28
Jan
Finds that there may be some truth to the old wives’ tale, often called the “five second rule,” which suggests that it’s ok. “our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food, with women the most likely to do so.
New research out of aston university in the u.k.
5 second rule on dropped food may have some truth to it. Contemporary folk wisdom assures us if we drop food onto the floor or the ground it remains safe to. Bacteria can attach to your food as soon as it hits the floor. Pick up food that's fallen on the ground (or another unclean surface) within five seconds, and no harm no foul;
Any longer and the food may start to pick up too much bacteria from the floor, and so becomes inadvisable to eat. New research out of aston university in the u.k. Don’t get it twisted though.
The surface you drop the food on also has. To find out if that’s true, we start with a hypothesis — a statement that can be tested. Research in my lab has focused on how food and food contact surfaces become contaminated, and we’ve done some work on this particular piece of wisdom.
The ‘five second rule’ about picking up food after it has been dropped on the floor may have some scientific basis, according to research. The kids could have had more bacon, of course, but it had become a game. Food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time, according to the findings of research carried out at aston university’s school of life and health sciences.
That means food left on the floor for an instant. Well, according to the “the quick and the curious” show aired on discovery’s science channel last week, the rule actually works provided the surface the food falls onto is comparatively dry. So food left there for 5 seconds or less will probably collect fewer bacteria than food sitting there for a longer time.
A piece of food that has been dropped on the floor can safely be eaten if. But fast may not be fast enough. The confusion lies in the fact that some environments and surfaces are safer than others.
Subscribe for less than $1 a week. Finds that there may be some truth to the old wives’ tale, often called the “five second rule,” which suggests that it’s ok. In a very interesting development, a latest study has debunked the belief that it was safe to eat food fallen on the floor if picked up within “five seconds”.
Aston university researchers looked at two pathogens from three indoor floor types and transfer to toast, pasta, biscuit and a sticky sweet when contact was made from three to 30 seconds. It appears that since the advent of antibiotics, many in our society have learned not to fear germs, bacteria and microbes. There appears to be no scientific consensus on the general applicability of the rule, and its origin is unclear.
A piece of food will pick up more bacteria the longer it spends on the floor. Food that you’ve dropped on the floor may still be fine to eat if you pick it up within five seconds. The short answer is yes.
“our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food, with women the most likely to do so.