Scientists agree: The 5-second rule isn’t real

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.