Food & Silverware/The 5 Second Rule

[BristolCavendish]

Curious as to how many TRFers practice the '5 Second Rule' when it comes to dropped utensils and/or food falling onto the floor. Now there are some variables/considerations involved such as to whether the incident occurred at home or at someone else's place along with the food item itself as there is a clear-cut difference between picking up a tortilla chip or grape vs stuff like mashed potatoes and ice cream.

Medical researchers are split on this debate. Some say it's OK while others are skeptical of potential micro-bacterial impacts on personal health.

Personally speaking, I usually discard and have been fortunate never to have dropped anything really significant onto the floor/carpet (i.e. a USDA prime rib/steak). On the other hand, I have been known to rinse off a fallen Thompson seedless grape and eat it.

What perhaps bothers me more are flies landing on one's food during an outdoor barbeque. In those instances, I'll eat around the area where the fly has landed knowing well in advance where that particular fly may have been.

At restaurants, I'll simply ask for another fork/knife but have seen others re-using them. If the restaurant happens to be carpeted, I find this practice somewhat disturbing (although I could care less about someone else's pre-emptive health concerns). Just an observation.

Where do you guys stand on this issue as I consider it more of a concern when it comes to small children.

[GB-man]

Depends on the item. Generally I discard.

[Valenciawatchrepair]

If I'm home, I know how dirty the floor is and how long it's been since it's been mopped. When I'm out, there's no way to know when the last cleaning was..What's been on the floor, etc. That said, 5 seconds or 5 minutes, it's all the same to me. Give me a new utensil please.

[tamiya]

Small children need some dirt, it boosts their immune systems! Today's kids are so sanitised with antibacterial cleansers, they wilt in asthmatic wheeze soon as you open the front door and let the outside nonairconditioned air get inside. :P

5-second? How about 7-days? :D

The mrs tonite found a pack of honeyham she bought at supermarket last Sunday, has been sitting on kitchen counter all week unrefrigerated. (It's been pretty chilly winter downunder but nowhere near 0-4degC like inside fridge)

I looked at the pack, still looked pretty pink not grey. Cracked open the lid and it still smelt ok, no vinegary stink. Touched a slice and it didn't feel too slimy... so I took a nibble.

Ended up munching the whole pack :)

Still alive! No urgent missions to the porcelain throne!

[Canefan1]

Originally Posted by tamiya

Small children need some dirt, it boosts their immune systems! Today's kids are so sanitised with antibacterial cleansers, they wilt in asthmatic wheeze soon as you open the front door and let the outside nonairconditioned air get inside. :P

5-second? How about 7-days? :D

The mrs tonite found a pack of honeyham she bought at supermarket last Sunday, has been sitting on kitchen counter all week unrefrigerated. (It's been pretty chilly winter downunder but nowhere near 0-4degC like inside fridge)

I looked at the pack, still looked pretty pink not grey. Cracked open the lid and it still smelt ok, no vinegary stink. Touched a slice and it didn't feel too slimy... so I took a nibble.

Ended up munching the whole pack :)

Still alive! No urgent missions to the porcelain throne!

Give it time

[tamiya]

Ironically I know a fair few ppl who won't touch food or fork that's touched even a clean floor for a splitsecond

Yet they happily let their pet dog/s lick them all over on their face!?

ewww...!

Originally Posted by Canefan1

Give it time

Been plenty of time... that was about 6pm, it's now 5am bugger, I'm hungry again

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by tamiya

Ironically I know a fair few ppl who won't touch food or fork that's touched even a clean floor for a splitsecond

Yet they happily let their pet dog/s lick them all over on their face!?
ewww...!

I've heard some people say that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's but I haven't done any research on the topic. Considering some of the places/things their mouths and tongues have explored, I'm somewhat skeptical. On the other hand, a human bite can lead to some serious infections while a dog bite is usually far less precarious in terms of bacterial infection.

I've even seen some people who let their dogs lick their minor cuts and scratches as some sort of canine-based Neosporin.

[Hollister]

Originally Posted by BristolCavendish

I've heard some people say that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's but I haven't done any research on the topic. Considering some of the places/things their mouths and tongues have explored, I'm somewhat skeptical. On the other hand, a human bite can lead to some serious infections while a dog bite is usually far less precarious in terms of bacterial infection.

I've even seen some people who let their dogs lick their minor cuts and scratches as some sort of canine-based Neosporin.

I'm struggling to remember reading worse internet trash.

[Cryten]

The 5 second rule is perpetuated by the under educated. Time makes no difference. Bacteria are transferred on contact, they're not like pensioners boarding a bus, they don't need extra time to make sure everyone got on.

Deciding whether to re-use or eat something dropped should be based entirely on the cleanliness of the surface, not the contact time. Think about this the next time you put your food on an airline seat back tray. Do you know how often they get cleaned? I'll tell you now that eating Bristol's steak, fly and all and then French kissing his dog is likely more hygienic.

[locutus49]

This is important information IMO. Young parents are so overprotective that kids aren't exposed to normal germs and bacteria, and don't build up immunities. Maybe this is why allergies in kids have skyrocketed.

Originally Posted by tamiya

Small children need some dirt, it boosts their immune systems! Today's kids are so sanitised with antibacterial cleansers, they wilt in asthmatic wheeze soon as you open the front door and let the outside nonairconditioned air get inside. :P

5-second? How about 7-days? :D

The mrs tonite found a pack of honeyham she bought at supermarket last Sunday, has been sitting on kitchen counter all week unrefrigerated. (It's been pretty chilly winter downunder but nowhere near 0-4degC like inside fridge)

I looked at the pack, still looked pretty pink not grey. Cracked open the lid and it still smelt ok, no vinegary stink. Touched a slice and it didn't feel too slimy... so I took a nibble.

Ended up munching the whole pack :)

Still alive! No urgent missions to the porcelain throne!

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by locutus49

This is important information IMO. Young parents are so overprotective that kids aren't exposed to normal germs and bacteria, and don't build up immunities. Maybe this is why allergies in kids have skyrocketed.

Another curiosity aside from the 'dropped food' OP/topic.

Why are so many children these days allergic to peanuts? I don't recall any of the precautionary measures when I was a kid nor the kinds of allergic reactions that have been reported.

Is it reasonable to assume that the venerable PB/jelly sandwich is now a thing of the past?

[SearChart]

Really depends, if I drop my fork or whatever I usually just use it again. Or if I accidentally drop an apple or banana on the ground I will not just discard it. I never got sick. But if it's some dirty place I won't.

[Dr.Brian]

I've gotten pretty good at knowing a BC thread just from the title. Fortunately that's as far as I usually read.

[rr-nyc]

I have the zero second rule for all things that end up on he floor despite having a super clean house. My 2 year old son, on the other hand, loves to put cookies, crackers, etc on the floor while he plays and pick it up to finish eating. I let it go at my house but the zero second rule applies for him outside the house as well.

[Hollister]

I think there should be a 5 sec rule regarding reading the OP's posts. If he hasn't completely pissed you off within 5 secs of clicking, then someone else has hijacked his account.

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by Hollister

I'm struggling to remember reading worse internet trash.

Originally Posted by Hollister

I think there should be a 5 sec rule regarding reading the OP's posts. If he hasn't completely pissed you off within 5 secs of clicking, then someone else has hijacked his account.

Why so pissed? Dogs, flies and dropped food/silverware are all a part of everyday life (except for maybe in your world).

Regarding the 5 second rule on OP post. I imagine then that this particular thread won't be graced by your #3 commentary.

[BravoOne]

This is why I avoid eating anything in the restaurant bathrooms!

[Psmith]

I thought it was 5 mins

[BristolCavendish]

Originally Posted by Psmith

I thought it was 5 mins

Wouldn't food left on the floor for 5 minutes (prior to eating it) be stretching things a bit?

[brandrea]

Generally speaking if its off my plate its not going in my mouth

[Lordofrolex]

My rule is 5 seconds from when I've seen it. Could be pretty dangerous sometimes. Lol

[daveathall]

There have been times in my life where I have been starving hungry, would I pick it off the floor in those situations? Yes, and I have done so. Would dropping a candy (sweet) on the floor and dusting it off before popping it in my mouth bother me? nope. If I'm in a restaurant I wouldn't eat something I had dropped (because of politeness, nothing else), if I was at home it wouldn't bother me.

[Etschell]

my rule is to only eat off the floor.

[hugs]

When soldiers don't wash for days and eat with their hands or people going hiking/camping and throw their food in a ruck sack along with all their gear ... I feel comfortable eating using a fork that has briefly touched the floor of a restaurant.

[subtona]

Mythbusters addressed this question in one of their episodes a few years ago.

The answer was conclusive.

[TheVTCGuy]

When I was in military survival school I spent a couple weeks in the high desert, sleeping on leaves, not bathing, drinking out of streams and eating things inter-mixed with dirt; (not kidding!). Stuff that would make me cringe and what I would think would result in me contracting mad cow disease or something. I was fine.