The truth about the 5-second rule
Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Is there any truth to the five-second rule? You know, that guiding principle we use when our food drops to the floor and we pick it right back up and eat it. As long as it hasn't been on the floor for more than five seconds, we're safe. Right?
We actually have longer than five seconds, says Anne Bernhard, assistant professor of biology at Connecticut College, whose students put this rule to the test.
Bernard and her team dropped apple slices, a wet food, and Skittles, a dry food, on a cafeteria floor -- which incidentally had been smeared with E.coli -- and then measured the results. Their conclusion: Moist foods are probably safe for 30 seconds, and dry food can stay on the ground for one minute. And that's with E.coli in the mix.
So the five-second rule appears to be legit -- if you trust this study, that is.
We actually have longer than five seconds, says Anne Bernhard, assistant professor of biology at Connecticut College, whose students put this rule to the test.
Bernard and her team dropped apple slices, a wet food, and Skittles, a dry food, on a cafeteria floor -- which incidentally had been smeared with E.coli -- and then measured the results. Their conclusion: Moist foods are probably safe for 30 seconds, and dry food can stay on the ground for one minute. And that's with E.coli in the mix.
So the five-second rule appears to be legit -- if you trust this study, that is.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
addie 11-29-2007 @ 8:03PM
LOL AWESOME! THANX!
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JT 11-29-2007 @ 8:33PM
This test was performed on a cafeteria floor that had been smeared with e-coli? Why was it necessary to contaminate a cafeteria floor. Poor choice!
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Abby 11-29-2007 @ 9:06PM
so no germs got on it, what about dust and hair. I wouldn't want to eat that stuff!
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Scotty 11-29-2007 @ 9:12PM
Well, I guess its true what they say......You are what you eat!
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kp 11-29-2007 @ 9:18PM
they smeared the floor with e.coli so you could see that food is good for that long even after having been on the floor covered in an extreme bacteria. it goes to show that on a floor WITHOUT e.coli, your food would be safe to consume even after five seconds. duh.
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kp 12-04-2007 @ 6:11PM
they smeared the floor with e.coli so you could see that food is good for that long even after having been on the floor covered in an extreme bacteria. it goes to show that on a floor WITHOUT e.coli, your food would be safe to consume even after five seconds. duh.
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jimbob 11-29-2007 @ 9:29PM
jeez what are they thinking if it hits the floor either wash it off or throw it away give me a break
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Sam 11-29-2007 @ 9:33PM
A cafeteria floor is not nessesarily a constant.
One part could have been dirtier than another part, even if they were an inch apart.
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jyl 11-29-2007 @ 9:55PM
I'm sorry, but food landing on a floor covered with e coli is bound to be contaminated. I do not believe this study for a minute. Your shoes have dirt and no telling what else on them, and you walk through with them. Food landing on the floor is dirty, I don't care what the EXPERTS say.
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Rockin Robin 11-29-2007 @ 9:57PM
it's obvious there's not many campers in this crowd.....
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christine 11-29-2007 @ 10:06PM
What about MRSA?
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christine 11-29-2007 @ 10:06PM
What about MRSA?
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Nikki 11-29-2007 @ 10:22PM
I'm taking a Microbiology course right now at UConn, and considering whether or not you know (or do not know) what's on the ground, I personally would never consume something that touched the ground. E. coli isn't so much an extreme bacterium. It depends upon the strain. It is extremely motile though, so I presume that's why they chose that. Since the floor is a flat, horizontal surface, it lurks with many different types of bacteria. Even significant rinsing of the food after it has touched the ground wouldn't rid of the bacterium completely. There is also many different types of bacterium on countertops and tables! Once again, it's a flat surface which allows for settlement of dust particles, fungi, etc., so it's not incorrect to say that you should be careful of whether or not food touches a surface such as that as well without being cautious of if you should consume it or not!
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sithlord397 11-29-2007 @ 10:31PM
Just wash it off or throw it away. It's as simple as that, unless it was dropped on the floor of a bathroom or some other very dirty surface.
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jamd95 11-29-2007 @ 10:41PM
eeeeeuuuuuu
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shir 11-29-2007 @ 10:44PM
I don't believe this cock-a-mamey study for 5 seconds!!
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BD 11-29-2007 @ 10:50PM
If you trust this study, think of this: I am a dental hygienist. One day my assistant dropped an instrument to the floor that I was about to use for a deep cleaning. I told him I needed a new instrument. He looked at me incredulously and said, "But it was only there for a second". Would you want your teeth and gums scraped with an instrument that had been on the floor?
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John Munoz 11-29-2007 @ 10:53PM
Areyou really that hungry? It's an individgual decison but why risk it? Imagine your at a restraunt and as you pass by a waiter or waitress, you see something fall off one of the dishes that they are carrying to a table and they stoop down and pick up the food item and place it back onto the plate. Would you still eat there knowing that your plate is on it's way to you?
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art 11-29-2007 @ 10:59PM
No, once on the ground , let alone on a cafeteria floor , it's garbage!
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mano-man 11-29-2007 @ 10:58PM
The truth of the matter is that bacvteria requires time to reproduce, usually in the minutes or hour. If you pick up the food and eat it right away the bacteria hasn't had the time to multiply to a number large enough to cause illness. Also the siliva and the food are passed into the stomach which is more corrosive than battery acid. That kills the bacteria.
If food is highly contaminated (the 1 hour rule at room temps) more bacteria remains in the mouth and throat for a longer time, thus being absorbed through any small cut or opening.
The truth be known you are more likely to get sick from drinking sugared drinks that have been sitting open at room temperature.
Cold beer anyone?
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