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.