Is The Five-Second Rule Legitimate?

The five-second rule holds that it’s OK to eat an item you dropped on the ground, as long as it was there for less than five seconds. But wait, is it actually OK?

Mitchell Moffitt and Greg Brown / AsapSCIENCE

Whether it's the last chocolate chip cookie falling to the ground, a French fry landing on the table, or a bag of gummy bears spilling open, we've all been there, asking ourselves, "Can I still eat it?"

Mitchell Moffitt and Greg Brown / AsapSCIENCE

Though there are endless variations on timing (10-second rule, 20-second rule, etc.), the general premise of this folklore is that your food won't be contaminated by bacteria within the given time frame. To analyze whether or not this is true, we need to understand the risks of contamination in the first place.

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