Whats the 5 seconds rule based on? Is it actually okay to eat food thats been dropped on the floor as long as it hasn’t been in contact with the floor for more than 5 seconds?

Question

Whats the 5 seconds rule based on? Is it actually okay to eat food thats been dropped on the floor as long as it hasn’t been in contact with the floor for more than 5 seconds?

In: Biology

Answer 1

A lot of factors go into play when determining if dropped food is still edible. As others have said, microbes don’t walk to your food…they stick to it. Therefore, if you drop something “moist” like a piece of cheese or something, best to err on the side of caution. Dropping something dry like a cracker is a good excuse to use the 5 second rule.

I guess WHERE you drop it matters too. Drop it on a relatively clean desk? Safe enough. Drop it in a public bathroom? Nah G.