Do you follow the "5 seconds rule" if you dropped your food?!


Question:

Do you follow the "5 seconds rule" if you dropped your food?

I heard that bacteria takes longer than 5 secconds get on the food, then its considered unsafe. What do you think?


Answers:
The 5-Second Rule isn't true. If there's living bacteria (or other pathogens) on any surface, floor or otherwise, it will contaminate the food immediately upon contact. Not to mention whatever dirt or cat hairs or other debris might stick to the food.

I work in a couple of different restaurants, and if anything hits the floor---food or cooking utensils---it's out of the game. In the case of a dropped knife or other utensil, it gets washed before it gets used again. Any food is immediately thrown out.

At home, though, the rules are a little more relaxed. If I were to drop an apple on my kitchen floor (which I keep fairly clean), I certainly wouldn't throw away the apple. I'd rinse it off and eat it as usual. If I dropped a piece of buttered bread, and it landed butter-side down, I'd throw THAT away. It would depend on the situation...but at home, if I could salvage the food, I would.

This was actually on Yahoo News. I think it takes about 30 seconds, actually, unless the floor is wet or caked with dirt or something.

As long as I see it fall and there isn't anything on it when I do pick it up then I'll eat it. I'm sure we eat a lot things that are worse without even knowing it.

Depends on how much I like the food, usually let it go, just too much dirt and knowing that might go in the mouth, is just too much to think of.

Lick your thumb, touch it to the floor, and then look at your thumb. It's covered in dust, dirt, or cat hair, isn't it? Didn't take five seconds for your thumb to get dirty, did it?

NOT TRUE AT ALL! They tried that on this show on TV called Myth Busters. The bacteria gets on your food right away. Just throw it away, its not worth gettin the drizzle shitts for trying to save that peice of beef jerkey you dropped!

I've never followed the five second rule because I'm squeamish.

My children however, seem to love that rule when it comes to dropped potato chips or candy!]

I guess it all depends on the person.

That mythbusters show tested this and found it to be false. Once food hits the floor, it's game over. Of course, I still eat it if there's nothing on it. It hasn't killed me yet.

it depends on what piece of food it is, what the surroundings are, and the floor itself.

No its better to always wash you friut or unless you cant thow it away......What if a cat hair gets stuck on the food it takes less than 5 seconds!

I would think it would depend on what the food was dropping on - if it drops into a clean pan to be cooked, it is safe. If it dropped into ... well, let's say a place of minimal sanitation, then I wouldn't think it would be safe.

depends really, like something such as chips, it doesnt stick to the floor.
Pizza on the other hand has sauce that germs can be picked off the floor.

Hey I do myself, sometimes giving the item a good wipe with a piece of clothing. However the mythbuster did a study on this myth....and actually found that even after 5 seconds there was some bacteria on the item. Try to catch the episode if you can.

well I say it depends on the food dropped and waht the flooring/ground is then you can say whether its unsafeor not

The new rule all over yahoo news is that it takes about 30 seconds.

no i toss any food that touches the floor, no matter how clean or dirty said floor is, could of been on it for only a second, still gets tossed by me

I do, if you really think about it, we breath in lots of harmful stuff everyday. So if I drop something, yeah, I'll pick it right up and probably eat it.

I do it all the time even longer and yea i believe them it doesn't matter cause we all have bacteria as it is lol

At the restaurant it was game over if it hit the floor. But at home I do the 2 second rule. And it depends on the food, if I think the floor needed to be mopped soon, stuff like that. If it's washable, I just wash it and go about business.

It depends on where i drop it
like if i drop a jellybean on a carpet, I think it's fine to eat

only at home.

If I drop something on my kitchen floor, I pick it up and consider it clean, otherwise, it is dirty and a treat for my dog if it falls :)

Not at my job, yuck. At home that’s a different story. I never count but if the floor isn’t clean then I won't eat something off it. You know your own floor but do you really want to eat something that has fallen on it? Always interesting to see parents how they tend to eat things that fall on the floor easier. Of course this is usually after they have the 2nd child. The 1st one is always treated with so much more care:) I wonder how I would be with a child and the 5 second rule?

No one follows that rule.

I sometimes follow it sometimes i even expand the time.lol




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