Are you someone who doesn’t have a problem eating food that’s been dropped on the floor as long as it hasn’t been there too long? Well, while some people may be disgusted, it turns out there really isn’t anything wrong with it. A new study out of Aston University in Birmingham, England finds that dropped food is completely safe even it if surpasses the “five-second rule,” meaning it sat on the floor for over five seconds.
According to scientists as long as the food doesn’t pick up “visible” dirt you should be fine, and they tested a variety of items, including toast, cookies, cooked pasta, and sweets dropped anywhere from three to 30 seconds, to find out.
When dropped on both laminate and carpet all of the items picked up germs well below what is considered an “infections dose," which is around 10,000 and the numbers barely changed the longer they sat on the floor.
Source: New York Post