It happens to all of us - we drop a piece of food on the floor, and then we ask ourselves: should we still eat it?!
A popular answer to this question is the 5-second-rule: It claims that food which hasn't been on the floor for longer than 5 seconds is still safe to eat.
But is this actually, scientifically correct or just an excuse so we don't have to throw away that last bite of chocolate cake?

Is the 5 second rule legit or a myth?

Generally yes - but not in every case

First of all: It is true that some bacteria transfer to the food immediately.
There 's just nothing you can do about that!
BUT a study from 2014, conducted by the Aston University in the UK proved that it DOES matter how long the food is in contact with the floor.

The longer, the more bacteria ended up being on the food!

A dry food, like a cookie for example, was even found to be safe to eat after 30 seconds on the floor.

It depends on the circumstances!

First of all, it depends which kind of food it is that you drop.

Any food that is moist will be contaminated a lot quicker and easier.
That's because:
1.) Bacteria love wet environments to grow!
2.) A wet food has more surface area to touch the ground.
The UK study proved that a moist food has 10 times LESS bacteria on it if you've picked it up after 3 seconds - compared to a scenario where you' pick it up after 30 seconds.

The surface the food drops on also plays an important part.

Researchers tested different indoor floor surfaces like rugs, lenoleum and tiles.
Rugs were the safest to eat off of - because the fibers of the rugs allow less surface area to touch the food.
Next on the ranking was lenoleum, and lastly tile.
But obviously, this also depends on the overall cleanliness of the floor - although every floor surface will generally have some bacteria, it will make a big difference if the floor was cleaned 1 hour or 2 weeks ago.

Which bacteria could contaminate the food?

The most likely kinds of bacteria to contaminate food you dropped are salmonella, e.coli and lysteria.
These are types of bacteria that especially enjoy a wet environment, and cause irritations in our stomachs (and may even lead to more serious diseases).

Conclusion?

Is the 5-second-rule true?

Well... It really depends. There is no clear answer to that question.
Moist food collects more bacteria than dry foods, and it's safer to pick food up from a rug than a tile floor.

But in general, keep in mind that some bacteria always contaminates the food immediately - no matter how fast you are.

A recent study in September 2016 proved this again: Üicking up food from the floor is never 100% and there's always a chance that you'll get sick from it.

BUT, the time frame in which the food gets picked up DOES matter!

Studies have also shown that up to 90% of all people still eat food that they dropped on the floor (and supposedly, more women than men do it.)
This might be because they don't want to waste anything, or because they're in the illusion that it's harmless just because they can't see the bacteria.
Of course, it also depends on the personal value that that specific food has to you - we're more willing to eat a piece of our favorite chocolate that dropped on the floor, rather than a salad leaf.

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Sources: 1, 2, 3

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