The controversial “five-second rule” — the one that lets us eat dropped food if it’s quickly scooped off the floor — is a bunch of boloney, according to Clemson University food scientist Paul Dawson, who stirred up the long-debated issue in this month’s National Geographic. 
 
 Though previous research has shown we may have up to a minute to rescue certain types of spilled food before it becomes contaminated, Dawson and his students made a strong case for the “zero-second rule.” They found that salmonella and other bacteria can live up to four weeks on dry surfaces and be immediately transferred to food. 
 
 (Chicago Tribune illustration by Michael Miner) 
 
 The zero-tolerance standard, however, conflicts with the findings of two Connecticut College student researchers who sprinkled apple slices and Skittles candies in the college dining hall and snack bar for five, 10, 30 and 60-second intervals. The apple slices picked up bacteria after one minute; nearly five minutes elapsed before the Skittles attracted any. 
 
 Then there were the University of Maine undergraduates who concluded that using the five-second-rule could reduce food waste and possibly improve children’s immune systems. 
 
 Still, most researchers agree that the critical thing is not time, but location. It’s OK to brush off the bagel that fell from the stroller onto the sidewalk and give it to your screaming child, for example, because the pavement is cleaner than the kitchen floor in terms of the types of germs that cause illnesses, said Dr. Harley Rotbart, a professor of microbiology and pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. 
 
 “The kitchen floor, however, is probably a zero-second zone because the bacteria from uncooked meat and chicken juices are more hazardous than the ‘soil’ bacteria outside,” said Rotbart. The bathroom floor is another zero-second zone because “it’s a great potential source of bacteria and shorter-lived viruses that can cause gastrointestinal illness if ingested,” said Rotbart, the author of “Germ Proof Your Kids.” 
 
 Ultimately, however, most people assess their risk according to how badly they want what has slipped through their fingers and whether anyone else is looking. Women are more likely to eat food that has been on the floor than men, while cookies and candy are much more likely to be picked up and eaten than cauliflower or broccoli, research shows. 
 
 Unfortunately, despite the distress it causes, there’s just no rescuing ice cream. 
 
 Related content: 
 
 The five-second rule is alive and well at Illinois same-day surgery centers, according to Associated Press Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson. "Medical staff were observed picking up items that had fallen to the floor and behaving as if they weren't contaminated by germs, according to state inspection reports." Here's the full story, "Illinois clinics cited over infection control." ||||| If you’ve ever consumed food after dropping it on floor and then wondered what sorts of diseases you might be contracting, here’s a new study that may put your mind at ease (or not). New research out of Aston University in the U.K. finds that there may be some truth to the old wives’ tale, often called the “five second rule,” which suggests that it’s ok to pick up dropped food as long as it’s within a five-second limit. Many people halfheartedly teach their kids this first “rule" of food safety, because, hey, it’s better to risk disease than to waste food. 
 
 But take this with a grain of salt. The study doesn't appear to be peer-reviewed or published anywhere. We need other researchers to have a chance to review these results and then re-do the experiment before we can be sure it's OK to eat that bagel you just picked up. 
 
 For the study, Anthony Hilton, a professor of Microbiology, and his students considered a variety of foods – toast, pasta, cookie, and a sticky candy – to see how much bacteria (E. coli and Staphylococcus) they attracted when allowed contact with the floor. They allowed the food to lie on various types of flooring – carpet, laminate, and tiles – for 3 seconds to 30 seconds. 
 
 Not surprisingly, the longer the food was allowed commune with the floor, the more bacteria it accumulated. And the surfaces differed in how likely they were to transfer the bacteria, with carpeting being the least likely, and tiled surfaces and laminate the most likely. “We have found evidence that transfer from indoor flooring surfaces is incredibly poor with carpet actually posing the lowest risk of bacterial transfer onto dropped food,” said Hilton in a news release. 
 
 The moister the food, the more likely it was to pick up bacteria. Again, an interesting but not surprising result. 
 
 But Hilton says to remain cautious. “Consuming food dropped on the floor still carries an infection risk,” said Hilton, “as it very much depends on which bacteria are present on the floor at the time; however the findings of this study will bring some light relief to those who have been employing the five-second rule for years, despite a general consensus that it is purely a myth.” 
 
 And if you do pick up dropped food, you’re certainly not alone. The team found that of the people they polled, 87% of people happily consumed fallen foods, and 81% followed the five-second rule. A slight majority of the people who said they would eat dropped food were women (55%). 
 
 “Our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food, with women the most likely to do so. But they are also more likely to follow the 5 second rule, which our research has shown to be much more than an old wives' tale.” 
 
 Whether scientists have really “proven” the legitimacy of the five-second rule is debatable, so it's fine to remain a little skeptical. If you’re partial to the practice, use your best guess about the risks: If your food is covered with fuzz after three seconds on the floor, you may just want to move on. 
 
 Follow me @alicewalton or find me on Facebook. 
 
 If you get confused, here's a nice graphic to help you decide: ||||| 10 March 2014 
 
 
 
 Food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time, according to the findings of research carried out at Aston University’s School of Life and Health Sciences. 
 
 The findings suggest there may be some scientific basis to the ‘5 second rule’ - the urban myth about it being fine to eat food that has only had contact with the floor for five seconds or less. Although people have long followed the 5 second rule, until now it was unclear whether it actually helped. 
 
 
 
 The study, undertaken by final year Biology students and led by Anthony Hilton, Professor of Microbiology at Aston University, monitored the transfer of the common bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus from a variety of indoor floor types (carpet, laminate and tiled surfaces) to toast, pasta, biscuit and a sticky sweet when contact was made from 3 to 30 seconds. 
 
 The results showed that: 
 
 Time is a significant factor in the transfer of bacteria from a floor surface to a piece of food; and 
 
 The type of flooring the food has been dropped on has an effect, with bacteria least likely to transfer from carpeted surfaces and most likely to transfer from laminate or tiled surfaces to moist foods making contact for more than 5 seconds. 
 
 Professor Hilton said: “Consuming food dropped on the floor still carries an infection risk as it very much depends on which bacteria are present on the floor at the time; however the findings of this study will bring some light relief to those who have been employing the five-second rule for years, despite a general consensus that it is purely a myth. 
 
 "We have found evidence that transfer from indoor flooring surfaces is incredibly poor with carpet actually posing the lowest risk of bacterial transfer onto dropped food." 
 
 
 
 The Aston team also carried out a survey of the number of people who employ the five-second rule. The survey showed that: 
 
 87% of people surveyed said they would eat food dropped on the floor, or already have done so 
 
 
 
 55% of those that would, or have, eaten food dropped in the floor are women 
 
 
 
 81% of the women who would eat food from the floor would follow the 5 second rule 
 
 
 
 Our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food 
 
 
 
 Professor Hilton added:“Our study showed that a surprisingly large majority of people are happy to consume dropped food, with women the most likely to do so. But they are also more likely to follow the 5 second rule, which our research has shown to be much more than an old wives' tale.” 
 
 Note: This research has not yet been peer-reviewed. If you would like a copy of the report or require further media information, please contact Jonathan Garbett, Aston University Communications on 0121 204 4552 or j.garbett@aston.ac.uk
– The 5-second rule may or may not protect your stomach from nasty germs (here's a no, here's a yes), but it probably depends more on location than duration, writes Julie Deardorff, who rounds up recent studies and talks to scientists for her Health Club column in the Chicago Tribune. Kitchen and bathroom floors, for instance, are nasty places where a 0-second rule is wise. The sidewalk, on the other hand, is safer because it's less likely to harbor the germs that cause illness. A kitchen floor "is probably a zero-second zone because the bacteria from uncooked meat and chicken juices are more hazardous than the ‘soil’ bacteria outside,” says one medical expert on the subject. Ditto for a bathroom floor because "it’s a great potential source of bacteria and shorter-lived viruses that can cause gastrointestinal illness if ingested.”