Whether it merely skims the surface or lands in a pit full of dust, we all have our limitations set as to when food becomes no longer edible after hitting the deck.
For many of us, we allow a maximum of five seconds as a safety blanket. But obviously this depends on the food type. If it's a carrot or a piece of broccoli that falls on the floor, it's a lost cause almost immediately. The last Yorkshire pudding or roast potato on the other hand is a different matter entirely. Someone can kick it from one side to the other several times and it will still be safe to fill a hole.
A group of experts from Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA, found that food is instantly contaminated with bacteria the minute it hits the floor.
But Aston University microbiology professor Anthony Hilton says that there is more than what first meets the eye when it comes to how bacteria is transferred to food on impact.
"It's easy to generalise and say any food dropped on the floor will contain bacteria. That's absolutely right and subject to the rules of physics," Professor Anthony explains. However, he argues that the fact that we happily co-exist with millions of harmless bacteria suggests that not all the gross stuff found on the kitchen floor is going to be unsafe if accidentally consumed.
Professor Anthony recently had some time on his hands and carried out an experiment for The Sun. He wasted dropped cooked pasta, midget gem sweets, biscuits and pieces of toast on laminate flooring and carpets for three seconds and 30 seconds. He then measured the bacteria.
His findings showed that "the predominant bacteria found on both flooring types were mostly harmless human skin and some environmental ones found in soil and dust." So, if you don't mind eating your dead skin... you're all good.
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In conclusion, he added: "No one should be picking food up and eating it from anywhere outside, be it the park, train station or shopping mall. Similarly, if you have pets - especially cats and dogs or outdoor pets - you shouldn't be picking food off the floor at home to eat because you don't know which bacteria your outdoor pets have exposed themselves to and could be bringing home.
"But if you're confident you have a hygienically clean home where you vacuum carpets once or twice a week, use detergent on hard floors once a week and take outdoor shoes off when you're entering, the likelihood is you won't expose yourself to any more bacteria than is already on your body by picking up a piece of toast which has just dropped on the floor and eating it.
"There are far greater infection hazards in the home to worry about, such as Campylobacter, on poultry. So whether it's the three-second rule, five-second rule or blowing it, what matters most where dropped food is concerned is to exercise common sense."
So, technically, the five-second rule is still a thing and has some logic behind it, as long as it's exercised in a clean home with no animals.
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Featured image credit: PA
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