The Five-second Rule

Five-second food rule has some merit

Jenn Harris 

We have all heard about the five-second rule. I myself have always wondered how true this was. Well good thing that Anthony Hilton led a research group then. Hilton had a group of biology students help conduct this experiment. The students studied the amount of E. Coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria on different substances after they had been dropped on the floor for three to 30 seconds. The group decided not to only test different types of foods but also different surfaces. Hilton's group used toast, pasta, biscuits and sticky, sweet foods to be tested on carpet, laminate and tiled surfaces. The results shocked me but first I will answer all of you are begging to know. “Bacteria was most likely transferred from laminate or tiled surfaces to moist foods that were dropped for more than five seconds.” It was also found that when food is dropped on carpet it was less likely to have a lot of bacteria. 

The result really boggles my mind because it seems like carpet would be able to hold more bacteria then a flat surface like tile. I will probably still use the 5 second rule no matter what. I would like to know if this is similar to letting kids eat dirt and boogers to help build their immune system. I think that more people should read this article because it was very interesting and I am glad I know more about the subject. 

 

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-five-second-rule-new-study-20140314-story.html#axzz2xZd7Bph7