The Five Second Rule

Who says you can’t drop your cake and eat it, too? Quickly picking up food off the ground significantly diminishes the bacteria on your snack, finds a new study from England.

Researchers at Aston University examined the classic 5-Second Rule, which claims it’s safe to grab and eat food you’ve dropped on the floor as long as you do it within 5 seconds of the fall. Indeed, after placing different foods on scummy surfaces for either 3 or 30 seconds, the researchers found up to 10 times more bacteria on food that had been down longer.

When you drop your meal, its particles pick up bacteria, says lead researcher Anthony Hilton, Ph.D. Your grub then slowly spreads to cover a greater area and therefore accumulates more germs.

Even if you catch your food fast, remember that eating off the floor isn’t exactly a healthy habit. After all, it’s still dirty food. “I think it would be wrong of us to kind of perpetuate or even suggest that picking up food is safe to do,” says Hilton.

But if you accidentally drop a delicious treat and want to try and salvage it with the 5-Second Rule, at least minimize your risk with these tips:


Stick With Dry Snacks:
The particles in dry foods like cookies and chips largely don’t settle or stick to surfaces, whereas moist foods—like sticky candy and noodles—can make almost 20 percent more contact on the gross surface as time goes by.


Consume Over Carpet:
If your grip is feeling flimsy, take your sandwich in the living room instead of the kitchen. Hilton’s results showed that bacteria survive for shorter periods of time on carpet than on hard flooring. Carpet also transfers fewer germs to food.


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This information is not, and is not intended to replace actual medical advice from a qualified doctor.

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