If food falls on the floor, pick it up within five seconds and you can eat it, right? Whatever germs are on the floor don't have time to adhere to the food that quickly. Or do they? A recent national survey by Kelton Research found that nearly 60% of Americans admit to eating food that has fallen on the floor. Would they continue doing that if they knew a typical home carpet has up to 4,000 times more bacteria particles -- even after vacuuming -- than toilet seats? This is the total number of bacteria particles found on one-inch square samples of different household surfaces. The independent tests were conducted by Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona:
Toilet seat: 49
Kitchen counter: 1,686
Kitchen tile: 2,546
Bathroom floor: 18,025
Carpet: more than 200,000
ADFLY
Monday, December 12, 2011
The 5 Second Rule
9:14 AM
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