The “five second rule” states that if you drop food on the floor and it stays there for five seconds or fewer, it is safe to eat. The rule has become part of popular culture. The only problem is, the rule is completely wrong.

According to research completed at Rutgers University, any food that hits the floor is unsafe to eat. So if you operate a restaurant or any other kind of food service operation, it is time to train your employees to understand that the five second rule should not be followed under any circumstances.

What the Rutgers Researchers Found

Prof. Donald Schaffner and graduate student Robyn Miranda dropped water melon, bread, buttered bread and gummy candy onto stainless steel, ceramic tile, wood and carpet surfaces that had been contaminated. They tested four different contact times to see how long it took for contamination to occur: less than one second, five seconds, 30 seconds, and 300 seconds.

All in all, they tested 128 different scenarios and determined that . . .

Food contamination begins within the first second that food is on the floor

Were there variables? Yes. Softer foods like watermelon soak up germs faster than harder foods like a piece of hard candy. And harder surfaces like stainless steel and ceramic tile take longer to deliver doses of bacteria to food.

Those are variables, but the big take-away is that food that has hit any floor should never be retrieved and eaten, much less served to customers of any food service establishment.

Is Your Restaurant Training Doing Enough to Protect Your Customers?

Contact Tortal Training for a review of your food-service training. We are here to answer your questions about training to protect your customers from food contamination, food allergies, and more.