So what does science say about the 5 second rule?
Well, to do the topic full justice, please pop on by to my favourite science blogger, Jen Martin from Espresso Science, where she’ll give you the full blown scientific low down in a fun and disgestable format.
This week she explored exactly what science has to say on the popular notion that less than 5 seconds, means thumbs up to the consumption of a dropped item of food. Without giving away too much, I was initially surprised by the finding that although duration was an obvious consideration, both the landing surface type and food type were more important. Dropping a moist piece of watermelon onto a tiled surface is more likely to pick up bacteria when compared with say a dry biscuit on carpet…(carpet? surely not?)
But I have shared enough. Read Jen’s study into the 5 second rule quandary, so that next time you drop food onto the ground, you’ll know exactly what to do.