[EMMAh]

I fucking wish haha!

Originally Posted by MSN Health and Fitness

It's safe to follow "the 5 second rule" for food dropped on the floor.

Verdict: FICTION.
It's probably not even safe to follow a 1-second rule: The transfer of bacteria from a contaminated surface to food is almost instantaneous — or, at the very least, quicker than your reflexes. In a recent study, Clemson University food scientist Paul Dawson, PhD, and students contaminated several surfaces (ceramic tile, wood flooring, and carpet) with Salmonella. They then dropped pieces of bologna and slices of bread on the surfaces for as little as 5 seconds and as long as 60 seconds. After just 5 seconds, both food types had already picked up as many as 1,800 bacteria (more bad bugs adhered to the moisture-rich bologna than the bread); after a full minute, it was up to 10 times that amount.


Bottom Line: There are 76 million cases of foodborne illness annually in the United States, according to the CDC — so unless you're the only family on the block that sterilizes their floors on an hourly basis, you should refrain from eating dropped food. "Let's not forget what comes into contact with floors — people bring animal feces on their shoes into their homes," Dawson says. And don't assume that countertops are clean. Dawson's team also found that the Salmonella actually survived as long as 4 weeks on the test surfaces. As the recent tomato-related illnesses nationwide showed, "raw fruits and vegetables are as frequently the perpetrators of Salmonella transfer as poultry," Dawson says.

Fuck it, out of all the times I've eaten shit off the floor, I've never been sick.