Life at Cloverhill

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The Five Second Rule

Today I came across an article by Eric Burkett that really got me thinking about the Five Second Rule.

According to Scientist Paul Dawson, salmonella and other bacteria can survive up to four weeks on a dry surface. And despite what you might thing, they can transfer to dropped food immediately upon contact. So really its now a Zero Second Rule.

I’ve always had dogs at my house, so the Five Second Rule never applied. If something was still there after five seconds and they hadn’t already eaten it, then all I had to do was think about them running around outside and then coming indoors with whatever was on their paws. Thats pretty much enough to stop me from ever attempting to eat something off the floor. Although if I’ve dropped a piece of fruit or something, there have been times when I’ve just washed it off really well and gone for it.

A few weeks ago I was at a picnic and someone was chopping up some stuff for a salad, dropped a few pieces of cucumber on the floor and just tossed them back in the salad and kept going. I just couldn’t do it. This may make me a horrible person, but I just pretended that I couldn’t eat it because the dressing may contain peanut or nut ingredients. (One of the few times that my allergy actually helps me…when I don’t want to eat something!)

So, whats your take on the Five Second Rule? Would you eat something if you dropped it on the floor? Or are you a Zero Second Rule person?


Comments

  1. I follow the 5 second rule. Sometimes even the 10 second rule if its something really good that I wish I hadn’t dropped. After reading that article I’m starting to reconsider it.

  2. Oh gag…they put it back in the salad?!

    I’m a five second rule depending on where the item gets dropped- but I have a microbiology background so I’m pretty particular! lol