Food Dropped On The Ground: Still Worth Recycling?

We’re all conditioned from a very early age to regard edibles that have accidently fallen onto the ground (without being rescued in a timely manner) with a strict, hands-off policy.  To some, it is simply gross to reclaim food that somehow gets diverted from our mouths and onto the floor…even if it lingers at our feet for a mere instant. Call it the five second rule -- or the ten or fifteen second rule for those of us who are a bit more liberal in our food conservation views. Whatever time frame you personally deem acceptable before either rescuing or chucking food that crashes to the floor, is there really cause for concern? More importantly, just like saving leftovers is a decidedly greener lifestyle choice, wouldn’t it be equally as planet friendly to relax our rules a little by giving dropped eats a chance?

Before you roll your eyes and question the science behind this scenario, take comfort in the knowledge that someone has already done the dirty work for us. The safety of dropped food has apparently been an age-old dilemma put to the test not only on several science-based television shows but also thanks to at least 3 separate studies played out in the ‘00s. Since digesting scientific findings isn’t exactly fun, here are the top facts that deserve the most attention. In the majority of the research conducted, it was determined that food dropped on highly trafficked areas is more likely to become contaminated by plentiful bacterial colonies. Interestingly, the actual type of surface (tile, wood, carpet) plays a partial role in how fast bacteria can happily proliferate on your edibles, but if hundreds of feet mill over flooring each day, the specific material it's made of hardly matters. One study in particular found that rescued morsels are literally grody to the max in under 5 minutes flat when they make contact with salmonella-contaminated wood, tile and carpet flooring. Granted, that’s a pretty strong bugger – and who knows if it’s actually typically found on the average swath of flooring -- but would you really want to take your chances?

On the other hand, a very simple “timed” study conducted by biology majors at the Connecticut College determined that moist foods such as fruits and vegetables that are accidentally dropped on the floor remain free of bacterial contamination for at least 30 seconds and only begin to become compromised after 1 minute. What about dry foods? They found that they were safe on the floor even beyond 1 minute but began entering a danger zone after 5 minutes. In most of the studies, it seems as though when moisture is present, you should make a point of acting fast when exercising your food recycling tendencies. Phew. Definitely do-able. You must be so relieved! If you’re still not convinced that this is the course of action for you, perhaps Audrey Fukman and Andy Wright’s 30-Second Rule Decision Tree (above) will offer you the extra nudge you need to drop, scoop and recycle....or maybe not. Seriously folks, does this information make you more likely to keep your accidentally dropped food out of the landfill? Would you be more inclined to exercise a 15 second rule if you dropped food in the corner of a room rather than in a main traffic zone?