Is the five second rule a real thing?

How do you react when a piece of food you’re eating falls to the floor? Some people would throw it away in disgust, while others would still eat it, perhaps after rinsing it under water or blowing on it. Of course, there’s those that abide by the five second rule. That’s the popular belief that suggests any food is still fit for consumption as long as it hasn’t been on the floor for longer than five seconds.

So does the time a piece of food spends on the ground affect how likely it is to be contaminated by germs and other bacteria? Back in 2016, researchers from Rutgers University in the United States looked into the matter from a scientific approach, and published their findings in the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal.

How did they test the five second rule? What impact did the surface and food type have? So does eating food that’s been on the floor make you sick then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

First broadcast: 15.05.2023

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