This Morning doctor Zoe Williams has weighed in on the ‘3-second rule’ which people follow when it comes to eating food that has been dropped on the floor. She shared whether it will affect your health
The age-old ‘3-second rule’ for eating food dropped on the floor has been put under the microscope, as many wonder if it’s just an urban myth or actually safe health-wise.
Dr Zoe Williams debunked this myth on ITV’ show This Morning, alongside hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, with a little help from science to discover the truth.
Cat is seen in a video on the This Morning Instagram page questioning: “If food drops on the floor, is it safe to eat it if picked up within three seconds?”
To which Dr Zoe explained: “Some say three seconds, some say five seconds, and some say ten. Right okay, here’s the thing… Manchester Metropolitan University actually did a study on this where they tried different types of foods, they dropped them on the floor for three, five and ten seconds and then studied them to see if they were contaminated with the harmful bacteria that they’d purposely placed on the floor.”
According to Dr Zoe, how quickly you snatch up the food does have an impact, as she said: “There was a slight difference depending on the amount of time, so there is a thread of truth that the quicker you pick it up, the less contaminated it might be. But what they actually found was it depends more on the type of food.”
Doctor Zoe disclosed insights from the research, noting that food high in sugar or salt, such as a slice of ham known for its saltiness, showed resistance to bacterial contamination.
She highlighted how the rule varies with food types, adding: “So they found the safest food to drop on the floor was biscuits, because they’re sugary and they’re dry.”
Offering her professional perspective, she continued: “But I think the sensible thing to say, as a doctor, is that I cannot say it is safe to pick up food off the floor, but it largely depends on the floor, doesn’t it?|
Viewers of This Morning were split on the topic, with one viewer commenting: “I’d say it depends if your floor is clean.” Another chimed in with a different take, saying: “My parents always encouraged us to because it would build up our immune systems.”
Adding a touch of humour, another fan remarked: “I have labradors, food never hits the floor.”
