It’s an urban myth that’s formed the basis of food hygiene for years. But is it okay to eat something from the floor if you pick it up within five seconds?
In short, it’s a gamble and there is no definitive answer – the cleanliness of the surface is more important.
But what may surprise you is that bacteria is less likely to be transferred via carpet than smooth surfaces.
One of the earliest researches in 2007, which came from the University of Illinois, found that bacteria can be passed on to food within five seconds – if the surface is dirty enough.
But how dirty is dirty enough?
If you have millions or more cells on a surface, 0.1 per cent is still enough to make you sick.
And you’ll only need around ten cells of E. coli to make you feel poorly.
Carpets are one of the best places to drop food. When carpet was inoculated with Salmonella, less than one per cent of the bacteria were transferred.
But when the food was in contact with tile or wood, 48 -70 per cent of bacteria was transferred.
On average, contact times of three to 30 seconds seemed to be enough to pick up bacteria.
So there you have it...kind of!
