Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock
Topics: Food and Drink, Health, TikTok
Ella Scott
Experts have warned the ‘five-second food rule’ may not be as foolproof as some people have been led to believe.
Dropping delicious food on the floor you’ve just bought can be devastating, right?
However, many try to justify picking the item back up by proclaiming the ‘five-second rule’ is in place.
This faux legislation reads that if your food has touched the ground for less than five seconds then germ contamination is unlikely.
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By employing this rule, you’re therefore free from judgment and allowed to pick your biscuit or sandwich back up to continue chowing down.
However, one health expert has dispelled this idea and revealed that eating dropped food could have life-threatening consequences.
Last month, Dr. Sermed Mezher took to TikTok to dispel the five-second rule.
He began by saying: "If you've ever shouted the five-second rule when food hits the floor, I've got news for you.
"A recent survey revealed that half of people are content to eat food after it's landed on the floor.
"Scientists named Dawson and colleagues decided to put this issue to rest once and for all, examining bacterial transfer onto food from various surfaces like wood, tile and carpet."
Dr Mezher continued to say that food dropped on a tiled surface picks up 99 percent of colonies present, while wood floors see a 50 percent pick-up rate.
“But on the carpet, less than 0.5% of the bacterial colonies actually transferred to the food when it's picked up in less than five seconds.
"Colony transfer does increase the longer the food stays there. So the five-second rule doesn't apply unless it's on a carpet. But don't risk it if you eat off the floor.”
Furthermore, the social media star revealed that harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter can live on floors for up to four weeks.
“These bacteria can survive and multiply in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to various symptoms ranging from mild gastroenteritis to severe and potentially life-threatening illness.”
Ruth Frechman, MA, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association has also backed up Dr Mezher’s claims, telling WebMD: “Bacteria are all over the place, and 10 types, including E. coli, cause foodborne illnesses, such as fever, diarrhoea and flu-like symptoms.
She also told the site that ‘foodborne illnesses can have varying onset, ranging from 24 hours to a week'.
That means if you picked up food from the floor and ate it last Friday and got ill the following week, you’re unlikely to associate the two events.
After hearing the harsh truth behind the ‘five second rule’, TikTok users have come out in their droves to debate the debunked theory.
“If I cant see it, it’s not there,” wrote one determined user.
A second typed: “My friend once kicked my sandwich on the floor and he was like ‘Relax its 5-second rule!’
Another commented: “Hey, just making sure my immune system stays updated.”