I'm Chef Susan Odell, founder of foodell.com - your online cooking school - and a professional cooking instructor. I've been teaching home cooks how to make great food for over 13 years, ever since I left the hallowed kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu with my grand diploma. Follow my blog and get great cooking tips, seasonal notes, fabulous recipes and fun food facts, and go to foodell.com to learn to be a better cook. Bon appetit!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Another One Bites the Dust
The economy is in the tank, winter produce is getting tiresome, and buying peanut butter is considered a risky venture. And now this? I’ve just read that researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina have debunked the five-second rule. The premise of the five-second rule (I actually go by the ten-second rule which applies to people over 40) is that if food is dropped, a few seconds of floor contact doesn’t make that food less desirable or safe. The Clemson clan discovered that bologna left on a surface contaminated with salmonella for five seconds picked up enough bacteria to make someone sick. I have since reflected on my personal research of the matter over the course of 45 years. I have tested the five- or ten-second rule with chocolate covered raisins, M&Ms, cookies and a variety of other precious foods. These tests were conducted in the controlled environment of my house (in a public place all bets are off.) Although I haven’t tried this with salmonella or bologna (I don’t keep either around the house), I have experienced no ill side effects thus far. I will continue my testing for the next 45 years or so and report any exceptional findings. As for the Clemson researchers, perhaps they can find a better way to spend their grant money then on bologna.
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