Dropping food on the floor is either a tragedy or no big deal. For some the magic ‘five-second rule’ is enough to justify eating off the floor, for others the second something is ground-bound it’s a no-go.
If you’re in the latter group: kudos, you hygienic beast. If you’re the former, I’m afraid we’ve got some bad news.
A London-based doctor has taken to TikTok to explain that the hallowed five-second rule, likely born and spread on a primary school playground sometime in the past couple of centuries, is no basis for keeping yourself healthy.
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If it somehow hasn’t crossed your desk, the five-second rule is the idea that you’ve got five seconds to pick food up off the floor before it’s unsafe to eat.
Unfortunately, as you might expect, it’s not true.
In his TikTok video posted to @drsermedmezher, Dr Sermed Mezher has explained why anyone hanging onto this playground myth needs to drop it from their lifestyle.
"If you've ever shouted the five-second rule when food hits the floor, I've got news for you,” he says at the start of the video.
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"A recent survey revealed that half of people are content to eat food after it's landed on the floor.
"Scientists named Dawson and colleagues decided to put this issue to rest once and for all, examining bacterial transfer onto food from various surfaces like wood, tile and carpet."
The results were pretty gross.
"When food is dropped on tile surfaces, it immediately picks up 99% of the colonies present,” reveals Dr Mezher. “[It] varies, but typically, it's about 50% of the colonies or less on wood, making it slightly safer.
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"But on the carpet, less than 0.5% of the bacterial colonies actually transferred to the food when it's picked up in less than five seconds.
"Colony transfer does increase the longer the food stays there. So the five second rule doesn't apply unless it's on a carpet. But don't risk it if you eat off the floor."
Not only are germs itching to get themselves onto your grub from the moment it touches the ground, some really unpleasant nasties can linger down there for longer than you’d think.
Salmonella and campylobacter can live on our floors for “up to four weeks” according to the good doctor.
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"Invasive bacterial species such as Salmonella and Campylobacter have the potential to cause disease when ingested through contaminated food, water, or contact with infected animals or surfaces," he explains.
"These bacteria can survive and multiply in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to various symptoms ranging from mild gastroenteritis to severe and potentially life-threatening illness."
Comments were certainly mixed.
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"Hey, just making sure my immune system stays updated," said one person who mistakenly believes that exposing ourselves to potentially life-threatening illnesses is a good idea.
Nobody’s body has thanked them for contracting scarlet fever, anyway.
A more sensible comment added: "It's THE FLOOR!!" alongside a sick emoji.
It might be best to just avoid dropping food on the floor altogether, if you can help it. But, if disaster strikes, don’t be a hero about it.
Rachael Davis