We’re all conditioned from a very early age to regard edibles that have accidently fallen onto the ground (without being rescued in a timely manner) with a strict, hands-off policy. To some, it is simply gross to reclaim food that somehow gets diverted from our mouths and onto the floor…even if it lingers at our feet for a mere instant. Call it the five second rule -- or the ten or fifteen second rule for those of us who are a bit more liberal in our food conservation views. Whatever time frame you personally deem acceptable before either rescuing or chucking food that crashes to the floor, is there really cause for concern? More importantly, just like saving leftovers is a decidedly greener lifestyle choice, wouldn’t it be equally as planet friendly to relax our rules a little by giving dropped eats a chance?
Before you roll your eyes and question the science behind this scenario, take comfort in the knowledge that someone has already done the dirty work for us. The safety of dropped food has apparently been an age-old dilemma put to the test not only on several science-based television shows but also thanks to at least 3 separate studies played out in the ‘00s. Since digesting scientific findings isn’t exactly fun, here are the top facts that deserve the most attention. In the majority of the research conducted, it was determined that food dropped on highly trafficked areas is more likely to become contaminated by plentiful bacterial colonies. Interestingly, the actual type of surface (tile, wood, carpet) plays a partial role in how fast bacteria can happily proliferate on your edibles, but if hundreds of feet mill over flooring each day, the specific material it's made of hardly matters. One study in particular found that rescued morsels are literally grody to the max in under 5 minutes flat when they make contact with salmonella-contaminated wood, tile and carpet flooring. Granted, that’s a pretty strong bugger – and who knows if it’s actually typically found on the average swath of flooring -- but would you really want to take your chances?
On the other hand, a very simple “timed” study conducted by biology majors at the Connecticut College determined that moist foods such as fruits and vegetables that are accidentally dropped on the floor remain free of bacterial contamination for at least 30 seconds and only begin to become compromised after 1 minute. What about dry foods? They found that they were safe on the floor even beyond 1 minute but began entering a danger zone after 5 minutes. In most of the studies, it seems as though when moisture is present, you should make a point of acting fast when exercising your food recycling tendencies. Phew. Definitely do-able. You must be so relieved! If you’re still not convinced that this is the course of action for you, perhaps Audrey Fukman and Andy Wright’s 30-Second Rule Decision Tree (above) will offer you the extra nudge you need to drop, scoop and recycle....or maybe not. Seriously folks, does this information make you more likely to keep your accidentally dropped food out of the landfill? Would you be more inclined to exercise a 15 second rule if you dropped food in the corner of a room rather than in a main traffic zone?
^ That's pretty much it. I'm also less inclined to eat something if its particularly gooey or crumbly and there's a big chance of picking up dirt or whatever along with it, but again that's just basic common sense.
William Shakespeare wrote:
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
Valdronius
Moderator
Title: SydLexia COO
Joined: Aug 22 2005
Location: The Great White North
Posts: 4465
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 02:17 pm
I will wait to make my decision until Mythbusters tell me if it's safe or not.
Klimbatize wrote:
A Hispanic dude living in Arizona knows a lot of Latinas? That's fucking odd.
JoshWoodzy
Joined: May 22 2008
Location: Goshen, VA
Posts: 6544
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 02:41 pm
I thought they already did that one, I'm sure of it.
Ba'al
Title: Zerg Zergling
Joined: Mar 02 2008
Location: Uranus
Posts: 2286
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 02:43 pm
They did, and the rule's full of shit.
Valdronius
Moderator
Title: SydLexia COO
Joined: Aug 22 2005
Location: The Great White North
Posts: 4465
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 02:46 pm
Well, I didn't see it, so I guess I'll have to wait for a rerun.
Klimbatize wrote:
A Hispanic dude living in Arizona knows a lot of Latinas? That's fucking odd.
"A more thorough study in 2006 using salmonella on wood, tiles, and nylon carpet found that the bacteria were still thriving after twenty-eight days of exposure under dry conditions.[4] Tested after eight hours' exposure, the bacteria could still contaminate bread and bologna in under five minutes, but an hour-long contact increased contamination about tenfold (with tile and carpet surfaces only).[5]
The two-second rule was also featured in an episode of the Discovery Channel series MythBusters. There was no significant difference in the number of bacteria collected from 2 seconds exposure as there was from 6 seconds exposure. The moisture, surface geometry and the location the food item was dropped on did, however, affect the number of bacteria.[6]
Ted Allen put the rule to the test in an episode of Food Detectives, and found that bacteria will cling to food immediately. High traffic areas will lead to even more bacteria on the food."
TheRoboSleuth
Title: Sleuth Mark IV
Joined: Aug 08 2006
Location: The Gritty Future
Posts: 2739
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 09:47 pm
Who cares? Eat the damn bacteria. Your bodies natural immune system is designed to eat lice infested bloody animal carcass and fruits filled with worms left out in the open. You NEED some of this stuff to keep your immune system active, or it rests on its laurels.
Boonjovi
Title: Electric Sex Pants
Joined: Dec 30 2009
Posts: 199
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 10:32 pm
Win.
"If you try to fix violence, with more violence, all you do is create violence" - Tom DeLonge.
Black Zarak
Title: Big Coffin Hunter
Joined: Feb 01 2006
Location: Phyrexia
Posts: 4098
Posted:
Jan 22 2010 11:49 pm
...I'm still gonna eat this mozzarella stick I found under the fridge.
I don't even eat food, ever, so this matter doesn't concern me in the least.
Blackout
Title: Captain Oblivious
Joined: Sep 01 2007
Location: That Rainy State
Posts: 10376
Posted:
Jan 23 2010 02:41 am
RobotGumshoe wrote:
Who cares? Eat the damn bacteria. Your bodies natural immune system is designed to eat lice infested bloody animal carcass and fruits filled with worms left out in the open. You NEED some of this stuff to keep your immune system active, or it rests on its laurels.
sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
Posted:
Jan 23 2010 02:44 am
The five second rule is for pussies, I live by the five day rule.
Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom.
username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
Posts: 16135
Posted:
Jan 23 2010 02:10 pm
sidewaydriver wrote:
The five second rule is for pussies, I live by the five day rule.
lol thats how i roll.
reading about all the bacteria though, that means im a walking cesspool of crap... not that anyone didnt already know that
Klimbatize wrote:
I'll eat a turkey sandwich while blowing my load
Undeath
Title: Facepuncher of Asses
Joined: Jan 15 2009
Location: Here
Posts: 608
Posted:
Jan 23 2010 05:53 pm
I forget if it was Mythbusters, or Penn and Teller: Bullshit that covered it, but one of these two shows covered the Five Second rule and debunked it. Nevertheless, I haven't gotten sick (to my knowledge) from adhering to the Five Second Rule, and until I get botulism or something, I don't feel that will change any time soon.
To get gross but sort of relevant for a second, it's proven that the human mouth is one of the filthiest, most contaminated areas not just on the human body but on Planet Earth, pretty much, but it doesn't stop my wife from bugging me to go dow...
Let's leave it at that.
Cracked.com wrote:
"MARGARINE IS ONE MOLECULE AWAY FROM PLASTIC."
Not only is that not right, that's not even wrong. It's a meaningless statement. Saying something is "one molecule away" from plastic is like saying a farm is one letter away from a fart. Water is "one molecule away" from being explosive hydrogen gas.
Thorinair
Title: Sophisticated as Hell
Joined: Jul 02 2008
Location: Limbo, doing the limbo
Posts: 349
Posted:
Jan 23 2010 06:17 pm
Probably both shows covered it. Like Syd and Hawk said, if a floor is clean I don't really have a problem with the 5 second rule. Dropping something in a kitchen with even a semi-clean floor is most likely safe. Outside, or in the bathroom, probably isn't. Simple as that.
Doddsino
Joined: Oct 01 2009
Posts: 5316
Posted:
Jan 23 2010 07:06 pm
Undeath wrote:
it doesn't stop my wife from bugging me to go dow...
Hopefully she returns the favor
genghiskool
Joined: Dec 19 2009
Posts: 26
Posted:
Jan 24 2010 02:58 am
I usually just let my dog eat whatever falls on the floor.
LeshLush
Joined: Oct 19 2009
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 1479
Posted:
Jan 25 2010 01:12 am
Syd Lexia wrote:
Doing crystal meth will lift you up until you break.
I helped engineer a tracking session for a cover of this song a few weeks. I had not idea that the lyrical content was so inappropriate. I know I heard it all the time when I was but a wee lad, but for some reason it never stuck out as being quite so sex and drug filled.
