This morning the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show, the subject of the ‘7 second rule’ came up.
For anyone who hasn’t heard of the 7 second rule, it’s the notion that if a piece of food gets dropped on the ground, you have up to 7 seconds to pick it up and it’s still fit for human consumption.
To some it's the 7 second rule, to others it's the 2 second/5 second or even 10 second rule.
Well....to say people got excited over the issue would be to put it mildly.
Here’s just some of the reaction:
It’s a 10 second rule for food so as its not wasted! Liam'
Hi, on the x second rule thing, there are parameters that need to taken into consideration, bacteria need food, moisture, TIME and air to live, time is a biggie, bacteria double every 20 mins so then it also depends on how deadly the bacteria are as to how sick you get and how quick... Clear as mud eh? From Anne in cork
It depends on how clean the floor is !:-);-)'
Hi Ian. My sister washes lettuce with washing up liquid. Eileen.
Ian I have 5/7 or 10 sec rule, dust it off no probs, the wife however, has a no second rule, "give it to the dog", I always say she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and she's from Crumlin!!!!! Declan Dublin'
You go to the toilet Iano - then you go walking all over your kitchen, so dump the toast
The How2 TV show with C. Vorderman tested toast b4+concluded that if our tables were higher, toast would not land on buttered side
Someone called Dicey Riley suggested ‘what if you bless it?’ (That’s why you’re called ‘Dicey)
Eventually some sense prevailed as a few experts in the field weighed in with some advice:
Hi Ian,
Donal here. I had my own food safety consultancy for 10 years and heard your 5 second question.
In general if food falls on the floor, I would not advise eating it at all.
Most people have a strong constitution, but the very young and very old often dont. We all consume potentially food poisoning bacteria every day but our bodies deal with it and it doesn't make us sick. Kids however, older people and immunosupressed or already sick people are more susceptible to bouts of food poisoning.
Think of the millions of bacteria on the ground, including nasties like E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria etc. Some make humans sick in just 3-4 hours, some take several days to multiply in the body before making you feel unwell.
So the advice is, prepare your food with good hygiene, and if it falls, give it to the dog!
Cheers
D.
And for the first time ever, we reckon, Safe Food EU tweeted us:
@IanDempsey Bad news. Food that has been dropped on the floor may not be safe no matter how long it has been there. http://t.co/le2AckHE7B
— safefood (@safefood_eu) September 4, 2013
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Vsauce have investigated the topic: is The 5-Second Rule True?
What are your thoughts on the subject?
