What Happens If You Eat Food Off The Floor

Even food that s picked up quickly can be contaminated.

What happens if you eat food off the floor.

First let s address the elephant in the room. Aaron e carroll indiana university s professor of pediatrics says he eats food that s been on the floor rejecting the advice of a recent study that suggests food dropped on the floor will pick. E coli can cause diarrhoea and urinary tract. The three most worrying forms of infectious bacteria that could lurk on our floors are e coli staphylococcus aureus s aureus and salmonella.

So if you eat the food you ve dropped you re also eating any. And foods with wet surfaces like an apple slice pick up bacteria even more easily than things like a cookie. The 5 second rule is just wishful thinking bacteria can attach to food as soon as it hits the floor. And it s not just dropping food on the floor that can lead to bacterial contamination.

The only thing that matters when food is dropped is how sticky it is. Bacteria are carried by various media which can include raw food moist surfaces where bacteria has been. No it s never a good idea to eat food that has been dropped. If you are unlucky enough to host salmonella bacteria on your floor dropped food could make you.

But it depends on what you drop and where. And it s not just dropping food on the floor that can lead to bacterial contamination. The usual warnings apply. It s all about bacteria when you drop a piece of food on the floor any bacteria living on the floor will adhere to it.

Turns out fallen food does pick up germs immediately upon making contact with the floor and the amount of bacteria transferred can be enough to make you sick according to paul dawson phd a food. Occasionally eating food that was briefly on the floor is not likely to make you sick. The five second rule which states that as long as dropped food is picked up within five seconds of hitting the floor it s safe to eat.