Is the five second rule real?
You go to that one, fancy diner that you always wanted to go to, La Nourriture des Mythes Briseurs, the place where they serve you food and real good myths. You get the bread basket, and get a piece of the white fluffy bread to eat when you drop it on the ground. That was awkward. You pick it up and eat it because of the five second rule. Well the voice in your head tells you two things, the bread was on the ground for 27 seconds, and is the five second rule real? Lets pop this balloon to find out!
What is the five second rule?
The “five second rule” is a rule/saying, that means to drop food on an unsanitary area is safe to eat if picked up before five seconds ends. The popular idea is basically the bacteria hasn’t had enough time to transfer on to the food.
Is the five second rule real?
No, the five second rule is false. Time doesn’t necessarily matter when dropping food. The main key things that matters is how moist the food is, since wet food picks up germs faster than dry foods, how contaminated the surface is, and the type of surface, because bacteria transfers differently based on where it is. Tests have confirmed that even if a food stays on a surface for less than one second, transfer of bacteria still happened. On different surfaces, foods, and the contamination of the surface plays a part on how much is the food going to get bacteria on it even if it is on an surface for half a second. Although, a quick touch on a relatively clean floor can take a small amount of low-risk bacteria. If food has sat on a very unclean floor (bathroom or raw meat juice) may pick up some high risk bacteria. Normally, the “five second rule” doesn’t affect anyone, although there could be risks to picking up dangerous bacteria or viruses. This rule may have came from a belief that sounded scientifically right. People normally continue the habit, because its comfortable to know not to waste a good tasting snack and because the rule normally doesn’t backfire.
Jokes for the five second rule
1. Bacteria don’t do countdowns, they RSVP immediately.
2. The five second rule is Latin for, “I really want the french fry I dropped down, but I don’t want to waste it.”
3. The five second rule is as good as dipping your finger in poison and licking it.
4. I dropped a piece of toast butter down and invoked the five-second rule. My immune system invoked the right to remain silent.
5. Someone said "the five-second rule isn't real, germs don't wear watches." Correct, but neither does my conscience.
Sources
Rutgers University – "Rutgers Researchers Debunk 'Five-Second Rule'"
https://www.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-researchers-debunk-five-second-rule-eating-food-floor-isnt-safe
Applied and Environmental Microbiology – "Longer Contact Times Increase Cross-Contamination of Enterobacter aerogenes from Surfaces to Food"
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.01838-16
ScienceDaily – "Dropped your toast? Five-second food rule exists, new research suggests"
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140310102212.htm
NPR – "Rethinking The Five-Second Rule: With Carpet, There's No Rush"
