The 5 second rule - is it true?

[Dimitry]

The Five-Second Rule - MSN Health & Fitness - Diet & Fitness

Find out here.

[Erki]

Dunno, I have eaten from floor for my whole life and I'm very rarely ill.

[Cynic]

see The Five Second Rule: Myth or Fact?


This study suggests it isn't safe to eat items from the floor.

[Cynic]

The Five Second Rule: Myth or Fact?

If link isn't transmitted, here's the dope:

Rule Put to the Test

Last summer, Jillian Clarke, a high school student doing an apprenticeship at Hans Blaschek's University of Illinois laboratory decided to test the validity of the 5-second rule. Clarke first surveyed 100 college students (50 male, 50 female) to see what they knew about the rule. Of those surveyed, 70% of the women and 56% of the men were familiar with and had used the 5-second rule. Cookies and candies were much more likely to be picked up and eaten than items such as cauliflower or broccoli. Clarke then took swab samples from floors around campus to determine bacterial counts. The floors were surprisingly clean. Next, Clark inoculated rough and smooth floor tiles with E. coli bacteria. She placed Gummy Bears and fudge striped cookies on the inoculated floor tiles for 5 seconds, then examined the foods under a high-powered microscope. Her findings showed that in all cases E. coli was transferred from the tile to the food, demonstrating that microorganisms CAN be transferred from ceramic tile to food in 5 seconds or less. Clark found that more E. coli was transferred from smooth tiles than from rough tiles and that both the dry cookies and the gummy bears became contaminated with only 5 seconds of contact with the inoculated tiles.

[Matthew Shea]

Mythbusters did a segment on this. They found that it had much more to do with how "wet" the food is. In other words, a dry cracker won't pick up many germs, no matter how long it lies there. Something like a slice of cucumber or piece of meat, however, will become quickly infested. They found that any germ transmission happens almost instantaneously.

[Erki]

Of course I wouldn't eat something from campus floors of wherever but my own home I believe doesn't have that much bacteria that I should worry about my health.

[WanderingOak]

Well, I have mice, so there is no telling what is on my kitchen floor. Of course, I also have a cat who has the idea in her fuzzy little head that anything that is on the floor is 'hers'. Needless to say, she is always in the kitchen while I am cooking. Even if she doesn't eat the dropped food, she will taste it. Since I don't like to eat food that has been licked by a cat (I love her, but not THAT much), whatever doesn't get eaten by the cat gets given to the house-elves.

[Dimitry]

Originally Posted by WanderingOak

Since I don't like to eat food that has been licked by a cat (I love her, but not THAT much), whatever doesn't get eaten by the cat gets given to the house-elves.

And here I thought I was the only one who experienced that phenomenon. Do yours make funny little noises when they eat? (The Elves that is, not that cat)

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Dimitry

And here I thought I was the only one who experienced that phenomenon. Do yours make funny little noises when they eat? (The Elves that is, not that cat)

If they do, it is outside my hearing range. It drives the cat nuts though, although that could very well be the way she is normally .