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Five-Second Rule: What Exactly Happens When You Drop Food On The Floor?!

Added on 16 March 2017, 15:04, Updated on 16 March 2017, 17:28

Are you comfortable with eating the food you've just dropped on the floor? What do you think about the so-called 'five-second rule?

According to a scientist, eating the food that has been dropped on the floor is usually safe to eat under the condition that they are consumed within the five seconds.

Germ expert Professor Anthony Hilton, who works at Aston University, states that there is little to be concerned about if the food lays on the floor momentarily.

However, Hilton adds that retrieving the morsels on the floor is always possibility that should not be disregarded.

Professor Hilton explains:

Eating food that has spent a few moments on the floor can never be entirely risk-free.

“Obviously, food covered in visible dirt shouldn't be eaten, but as long as it's not obviously contaminated, the science shows that food is unlikely to have picked up harmful bacteria from a few seconds spent on an indoor floor.

According to Hilton, this doesn't mean that germs wouldn't transfer from floor to the food.

“Our research has shown that the nature of the floor surface, the type of food dropped on the floor and the length of time it spends on the floor can all have an impact on the number that can transfer.”

Survey results indicate that 79 per cent of 2000 people admitted to eating food that had fallen on the floor.

From testing how safe food is to inventing new food and drink, the limits of how we can apply science and engineering are endless.

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