The 5 second rule - cleaning tips for staying healthy

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(No Transcript)
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• If youre reading this, chances are youve heard
  of the 5-second rule, the urban legend that
  says that any food dropped on the floor is still
  germ-free as long as its picked up within 5
  seconds. But how much truth is there to the
  5-second rule? Is it fact, or complete fiction?

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• According to a study by an Aston University
  research team, the 5-second rule is something
  that adults believe in just as much as kids
• 87 of people surveyed said that they would eat
  food that has been dropped on the floor.
• 55 of people who answered yes to the previous
  question were women 81 of women interviewed
  said they would use the 5-second rule to
  determine whether or not something dropped on the
  floor was still safe to eat.1

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• Weve all been there before a nice hot piece of
  toast, or a clean fork, or some other once-clean
  food item or dining accessory drops on the floor,
  and we snatch it back up, look for obvious signs
  of dirt or other contamination, and then
  immediately start trying to rationalize why its
  still OK to put it in our mouths. The simple
  fact, however, is that once a food item touches
  the ground it has absorbed bacteria and germs, no
  matter how short a time it sits there.

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• Scientific consensus on the 5-second rule says
  that when a piece of food hits the ground, some
  amount of bacteria has already been transferred.2
  Still, food that is one with the ground for only
  a short period of time will likely have less
  bacteria than food that sits on the floor for
  longer. Whether or not something should still be
  eaten after hitting the floor depends largely on
  what kind of food was dropped, how clean the
  floor is, and a little bit of common sense.

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• One of the biggest factors at play in the
  transference of bacteria is the consistency of
  the food item in question. If picked up (very)
  quickly, a dry or non-sticky food item (chips,
  cookies, etc.) is not likely to have picked up
  much bacteria. Moist or sticky foods, on the
  other hand, will have absorbed much more bacteria
  in the short time theyve been on the floor. This
  includes meats, buttered toast, and other foods
  with a permeable or soft surface to which
  bacteria can stick.

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• The kind of flooring material a piece of food has
  been dropped on also matters. According to the
  Aston University study, carpet is the surface
  least likely to transfer bacteria.1 The types of
  flooring that are the most likely to contaminate
  a food item are tile, wood, and other laminated
  surfaces.3 This is especially true for laminated
  surfaces in high foot traffic areas and public
  spaces.

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• A study by the University of Arizona identified
  nine different species of bacteria living on
  peoples shoes including kinds that can cause
  eye, lung, and stomach infections. The same study
  also found that these bacteria were more likely
  to live longer on the bottom of shoes than on any
  other surface, and that 90-95 of said bacteria
  could eventually transfer to a tile floor.2

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• Whether or not you believe in the 5-second rule
  and science says that theres reason to believe
  its (at least partially) true the best
  safeguard that can be taken against contaminating
  food is to keep floors as clean as possible. This
  is especially true for schools and other public
  places, where children are more likely to eat
  food that has hit the ground, and where the
  chance of contamination is high.

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• Performance Systems Janitorial offers great deals
  on new and refurbished cleaning and janitorial
  supplies to schools, office buildings, and
  cleaning companies. PS Janitorials cleaning
  supplies and equipment, including floor sweepers
  and walk behind floor scrubbers, help keep floors
  clean, and food safe to eat. For more information
  and to view our inventory, please visit
  www.psjanitorial.com.

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1. http//www.aston.ac.uk/about/news/releases/2014/ma
   rch/five-second-food-rule-does-exist/
2. http//www.thecleanerhome.com/blog/flooring-blog/
3. http//www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-
   fiction-the-5-second-rule-for-dropped-food/