria than dry food or. For instance, you drop dry crackers are probably not a very big deal. But the jelly side of a piece of toast probably is.

6.Different shades of opinion

Besides, there are some people who completely disagree with the “5-second rule”. They think that even the cleanest floor has plenty of bacteria. In their opinion, Bacteria can adhere to dropped food almost immediately. So, for them, it's a flat nonsense and described as ‘anti-scientific’.

7. Should You Eat Dropped Food?

So, if science has discovered the five-second rule, does that mean it’s unsafe to eat food that has hit the floor? The answer is “it depends”. It depends on an individual’s choice and hygiene level to eat the food fallen down.

To conclude, it’s your health, so it’s your decision. It’s better to think twice before eating anything that touches an unsavory surface—whether it’s your kitchen floor or your favorite diner.