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Episode Transcription
This is Food Safety in a Minute, I’m Susie Craig.
Truth or Myth: Food dropped on the floor is it safe to eat if it’s picked up in less than five seconds? Donald Schaffner, a food scientist at Rutgers University evaluated bacteria transfer rates from dropped food on stainless steel, tile, wood, and carpeted surfaces. He varied lengths of time from one, five, 30, and 300 seconds using watermelon, bread, butter, and gummy candy. Food, and length of time variables were replicated twenty
times.
Schaffner found “Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously.” His peer-reviewed research showed the wetter the food, the higher risk of transfer. Stainless steel and tile had the highest rates of transfer of bacteria. The five-second rule is a myth. If food drops to the floor, throw it out.
This is Susie Craig from Washington State University Extension.
Resources
Sidder, Aaron. What Does Science Say About the Five-Second Rule? It’s Complicated. Smithsonian
Magazine. 9/13/16. Accessed online 11/27/23.