Is The 5-Sec Rule Real? Science Explains What Happens When Food Hits The Floor | Food

We all have been in the situation where a snack slips from the hand and lands directly on the floor without any hesitation. Someone must have said, “5-second rule”, or pick up and eat before 5 seconds, but have you ever wondered whether bacteria follow a stopwatch or not? The idea that fallen food is safe to eat and, if picked up quickly, isn’t new.

According to legend, the dish may date back as far as the era of Genghis Khan, when the Mongol emperor’s food was deemed edible for as long as he said so. According to the lore, the emperor declared that any food meant for him was worthy, regardless of whether it touched the floor, and would stay fresh. This act was practised even before the germ theory became an important thing, and the Khan was also concerned with his status than with microbes.

The modern version of this rule was first mentioned in a 1995 novel and has been a household phrase ever since. But the ultimate question still remains: does it actually work? From high school experiments to university-level studies, researchers have put the 5-second rule to the test.

This 5 second act of defiance against food waste has captured the curiosity of scientists and students alike. They’ve discovered that the myth we all cling to is nothing more than a myth. The actual reality of the food falling from the ground is that bacteria never gave a mental timer to hit five seconds before making a jump for your food. The speed and intensity of this depend less on the stopwatch and more on the interesting blend of factors that you might not expect. So, before you enjoy a piece of the chips or cookies fallen on the ground, it is important to wait and understand the science behind it.

Food on ground

The logic behind the fallen food

It is believed that the bacteria are much faster than the stopwatch we are looking at. Research has shown that bacterial transfer can happen instantly, and a student named Jillian Clarke conducted a test to understand the 5-second rule. The high school student at the University of Illinois tested gummy bears and cookies on E. coli-contaminated tiles. She found that the bacteria transferred in a snap.

Numerous research studies were conducted to confirm the outcome of the findings, and the studies revealed that moisture and surface area always play the biggest roles in bacterial transfer, and not the amount of time that the food spends on the floor. To understand this better, imagine a piece of watermelon and chips falling on the floor; well, it is obvious that the watermelon’s moisture will attract more bacteria efficiently than the dry cracker.

A 2016 study in the Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology specifically compared bread, buttered bread, watermelon and gummy candy. And watermelon slices picked up the most bacteria, unsurprisingly. The surface where the food falls also plays a significant role. The same study also found that carpets transferred fewer bacteria onto the food than hard surfaces like steel or tile.

Can we wash the fallen food?

Well, when it comes to washing the food, you can perform the step sometimes. You can rinse fruits or veggies that fall on the floor, but don’t expect a rinse to clean porous foods like bread or cookies. If you’re unsure, it’s better to toss it than risk a foodborne illness.

In conclusion, the five-second rule is definitely more myth than science. Bacteria don’t wait to hop onto the food for 5 seconds; they act faster than a flash. Whether or not the food becomes unsafe depends on the food type, surface, moisture level and overall cleanliness.

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