Dropped food remains germ free if picked up within five seconds.
Food fell on floor eatable.
As someone who loves food hates wasting things and is sometimes messy this is an important question.
You re preparing supper and a delicious tomato cut slips off the cutting board and onto the kitchen floor you haven t.
And it s probably not a new one either.
Moisture type of surface and contact time all contribute to cross contamination.
A few days ago some friends and i discussed whether we would eat food if it fell on the floor.
And it fell on the stovetop not on the floor.
Wondering if food is still ok to eat after it s been dropped on the floor or anywhere else is a pretty common experience.
It depends on just how much bacteria can make it from floor to food in a few seconds and just how dirty the floor is.
But another study champions the zero second rule of bacterial contact.
You can decide if you want to eat the dirty food or not but you shouldn t tell yourself that it s somehow safe if it didn t spend 5 seconds on the floor.
In some instances the transfer begins in less than one second.
If you ve been using the five second rule you know the age old principle that says food that s been dropped on the floor is still safe to eat if picked up within five seconds or less your.
A new study says it s safe to eat food that s been on the floor for less than five seconds.
What happens if you eat food that fell on the floor.
Whatever the food picks up it picks it up the moment it touches the floor.
It doesn t matter if you pick it up at once after 5 seconds or after 5 minutes.
Turns out fallen food does pick up germs immediately upon making contact with the floor and the amount of bacteria transferred can be enough to make you sick according to paul dawson phd a.