A microbiologist explains why the 'three-second rule' for food is 'nonsense'
Wrong, microbiologist Philip Tierno of the New York University School of Medicine told Tech Insider.
"If you drop some food stuff there [on the floor], don't eat it," Tierno said. "A lot of people do stupid stuff, and they have the three second rule, which is nonsense." (So is the five-second rule, or whatever-second-rule you might follow.)
Unless you're religiously sanitizing your floor, Tierno continued, you shouldn't eat any food that touches it because it's teeming with all kinds of viruses and bacteria.
Not only does this include nasty germs you've tracked into your home from your shoes, but also lingering germs that have hopped onto the floor from your toilet, your pets, and even food from your own kitchen (raw chicken is by far one of the worst offenders).
This isn't to say that all food that you eat from the floor will make you sick.
"For the most part nothing will happen," Tierno continued, "but if you step in dog doo or vomitus infected with the norovirus [a very contagious virus that causes intestinal distress] and bring that in on your shoes, and then you drop a piece of salami or whatever onto the floor and then eat it, you may ingest that particular germ and get sick."
Studies have found that potentially dangerous pathogens such as campylobacter, salmonella, and E. coli can live on hard surfaces for days - all of which can cause mild to severe gut infections.
When some bacteria touch a hard surface, they produce a slimy material called a "biofilm," which helps them stick to the surface and multiply. And guess what, it also helps them stick to your food.
Wet foods, such as tasty pieces of salami, are more likely to pick up germs than dry ones.
And considering that one in six people are sickened by food-borne illness every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's probably in your best interest to scrap any piece of fallen food - wet or dry - for the sake of your health.
"It's not worth it," Tierno said.
And while you're at it, make sure you're regularly cleaning your sponge as well. It's disgusting and there's only one good way to clean it.