The Five-Second Rule: Is Your Dropped Snack Still Safe, New Jersey?

You stop at Wawa to pick up a bag of M&M's. While walking out to your car you drop a few on the ground.

Do you yell out "five-second rule" and pick them up and eat them or do you consider it a loss and move on?

Maybe in that situation, you're in a dirty parking lot so there's no way you're thinking the five-second rule applies.

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However, what if you're at home sitting in your kitchen or living room and you drop a chip on the floor, would you pick it up and eat it?

Or your child drops grapes from their highchair, are you putting them back on the plate without washing them off?

How many times have you said to yourself or heard someone else say "five-second rule" and they quickly picked up whatever fell and ate it?

But, here's the big question.

Is the five-second rule really safe?

Patch.com had an interesting article that talked about the very first study on this topic which concluded that food can pick up bacteria right away on contact with a surface.

However, the article referenced how a food scientist at Rutgers University, Donald Schaffner, and his student tested the five-second rule. Although they support the original study, they found the type of surface matters and so does the food. 

Watermelon for example is a wet food so it picks up more moisture.

There's no way if I drop ice cream on the ground I'm scooping it up and eating it. That's disgusting!

Here's the bottom line.

Schaffner believes in the five-second rule even though it " isn't scientifically sound."

Most of the time it's ok although you have to remember surfaces do matter.

They use the example of chicken juice carrying the risk of disease. Obviously, if you drop something on chicken juice it's not a good idea to pick it up and eat it.

However, if you have a clean house it should be ok.

Read More: When You Should NEVER Mow Your Lawn In New Jersey