Swear by the five-second rule? Here’s the gross reason you really shouldn’t

EVER quoted the “five second rule” after dropping your favourite treat on the floor then quickly picking it up and eating it?

We have some bad news for you.

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It turns out the five-second rule is complete bunkum.

Researchers at Rutgers University in the US decided to test the widely held theory that quick retrieval means bacteria hasn’t had time to transfer to the food on the floor.

They found that contamination occurs in just one second.

Researchers tested the result of dropping four different foods – watermelon, bread, bread and butter, and gummy sweets – on to four surfaces – stainless steel, ceramic tile, wood and carpet.

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They tested the food after less than one second, five seconds, 30 and 300 seconds.

The study showed that watermelon had the most contamination and gummy sweets the least on all surfaces.

Food with contact of less than a second was still contaminated by harmful bacteria.

And if you thought your recently mopped kitchen floor would be the safest place to eat your dropped food from, think again.

Carpet has the lowest transfer rate of bacteria and wood was variable, but tiled and stainless steel surfaces were the highest.

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Professor Donald Schaffner, who led the research said: "Transfer of bacteria from surfaces to food appears to be affected most by moisture. Bacteria don't have legs, they move with the moisture, and the wetter the food, the higher the risk of transfer. Also, longer food contact times usually result in the transfer of more bacteria from each surface to food."

However the study found that the longer the food was on the floor the more contaminated with bacteria it'll become, suggesting the five-second rule has some truth to it.

Dr Shaffer said:  'The five-second rule is a significant oversimplification of what actually happens when bacteria transfer from a surface to food.

“Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously.”

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