Is it still ok to eat food that has been fallen on the floor?

An expert claims that we can still eat the food that has been on the floor even more than 5 seconds.  Aaron Carroll, an Indiana professor believes that we should be more conscious of the bacteria from other household area compared to the floor that can possibly the  contaminate the food.

In his interview with the New York Times, Carroll added that such areas like the  kitchen counter, sink and the handle of the fridge are dirtier than the floor.  He explains that it should not be the cause of alarm for because we have a tough immune system in our bodies that will surely tolerate this.

To give proof to  his claim, Carroll justified in a research by Professor Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona.  The 1998 study shows that the kitchen floor with 3 CFU/ sq.in. have fewer bacteria compared to the fridge handle with more than 5 CFU/sq.in and kitchen counter with more than 5.75 CFU/sq.in.

Carroll added that the same principles also applies to the bathroom.  The toilet seat is set to believe to be the dirtiest surface in the bathroom with 0.68 CFU/sq.in compared to the flush handle and the tap on the sink with 34.65 CFU/sq.in and 15.84 CFU/sq.in respectively.

But the best way is to wash our hands before eating to ensure that we are safe from these nasty bacteria, Carrol added.