The 5 second rule – how long is too long to eat off the floor?

It’s definitely not OK to eat food off the floor, even if you’ve picked it up within five seconds of dropping it, according to researchers at Rutgers University.

The 5 second rule It’s definitely not OK to eat food off the floor, even if you’ve picked it up within five seconds of dropping it, according to researchers at Rutgers University. (Dreamstime.com)

By Tad, Drex & Kara

We’ve all done it before…dropped something delicious on the floor and had to make the ultimate decision of “is this ok to eat or not?”. Millions of people abide by the 5 second rule, but is it safe? A microbiologist from Chicago decided to put it to the test and documented it all on TikTok of course. He placed various petri dishes on the ground for specific times ranging from zero to 1 minute and the results were disgusting!

Turns out even zero seconds is too long! Does this change your stance on the 5 second rule?