Some people believe that if you raise the fallen food on the floor within five seconds, it won’t happen — it can. Browser BBC Earth explores the question of how true this “rule”.
The other day I dropped a piece of chocolate, and in my head flashed the thought of how much bacteria is now stuck to my treat. However, dirt on the chocolate I have not seen, so feel free to sent it into his mouth.
In the end, the floor in my kitchen pretty clean, besides the chocolate has been there for less than five seconds.
As you probably already understood, I have “five seconds”, which says that if you raise the fallen food on the floor within five seconds, it remains usable. As they say, quickly raised the fallen doesn’t count.
And still: whether correctly I made, eating chocolate, or together with him, I shoved in my mouth a whole bunch of dangerous germs?
For starters, we have to ask regular readers of BBC Earth, and that’s what they said.
Adam Harmsworth believes that this rule is true. “In bacteria and other microorganisms probably well developed sense of time,” he said. You could say, Adam…
Gary birch tells us that he follows the three-second rule, though for very different reason: “During this time, fallen food usually have time to eat my dog”.
Manuel Rodriguez writes that he was a poor student, and therefore is a foul five seconds follows the rule of five minutes.
But others have been more strict. Corinne Howard uncompromising: “Everything that does not immediately hit in the mouth, goes in the trash!”
“The bacteria only need a few microseconds to get to the fallen food, — says John Beaudette.. — Make more sense would be rule zero seconds”.
And lane Jasper believes that all “depends on the food and how hungry you are”.
To put an end to the debate, I asked this question to scientists who specialize in the study of microbes.
Would they have raised the floor with bread, pizza or sticky toffee? And if you lick the toilet seat?
First of all, you need to learn a few facts. Bacteria do not lay on the floor, waiting, will not fall to them anything to eat.
Actually they live everywhere, even if you’ve just washed the floor. As noted by Adam Taylor, “from a scientific point of view is no rule five seconds does not exist. If the food has touched the surface for at least one nanosecond, she’s already infected”.
In contact with the floor for food, of course, sticks dirt, and with it the microbes, said Jack Gilbert, an ecologist-microbiologist from the University of Chicago in Illinois (USA).
According to a study conducted in 2015, every moment at our house in the dust fumbling about 9 thousand different species of microorganisms, including 7 thousand of different bacteria.
However, most of them perfectly harmless. They are always with us on hand, on the face, in the house.
We continuously extend the bacteria through the skin and through the air we breathe.
“From microbes nowhere to hide. This is just the point. Lots of bacteria gets into our body literally with every breath,” says Gilbert.
Scientists were even able to determine their number. As it was established during a special study, every person every hour is discharged into the environment approximately 38 million bacterial cells.
And thus, as recalled Gilbert, we have more hundreds of years assert that the microorganisms are dangerous and that “we need to destroy them all”.
“We are so worried about dirt and not understand that pick up the pathogen by pure chance, though not too happy,” — says the scientist.
Gilbert himself calmly eats food raised from the floor, provided that it occurred in a relatively safe place. “If I had dropped it in the pest-house, then no, I would not to lift her up,” he said.
Furthermore, Gilbert says that in most cases, even if the floor or lick the toilet seat, hardly can get sick.
The risk is always present
However, if someone in the house is sick or if it happens in a country known for bad hygiene, this is not recommended.
Of course, among these micro-organisms are also pathogenic. But if even one of them and settled on the floor, his counterparts with the same success can take a fancy to a kitchen table, door handle or any other place in the house.
In this case, you can get sick even if you do not have a raised floor with food.
Therefore, you should just stick to the usual precautions. If, in your trouble, on the floor turned out to be Salmonella-free, to pick up an infection even if you eat a product that has been on the floor less than five seconds.
According to a study conducted in 2006, it was found that the probability of settlement on eating Salmonella for five seconds lower than for one minute, but the risk is still present.
Contact with microbes useful
Between humans and bacteria there is no magical barrier, so even the most tidy people can’t avoid contact with them.
Actually, contact with germs might actually be useful.
“If you dropped food in the doctor’s office and not in a public restroom, contact with microbes useful” — says Catherine Amato, an employee of northwestern University in Illinois (USA).
This is because in the process of evolution we are constantly surrounded by germs. The researchers — among them’amato — more and more convinced that microorganisms played a significant role in the development of our species.
Germs from the environment into the human body in a very early age, including through contact with dirt.
Already two years the microflora of the child becomes approximately the same as that of an adult.
“Therefore, if food fell on the fallen microbes, it can contribute to the development of a healthy immune system, says Amato. I’d say with raised floor product it is possible to eat”.
Natalie Henning agrees: “If all the time to be afraid of bacteria, the immune system will not form”.
In other words, the five second rule is nonsense.
If your house is really infested dangerous microbe, following this rule will not insulate you from the risk of getting sick.
In all other cases it is raised off the floor food is quite normal.
However, the toilet seat I still, perhaps, not going to lick…
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