This new research, done by biology students at Aston University in the UK, found that there’s less bacterial transfer if you pick the food up right away, as long as the food isn’t moist or sticky, or dropped on a carpet. But here’s the thing: the research wasn’t published in a peer-reviewed journal and they only ran the test three times. “Three replicates is okay for many types of sciences, but when you’re dealing with bacterial transfer from one surface to another, you need to do 20 to 30 replicates,” says Don Schaffner, a food science professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. What’s more, non-pathogenic Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus—the two types of bacteria they looked at—aren’t likely to pose a threat to you in the amount you’d get from dropping a chunk of food on the floor anyway. Salmonella, camphylobacter, and listeria, on the other hand, are food-borne bugs that are more likely to pose a real threat in the kitchen, he explains. The bottom line: Despite the shaky science, the Aston University crew did get one thing right—moistness matters. Other studies support the idea that moist food and moist landing surfaces are going to up the bacteria count. If you drop dry food onto a dry surface, it’s not likely to be loaded with bacteria (if it wasn’t before), Schaffner says. Still, use a little common sense. If you haven’t cleaned the floor in a while, if it’s a high-traffic area, or if you have furry or scaly pets, don’t go there. “If you have enough food to eat that you don’t need to be concerned about every morsel of it, the safe thing to do is throw it away,” Schaffner says. More from Prevention: 9 Nutrition Myths That Won’t Go Away
