Does the “Five Second Rule” Affect the Amount of Bacteria on Food?
Background Information
Many people have heard of the “five second rule,” a saying that refers to the common belief that if one drops a piece of food on a floor or other surface, germs will not have time to adhere to the food if picked up within five seconds. This idea is supported by Hilton (2014) who did research and found that “food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time.” On the other hand, WebMD (2015) suggests that the rule is misleading and that bacteria can adhere to dropped food items even if the item is picked up off of the surface within five seconds. Their research found that many …show more content…
Sterile gloves should be worn not only to prevent food sample contamination, but also to protect investigator from coming into contact with harmful bacteria. A first aid kit, eye wash station, and shower are located near the experimental station. The carrots used contained no preservatives. Once the experiment is complete, the bacteria dishes should be soaked in a mixture of bleach and water and gloves and goggles should be worn during this process.
Procedure
Prepare Agar Plates by heating a mixture of 1 Liter purified water and 23 grams Nutrient Agar powder for 15 minutes on a hot plate at 121ºC while stirring consistently.
Once the mixture is clear, pour it into the petri dishes one at a time by just barely covering the surface of the plate.
Set the plates to the side to settle
Tape the meter stick to a counter to measure the drop height of 1.0 meters- leave the meter stick there as a guide from which to drop the food
Background Information
Many people have heard of the “five second rule,” a saying that refers to the common belief that if one drops a piece of food on a floor or other surface, germs will not have time to adhere to the food if picked up within five seconds. This idea is supported by Hilton (2014) who did research and found that “food picked up just a few seconds after being dropped is less likely to contain bacteria than if it is left for longer periods of time.” On the other hand, WebMD (2015) suggests that the rule is misleading and that bacteria can adhere to dropped food items even if the item is picked up off of the surface within five seconds. Their research found that many …show more content…
Sterile gloves should be worn not only to prevent food sample contamination, but also to protect investigator from coming into contact with harmful bacteria. A first aid kit, eye wash station, and shower are located near the experimental station. The carrots used contained no preservatives. Once the experiment is complete, the bacteria dishes should be soaked in a mixture of bleach and water and gloves and goggles should be worn during this process.
Procedure
Prepare Agar Plates by heating a mixture of 1 Liter purified water and 23 grams Nutrient Agar powder for 15 minutes on a hot plate at 121ºC while stirring consistently.
Once the mixture is clear, pour it into the petri dishes one at a time by just barely covering the surface of the plate.
Set the plates to the side to settle
Tape the meter stick to a counter to measure the drop height of 1.0 meters- leave the meter stick there as a guide from which to drop the food