Are you one of those who very strictly follow the five-second rule and quickly eats dropped food from the floor? Well you might like to think twice from now because according to a new study in the US, it only takes less than a second for dropped food to become contaminated by bacteria.
Researchers say that people are simply fooling themselves by pretending that they never dropped anything and quickly popping it into their mouth.
Exposing the rule as an urban myth, Donald Schaffner, a professor in food science at Rutgers University in New Jersey, told that ‘The ‘five-second rule’ is a significant overview of what actually happens when bacteria transfers from a surface to food. Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously.’
The study found that the amount of moisture present, the type of surface, and how long the food is actually on the floor all contribute to cross-contamination.
It is just not the floor that has bacteria but we have listed few spots for bacteria in the house which you won’t even think of can be really dirty.
The following list is from statistics published by the Center for Disease Control. In order to gather the list, researchers visited 35 homes, swabbing for bacteria in 32 locations in each house.
Well, after reading this if get the urge to scrub those corners like a maniac, the FDA recommends 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach to 1 quarter of water for home disinfecting. Here you go:
1. Toilet bowl: 3.2 million bacteria/square inch
2. Kitchen drain: 567,845 bacteria/square inch
3. Sponge or counter-wiping cloth: 134,630 bacteria/square inch
4. Bathtub, near drain: 119,468 bacteria/square inch
5. Kitchen sink, near drain: 17,964 bacteria/square inch
6. Kitchen faucet handle: 13,227 bacteria/square inch
7. Bathroom faucet handle: 6,267 bacteria/square inch
8. Bathroom sink, near drain: 2,733 bacteria/square inch
9. Pet food dish, inside rim: 2,110 bacteria/square inch
10. Kitchen floor, in front of sink: 830 bacteria/square inch
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