Sorry, but the five-second rule is not real

You know those times when you drop your food on the ground and invoke the five-second rule to eat it again. The food  is not really safe to eat, according to researchers from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. They sad it takes only one second for the bacteria to attack your meal. Researchers think that sometimes the bacteria needs less than a second to contaminate the food.

Scientists wanted to see if the five second rule is real. They dropped foods, such as watermelon or bread, on different surfaces. Moreover, they contaminated those surfaces with a bacteria similar to Salmonella. They waited for the surfaces to dry and they dropped the food. Researchers discovered that five seconds are already too much if you want to keep your food safe. After thousands of measurements, their conclusion was that people should not eat their food after they dropped it.

They also found out that wetter food has a higher risk of contamination. Bacteria move with the moisture because they do not have legs.  Of course, if you let something on the floor for a longer time,  there will be more bacteria which will transfer from the surface.

Researchers said that the watermelon was the most in danger after it was dropped, while the gummy candy has the least amount of bacteria. If you want to use a safer surface, try the carpet. It seems it has less contamination that other surfaces, such as wood or steel. Scientists want to make more research to discover the connection between the surface and bacterial transfer. There are areas where the virus takes longer to contaminate, but the danger is still there.

People should pay more attention when they eat the food dropped on the floor. It can have a lot of bacteria and the five-second rule will not save you. Children are the most in danger because they are not aware of the threat. It happened to many of us to eat something, even though it dropped on the floor. People do not want to waste their food, but they should think twice before putting their health in danger.

If you have children, watch them closer because they are the most vulnerable to bacteria. We know that dropping your favorite food can be a real loss, but it is better to prevent an infection.

Image source: Freestockphotos.biz