When you drop a food item in the workplace, does the 3-seond rule apply?

Answer 1

That rule doesn't apply anywhere.

Answer 2

It largely depends... can the public (i.e. customers) see?

I recall seeing a MythBusters episode about this. Since I can't post a link to it, I'll summarize the findings for you.

Using petri dishes, they cultured samples of food items dropped in various locations. This involved wiping the dropped food on the inside of a sterile dish. They then put the dish into an incubator and culture some mold from it for a couple weeks. Under a microscope, they determine if mold grew (qualitative [yes or no]) and how much (quantitative).

They determined that the duration the food was on the ground did not affect how contaminated it got. As long as it touched the ground, it was contaminated.

Among the dirtiest places food was dropped:
Shop floor (after sweeping)
Outside

On of the cleanest (surprisingly) was the toilet seat. [Probably because of the little known fact that urine is antiseptic.]

They also did a similar myth in the two birds, one stone method.

They licked the dish and also got a dog to lick one. The dog dish cultured much less mold than the human dish.

Answer 3

The three second rule is a myth. It assumes that germs are like insects, it takes them a while to notice and crawl to the food. Actually, dropping food on a dirty surface is like dropping it in ketchup. It doesn't take the ketchup any percepitble time to "notice" or "crawl to" the food.
When dropping food in the workplace, (I assume you mean a food service establishment) the food must be discarded, even if it is immediately retrieved. The reason is, people walk on the floor with their feet, and the soles of the shoes come in contact with all sorts of harmful microorganisms on the ground. E coli, salmonella, norovirus, to name a few.
Most people can eat food that has been dropped with no ill effect, this is probably how the "three second rule" came about.
Actually the reason most people can eat food that is slightly contaminated is becasue most people's immune system is robust enough to handle such things. But there are always a few people whose immune systems can't take it, and there is the occaisional super bug that can overcome resistance and make many people sick, such as the recent E coli outbreak at a popular taco chain, or the norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship that ruined many people's vacations. That's why food service establishments are supposed to be extra careful about dropped food or food implements.

Answer 4

No. People walk on the floors of public bathrooms then walk around the workplace. I actually read the results of a study on this one - on the 3 second rule in general. Micro-organisms don't wait three seconds before they latch onto food.

Just think about the floor of the stall in the bathroom where you work. Would you eat something that fell there? Well, co-workers' shoes track that all over your workplace.

Furthermore: ewww!

Answer 5

I've worked in many restaurant, mostly county clubs. I know how disgusting the floor is back there and I've seen head chefs pick a steak, other foods too, and put them on a plate. Yuck!!! No three second rule applies.

Answer 6

The number of seconds always depends on the environment. Some environments three seconds, some much less time.

(All of the above answerers who mentioned that the germs don't want to get on the food are right, of course.)

Answer 7

Depends on the food item and the cleanliness of your workplace. It doesn't bother me to eat food dropped on the floor, unless the floor is really filthy. It's no worse than any food you eat that you didn't prepare yourself really.

Answer 8

I have a client who contracted Hepatitis A from eating at work. A co-worker did not wash his hands after the bathroom, and now the guy has it and has to live with it forever.

Answer 9

depends on where you work. I work in an animal hospital. I wouldn't eat off the floor there if I would become a millionaire if I did so.

Answer 10

The show "mythbusters" covered this and they said that bacteria comes into contact with the food no matter what.