We know this to be true: Food prices are out of control. In the US, they’ve increased 28% since 2019, outpacing inflation.
This economic crunch adds a touch more tragedy and urgency to an all-too-common scenario: When that delicious french fry slips out of your hand and tumbles to the ground below.
Of course, according to a common myth, you now have exactly five seconds to grab it before it absorbs enough bacteria to become inedible.
But here’s the bad news
The five-second rule effectively has no basis in reality, per Popular Science:
- In 2003, a Chicago student determined that bacteria transfers to food “very quickly.”
- In 2006, food scientists at Clemson University found that a contaminated tile transferred 99% of its bacteria to a piece of bologna after just five seconds.
- Ergo, even five seconds won’t save you.
Obviously…
… this flies in the face of what may seem like basic logic. Surely, the less time a piece of food spends on the floor, the fewer opportunities it has to collect bacteria, right?
Actually, yes!
- A 2016 study that explored contamination levels on different foods and surfaces determined that food collects more bacteria the longer it touches the surface.
- However, some bacteria are transferred “instantaneously” — which is faster than five seconds.
Who doesn’t enjoy the occasional bacteria?
According to PopSci, most of the bacteria on your kitchen floor is harmless. Eating a little floor-food here and there likely isn’t going to be a death sentence.
That said, the last sentence said “most,” not “all.” It’s hard to tell how clean a floor is, especially if it’s carpeted or — God forbid — wet, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Yes, every french fry is precious — especially in light of the ongoing “potato cartel” price-hiking scandal — but no matter how much you’ve been overcharged for it, that french fry on the ground is not worth it.
Fun fact: Women are more likely to eat food off the floor than men, according to a 2003 study, and people are more likely to eat fallen sweets than vegetables.
