We’re all guilty of the five second rule – dropping some food on the ground and swooping it up with the reassurance that ‘it’s grand’.
While we might think of the food to floor contact as a fleeting moment, research from the University of Illinois found that bacteria can be passed on to food within five seconds – depending on the surface.
According to the research, it takes just 0.1 per cent of the millions or more cells on a surface to make you sick.
Surprisingly, despite the furry feel, carpets are proven to be the best places to drop food. When carpet was inoculated with Salmonella, less than one per cent of the bacteria were transferred.
This was in comparison to food being dropped on a tile or wood – with 48 – 70 per cent of bacteria contaminating food in this scenario.
So how long can your dropped food be on the floor before getting contaminated?
Just three seconds.
Hope you have some pretty good reflexes.
H/T Metro UK
