* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Monday, July 7, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Magicians and Battlebots light up Las Vegas entertainment scene – KSNV

    Magicians and Battlebots Take Las Vegas Entertainment by Storm

    Max-Matching Entertainments & Longhua District form partnership for new entertainment complex – Blooloop

    Max-Matching Entertainments and Longhua District Unite to Launch Thrilling New Entertainment Complex

    Kennedy Publishing, MGA Entertainment Launch Yummiland Magazine – License Global

    Kennedy Publishing, MGA Entertainment Launch Yummiland Magazine – License Global

    MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE 🙏 Veteran entertainment columnist and talent manager Lolit Solis has passed away. She was 78 years old. https://tinyurl.com/6kumarkx | LatestChika.com – Facebook

    Beloved Entertainment Icon Lolit Solis Passes Away at 78 – A Life Remembered with Love and Respect 🙏

    Neil Young Plays Rare Full-Band ‘Ambulance Blues’ With The Chrome Hearts – Yahoo

    Neil Young Stuns Fans with Rare Full-Band Performance of ‘Ambulance Blues’ Alongside The Chrome Hearts

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Technology And Construction Names Join Top Stock Lists: Check Out Additions To IBD 50, Big Cap 20 And More – Investor’s Business Daily

    Technology and Construction Leaders Surge Into Top Stock Rankings: See the Latest Additions to IBD 50, Big Cap 20, and More

    Column: Teach kupuna new technology skills – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

    Empowering Kupuna: Unlocking New Technology Skills for a Connected Future

    EIFO invests $5 million in D3, the Ukraine-focused defence technology venture fund – sUAS News

    EIFO Pledges $5 Million to Supercharge Ukraine-Focused Defense Technology Fund

    New Technology for Water Efficiency and Working with Mexico on Screwworm – AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST

    Revolutionary Water Efficiency Technology and Cross-Border Collaboration to Defeat Screwworm

    Environmental cognitive distance, R&D capability distance, and supply chain green technology innovation – Nature

    Bridging Gaps: How Environmental and R&D Differences Drive Green Technology Innovation in Supply Chains

    LG Innotek CEO Moon Hyuksoo: “Our Next-gen Substrate Technology Will Change the Industry Paradigm” – TechPowerUp

    LG Innotek CEO Moon Hyuksoo: “Our Next-Gen Substrate Technology Will Revolutionize the Industry” Revolutionizing the Future: LG Innotek’s CEO Unveils Game-Changing Next-Gen Substrate Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Magicians and Battlebots light up Las Vegas entertainment scene – KSNV

    Magicians and Battlebots Take Las Vegas Entertainment by Storm

    Max-Matching Entertainments & Longhua District form partnership for new entertainment complex – Blooloop

    Max-Matching Entertainments and Longhua District Unite to Launch Thrilling New Entertainment Complex

    Kennedy Publishing, MGA Entertainment Launch Yummiland Magazine – License Global

    Kennedy Publishing, MGA Entertainment Launch Yummiland Magazine – License Global

    MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE 🙏 Veteran entertainment columnist and talent manager Lolit Solis has passed away. She was 78 years old. https://tinyurl.com/6kumarkx | LatestChika.com – Facebook

    Beloved Entertainment Icon Lolit Solis Passes Away at 78 – A Life Remembered with Love and Respect 🙏

    Neil Young Plays Rare Full-Band ‘Ambulance Blues’ With The Chrome Hearts – Yahoo

    Neil Young Stuns Fans with Rare Full-Band Performance of ‘Ambulance Blues’ Alongside The Chrome Hearts

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Technology And Construction Names Join Top Stock Lists: Check Out Additions To IBD 50, Big Cap 20 And More – Investor’s Business Daily

    Technology and Construction Leaders Surge Into Top Stock Rankings: See the Latest Additions to IBD 50, Big Cap 20, and More

    Column: Teach kupuna new technology skills – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

    Empowering Kupuna: Unlocking New Technology Skills for a Connected Future

    EIFO invests $5 million in D3, the Ukraine-focused defence technology venture fund – sUAS News

    EIFO Pledges $5 Million to Supercharge Ukraine-Focused Defense Technology Fund

    New Technology for Water Efficiency and Working with Mexico on Screwworm – AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST

    Revolutionary Water Efficiency Technology and Cross-Border Collaboration to Defeat Screwworm

    Environmental cognitive distance, R&D capability distance, and supply chain green technology innovation – Nature

    Bridging Gaps: How Environmental and R&D Differences Drive Green Technology Innovation in Supply Chains

    LG Innotek CEO Moon Hyuksoo: “Our Next-gen Substrate Technology Will Change the Industry Paradigm” – TechPowerUp

    LG Innotek CEO Moon Hyuksoo: “Our Next-Gen Substrate Technology Will Revolutionize the Industry” Revolutionizing the Future: LG Innotek’s CEO Unveils Game-Changing Next-Gen Substrate Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Is the 5-second rule true? Science finally has an answer.

May 11, 2024
in Science
Is the 5-second rule true? Science finally has an answer.
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It’s a question that never seems to die: Is it safe to eat food you’ve dropped if you pick it up quickly enough?

The good old five-second rule. It’s been the subject of household debates and innumerable science fair projects, with some claiming it’s real and others denouncing it as bunk.

It seems like a simple question, yet science hasn’t always taken it seriously. Fortunately, modern researchers are finally unraveling the nuances behind the five-second rule.

How quickly can bacteria contaminate food?

The key to the five-second rule is understanding how quickly bacteria transfers from the surface of your floor to your food. A lot of other folks have gotten this measurement wrong, says food scientist Donald Schaffner of Rutgers University. Amateur scientific studies and televised “investigations” have confused the issue by relying on experiments that don’t pass scientific muster.

(These leafy greens are the most prone to contamination.)

In fact,  there had been only one other rigorous inquiry into the five-second rule before 2016: a peer-reviewed study by Paul Dawson, a food scientist at Clemson University, in 2007. Dawson and colleagues reported that food can pick up bacteria immediately on contact with a surface—but that study focused more on how long bacteria could survive on surfaces to contaminate food.

That’s why Schaffner and his student Robyn Miranda decided to test a greater variety of food under more diverse conditions. Experiments they reported in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology in 2016 showed that the five-second rule is really no rule at all. They found that the longer food sat on a bacteria-coated surface, the more bacteria glommed onto it—but plenty of bacteria was picked up as soon as the food hit the ground.

(Here’s what to do if you see mold on your food.)

The bigger culprit here is not time but moisture. Wet food (watermelon in this case) picked up more bacteria than drier food, like bread or gummy candy. Carpeted surfaces transferred fewer bacteria to food than did tile or stainless steel, since it soaked up the bacterial solution the scientists applied. (But no, the scientists say, that doesn’t mean you should trade in your dishware for throw rugs.)

Since then, more studies have confirmed how easy it is to transfer bacteria in the kitchen, whether on fingers or simply by using the same cutting board for meat and veggies (even when washed between uses). And in 2021, scientists in Indonesia were inspired to debunk for themselves the five-second rule and its Indonesian counterpart, known as belum lima menit, or the five-minute rule.

But is it ever safe to eat food from the ground?

So, if science has so thoroughly debunked the five-second rule, does that mean it’s unsafe to eat food that has hit the floor? That depends on the surface and what kind of bacteria you might pick up. “If you’re in a hospital and you drop something, you probably don’t want to eat it,” Dawson says. Likewise, you certainly wouldn’t want to pick up Salmonella from a kitchen floor covered in chicken juice.

(Salmonella can be deadly. Here’s how to protect yourself.)

But in most cases, eating a cookie that has picked up a little dust and floor bacteria is not likely to harm someone with a healthy immune system. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s probably safe,” he says. Practicing good sanitation by keeping floors and surfaces clean is the most important lesson in all of this.

Still, the five-second rule will likely endure. “People really want this to be true,” Schaffner says. “Everybody does this; we all eat food off the floor.”

Perhaps the value of the five-second rule (or the three-second rule, if you’re more uptight) lies more in psychology than microbiology. If nothing else, having a rule provides a socially acceptable excuse for our unsavory behavior. Just holler “Five-second rule!” before picking a cookie off the floor and popping it into your mouth, and everyone can have a good laugh. It’s a bit like calling shotgun before elbowing your way into the front passenger seat.

And that leaves us with another way to decide whether to eat that jelly bean you dropped: Just see if anyone’s looking.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published on September 14, 2016. It has been updated.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/five-second-rule-food-safety

Tags: sciencesecond
Previous Post

Eurovision’s unlikely historical origins

Next Post

E-bikes are good for the environment—but what about your health?

Louise Harrison – TBR News Media

Louise Harrison – TBR News Media

July 7, 2025
Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public – The Conversation

Cape Town’s Sewage Crisis: Scientists Raise Alarms Over What the City Isn’t Telling Residents

July 7, 2025
Titan Could Have An Alien Biosphere – But It Might Be Dog-Sized – ScienceAlert

Could Titan Harbor an Alien Biosphere Filled with Dog-Sized Creatures?

July 7, 2025
Retired woman shares inside look at lifestyle after moving into unconventional tiny home: ‘The best decision I’ve ever made’ – Yahoo

Retired woman shares inside look at lifestyle after moving into unconventional tiny home: ‘The best decision I’ve ever made’ – Yahoo

July 7, 2025
Box Office: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Bites Into $318 Million Globally, ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Nears $975 Million – Variety

Box Office Blockbusters: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Roars to $318 Million as ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Nears $975 Million Milestone

July 7, 2025
NEWS: Stablecoin Tether is money launderering ‘dream currency fuelling global shadow economy’, Economist investigation finds; in EU major rift emerges on stablecoins adoption – AML Intelligence

Stablecoin Tether Exposed as the ‘Dream Currency’ Fueling Global Money Laundering and Shadow Economy; EU Faces Major Divide Over Stablecoin Adoption

July 7, 2025
Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

July 7, 2025
HIMS INVESTOR ALERT: Edelson Lechtzin LLP Urges Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) Shareholders to Consult an Attorney About the Impending Lead Plaintiff Deadline in the Securities Fraud Class Action – Morningstar

HIMS INVESTOR ALERT: Edelson Lechtzin LLP Urges Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) Shareholders to Consult an Attorney About the Impending Lead Plaintiff Deadline in the Securities Fraud Class Action – Morningstar

July 7, 2025
Trump says Musk has gone ‘off the rails’ after Tesla CEO announces new political party – CNBC

Trump Says Musk Has ‘Gone Off the Rails’ After Tesla CEO Launches New Political Party

July 7, 2025
Technology And Construction Names Join Top Stock Lists: Check Out Additions To IBD 50, Big Cap 20 And More – Investor’s Business Daily

Technology and Construction Leaders Surge Into Top Stock Rankings: See the Latest Additions to IBD 50, Big Cap 20, and More

July 7, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (709)
  • Economy (734)
  • Entertainment (21,622)
  • General (15,761)
  • Health (9,772)
  • Lifestyle (739)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (734)
  • Politics (743)
  • Science (15,951)
  • Sports (21,233)
  • Technology (15,718)
  • World (715)

Recent News

Louise Harrison – TBR News Media

Louise Harrison – TBR News Media

July 7, 2025
Cape Town’s sewage treatment isn’t coping: scientists are worried about what the city is telling the public – The Conversation

Cape Town’s Sewage Crisis: Scientists Raise Alarms Over What the City Isn’t Telling Residents

July 7, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version