The 3-Second Rule

One might think it somewhat odd, that so much time and energy (not to mention money) has been spent investigating whether the 3-Second Rule (or 5-Second Rule, or 30-Second rule, depending on where you live or what your family told you) is true.  Then we consider the fact that the U.S. Government spent nearly a BILLION dollars to discover that the major source of methane released into the atmosphere is not pollution from manufacturing or vehicle emissions, but bovine flatulence (true story), and it all gets put into perspective.

I myself have been a firm believer in the 3-Second (but not 5- and DEFINITELY NOT 30-Second!!!) Rule for many a year.  I generally think that if you are isolated from too many germs, you start to lose your ability to fight infections.  Eating a few germs now and then, is sort of like being immunized -- right?  Well, what I found out may just have put the kibosh on that 3-Second Rule for me, for good!

Clemson University conducted a study which used bread and bologna dropped on different floors contaminated with salmonella.  They found that carpet held the most bacteria.  Wood did better than tile.  Dropped bead or bologna had 150 to 8000 bacteria after 5 seconds, easily enough to make you sick with either salmonella or e coli.  This makes you wonder, though, how often do you have these bacteria in your house (we'll get to that!)?  They also found that dry foods do better than wet, and accumulate less bacteria.

San Diego State University conducted a study which was funded by Clorox!  They used carrots and sippy cups dropped on countertops, high chair trays, tile floors and carpets.  They found that, for carrots, the most germs were transferred from countertops.  For sippy cups, the most germs came from highchair trays.  COUNTERTOPS???  I wasn't too worried about the sip cup finding, as I rarely use mine anymore.  It has to be a pretty rough morning for me to need a lid on my tea.

The University of Illinois, in their study, used gummy bears and e coli, and yes the gummy bears picked it up.  In numbers high enough to make a person ill.

The thing is, how much e coli or salmonella do you really think is living in your home?  Common precautions are to clean with some sort of bleach solution (the Clorox Connection) and use some common sense.  I get teased for how many paper towels I use, BUT I refuse to keep a kitchen sponge or rag.  Kitchen sponges have more germs that your pet's food dish does, according to CDC.  And my brush that pre-cleans the dishes before going in the dishwasher, goes through the dishwasher itself once a week (dishwasher detergent generally contains a small amount of bleach, and the high wash temperature kills bacteria).

If you drop a tortilla chip or cookie on a "clean" floor, you will eat bacteria.  if you drop that same chip or cookie on the kitchen counter, you will also eat bacteria.  And if you lick your fingertips after eating a totally "clean" chip or cookie, you will eat bacteria!  Bacteria lives under our fingernails, no matter how much we wash or scrub.  If you wear shoes in the house (who doesn't?) you are tracking dirt, grime, allergens, and (YUCK!) fecal bacteria from the outside world, into your home.  So, if you drop a tortilla chip or cookie on your carpet, you will eat bacteria.

We eat bacteria every day, mostly in amounts not harmful to us.  There is bacteria living on the foods we buy, even on fresh produce.  It has been estimated by the FDA that over 19% of chickens sold in grocery stores contain salmonella, and other reports are not nearly so encouraging…  And despite our best efforts to keep a clean house -- that spot right in front of your kitchen sink (do you have a nice little rug there, like I do?) collects bacteria like CRAZY!  That 6-square-foot space has more bacteria in it than your toilet!  The thing is, use a little common sense again.  Don't eat wet or sticky foods that have fallen onto some surface you haven't JUST cleaned.  And for Heaven's sake, don't eat anything that falls on that little rug in front of the sink!

Other odd places you find lots of germs may shock you…  Cell phones are especially bad for germs, even worse than your kitchen counter.  We clean our bathrooms, but that toilet-paper holder?  It's the grubbiest place in your house, with more bacteria than the inside of your kitchen trash can.  The bottom line is, if you are healthy, you are already exposed to all sorts of bacteria every day.  Things that you KNOW are prone to growing harmful germs (like salmonella and e coli), must be properly prepared and then not eaten if dropped.  Dry things that would keep unrefrigerated for long periods of time are usually safer than wet, soggy things -- but why risk it?  

Remember this:  We wear our seat belts every time we get in the car, on the very slight chance that one day, we will be in an accident.  The chances of salmonella lurking in your home somewhere, are much higher than the chance you will be in a car accident.  So, why do we push our luck for that one little bit of cookie, that one gummy bear?  Remember that last "stomach flu" you had?  It was probably food poisoning!

Want to read more about Salmonella in your chicken?  http://www.consumersunion.org/food/chickbacny698.htm