The 5-Second Rule: Proven True

An old myth about food that has been dropped on the floor and picked up in 5 seconds or less is fine to eat has just been proven to be truth by a team of microbiologists at Aston University who have gone as far as to test the myth.

A team of biology senior students headed by Professor Anthony C. Hilton conducted the research. They tested for two types of common bacteria, E. coli and S. aureus, on three types of surfaces with four different food items. The amount of bacteria transferred was monitored by analyzing the food items at different intervals starting at 3 seconds and going until 30 seconds. (Torontosun) The food items were limited to toast, pasta, biscuits and sticky candy, while the flooring element was all indoor materials, carpet, laminate and tile.

The results indicated that time was absolutely a factor in the transfer of bacteria between food and the floor, but the true findings were that the type of flooring was actually the deciding factor in terms of the amount of bacteria transferred. All the food items tested contained limited bacterial transfer from the floor within a 5-second window, including moist foods like pasta and sticky sweets, but after 5 seconds of contact, the amount of bacteria increased exponentially. Tile and laminated floor contained the most bacteria and facilitated the most bacterial transfers, while carpet contained the least amount of bacteria that was transferrable to dropped food. (DailyMail)

Online:
DailyMail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2575852/The-five-second-rule-DOES-exist-Eating-food-thats-dropped-floor-isnt-dangerous-especially-toast.html
Torontosun: http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/10/five-second-rule-for-dropped-food-is-legit-study