37 replies to this topic

[a_andhika]

Dear Forum,

Yay!! 100 posts!! 1000 posts are yet to come:)

And for this valuable moment, I shall give you a silly question (again): "Do you pick your dropped food, and then eat it?". This question pops up in my head when I accidentaly dropped my cookies on the floor on a very quite morning in my office. After verify the sanitation and hygiene condition of the floor (it has been mopped by the janitor), and of course... no one sees me, Im innocently escort that shattered cookies into my mouth:)

Do you think it is a good thing/habit to do? What about you?


Regards,


Arya

[Hongyun]

Congrats on your 100th posting!

About your topic though, it may not be wise to do that even if your floor seems clean and some of the reasons can be found here.

I'm not sure if you have heard of the Mythbusters, but they have tried this 5 second rule myth and busted it!

Apparently, they placed a food product on the floor for 2 seconds and 6 seconds, after which they conducted microbiology tests and concluded that there was no real difference in the number of bacteria collected...

[Jean]

Hi Arya,

Congrats for 100 posts!

Regarding your question for picking dropped foods from the floor, I wouldnt do it. Though some say if you are very keen about hygiene and cleaniless etc.. your immunity becomes low.......

[Ayayay]

Hi All,
Congrats Arya for 100 posts!
I will pick dropped food to throw it in the thrash :) I will not eat it. When I see the food on the floor I imagine all the germs that could be there (even if the floor is clean) and I wouldn't eat it.

Regards:Aylin

[Simon]

Well done Aya on reachine the 100 post milestone; I'm sure I speak for everyone else when I say we enjoy all of your posts and value your contributions. It wouldn't be the same without you.

To your question for me it depends what I dropped and where I dropped it. A piece of chocolate or a cookie dropped on a visibly clean floor and I would eat it no problem. If I dropped a piece of toast butter side down I would not eat it wherever it dropped for fear of it picking up hairs and other foreign bodies. A piece of chocolate dropped outside again nope. Actually I would be more concerned about foreign body contamination than microbiological.

Regards,
Simon

[Cathy]

Congratulations on the 100 ! I agree with Simon - it depends on what it is, how much I like it...and how big of a risk I'm willing to take for it. I do believe in a strong immune system. I would never give dropped food to someone else, but myself ? I'm willing to risk it more often than not. Especially for chocolate. Of course - soup could be a problem....

:)

[AS NUR]

for yur 100 post...

I agree with all of member says...I remember the philosophy statement from china and javanish people... You have to think health if you want health, if you tihink your sick you will sick....

But according to moslem rule.. you have to say BISMILLAH before your eat your food GOd may be blas your food.....

[a_andhika]

Dearest All,

Thank you very much for all of your kind appreciation:) My life wouldnt be the same without this marvelous forum:)

Humm, I guess this is what I get when joking with food expertise. Everything is anlyzed with carefully and comprehensive, also with proven preference and data;)

In my beloved country, unconsiously we have jargon (I am sure that AS Nur would know it too), which sound: "If you dropped your food not longer than 5 minutes, that food considerably as safe". And all of that happen because a "missalliance" statement from a floor sanitizer advertise at early of 90's, which demonstrate the model is picking up her dropped grape into the floor and eat it while saying: "Not 5 minutes yet", just for the sake prooving the floor sanitizer is highly effective:p

Distracted from how they validate the critical 5 minutes limit, but that jargon quite attached on everyone's memory. Although practically no one left their food on the floor for 5 minutes, but they still pick it immediately and eat it;). As for me... I think I'll take the moderate way: depend on the condition of the floor and the food.. As mentioned by AS Nur: when you think its health, then it will be healthy as ever....:)


Regards,


Arya

[cazyncymru]

Dear Forum,

Yay!! 100 posts!! 1000 posts are yet to come:)

And for this valuable moment, I shall give you a silly question (again): "Do you pick your dropped food, and then eat it?". This question pops up in my head when I accidentaly dropped my cookies on the floor on a very quite morning in my office. After verify the sanitation and hygiene condition of the floor (it has been mopped by the janitor), and of course... no one sees me, Im innocently escort that shattered cookies into my mouth:)

Do you think it is a good thing/habit to do? What about you?


Regards,


Arya

Lol well done on your 100th!!

The previous Quality Manager at my company had a "3 second rule"!!!

Personaly if i drop it, the dog licks it, then i eat it!

Seriously thought, being a child of the "pre-detox spray" era, it never hurt us to eat stuff that fell on the floor etc. it probably helped us build up our immune systems. So yes, if i drop it, i may still eat it!

Only another 900 to go!

[Jean]

I have read about the 5 second rule and it is considered as a myth.
Check the link for more info: -
http://www.5sec.info

[a_andhika]

Lol well done on your 100th!! The previous Quality Manager at my company had a "3 second rule"!!! Personaly if i drop it, the dog licks it, then i eat it! Seriously thought, being a child of the "pre-detox spray" era, it never hurt us to eat stuff that fell on the floor etc. it probably helped us build up our immune systems. So yes, if i drop it, i may still eat it! Only another 900 to go!

Dear Caz,

It so amazing how we, Indonesian people, can survive after all this years because consuming bean curd and meatball which contaminated with formaline, rice that added with whitening, candies that contain formaline, fried foods with high FFA and peroxide value, textile colorants on sauce, breathe heavy smoke air on public transportation, and dont forget always picking up the dropped food and eat it...

What a great immune system that you get when you are in such a radical environment...


Regards,


Arya

Edited by a_andhika, 14 October 2008 - 11:15 AM.

[Charles.C]

Dear All,

I am surprised nobody has mentioned "value" of the dropped item. I tend to classify an expensive chocolate ball quite differently to a slice of toast/jam (assuming it landed the right way up and the jam is not a top grade !).

@ Arya, I suspect many of yr comments also apply to many developed countries, only the specific chemicals etc vary )
Rgds / Charles.C

[AS NUR]

Dear Caz,

It so amazing how we, Indonesian people, can survive after all this years because consuming bean curd and meatball which contaminated with formaline, rice that added with whitening, candies that contain formaline, fried foods with high FFA and peroxide value, textile colorants on sauce, breathe heavy smoke air on public transportation, and dont forget always picking up the dropped food and eat it...

What a great immune system that you get when you are in such a radical environment...


Regards,


Arya

Sorry arya.. i disagree with your statement....as i Know, goverment body in Indonesia (BPOM, like FDA in US) and some university, try to educate SME (Small Medium ENterprises) in food safety practice.. and try to audit market both traditional market and modern market.. they do it for avoid contaminated food eat by people...

And.. I Think we (QA People including Arya and me) always concern about food safety and food quality...And IMO.. the immune system not realy growth by radical enviromental, but thorugh by Healthy lifestyle..

[a_andhika]

Sorry arya.. i disagree with your statement....as i Know, goverment body in Indonesia (BPOM, like FDA in US) and some university, try to educate SME (Small Medium ENterprises) in food safety practice.. and try to audit market both traditional market and modern market.. they do it for avoid contaminated food eat by people... And.. I Think we (QA People including Arya and me) always concern about food safety and food quality...And IMO.. the immune system not realy growth by radical enviromental, but thorugh by Healthy lifestyle..

Dear AS Nur,

Thank you for your comments...

Getting OT, personally, I didnt blame the Authorities, they have enough problems with the license of new and imported products, not mention the lack of facilities and manpower. But still, unfortunately, the "Hot News" about formaline or non food grade contaminations is spread lately by the journalists, and those dirty practise have been occurs in so many years... Still, I wont blame the Authorities.

BTW, of course you are right. No one would expect to be immune from hazardous chemical by daily consuming it... I am just saying some hiperbolic things to give feedback from Caz's comments (but I guess it doesnt goes smoothly again, my bad...).

To Charles C.: I think its this topic should be more interesting and "scientific". I'll seek for another feedback regarding the average microoganisms content in floor, or how fast the cross contamination judging from the contact time and the characteristic of the food. Who knows, it can won a Nobel prize:)


Regards,


Arya

[sirilucky]

Hey Arya Congrats for the 100th post. The answer to your question is i dont pick up the dropped foods at any cost.

[GMO]

I think it can be summarised in the following equation where the higher the value of X, the more likely it is that I'd pick it up and eat it.

X = 1/S2 x 1/t x 1/10^N x 1/D x C x H

Where 1/S^2 = 1 divided by stickiness squared
1/t = 1 divided by number of seconds item had resided on the floor
1/10^N = 1 divided by 10 to the power of N (N = number of people watching)
1/D = being a lady, number of days until my next neeeeed for something I shouldn't eat
C = the chocolate quotient. How much chocolate is in this item? (The higher the amount and higher the quality, the higher the value of C)
H = The coefficient of "home", this can have two values. At home = 1, at work = 0.

I think that sums up neatly that if I'm on my own, in my house, neeeeed some chocolate and it's really, really good chocolatey chocolate that isn't sticky and it only landed on the floor for a second, I'd probably pick it up and eat it. However, I didn't say that and if asked the same question at work, X would always be 0.

I really need a life.

[Simon]

Einstein Smeinstein. Uncle Albert's Theory of Relativity don't hold a candle to your choco theory GMO. Your de man woman.

[a_andhika]

Dear sirilucky,
Thank you very much... A very good principle about dropped food, though I am not always doin' that..

Dear GMO,
Wheeeew... It's bout to be gettin' heavy in here... How much 'X' value that considered as "I pick this one"? More than 0.5 something? Whatever your call, I am in...


Regards,


Arya

[GMO]

I think it's a probability thing. 0 is no chance but anything above that well is fair game. This is female maths after all...

[Charles.C]

Dear All,

I like GMO’s non-linear FMEA very much although I detect a slight chocolate bias. Perhaps might have included a coefficient for possession of a (mobile) pet also.

Personally, my home rule-of-thumb has tended to be rather more simple, often based on a quick visual assessment of the item and the surrounding environment. More than one visible hair of any origin is definitely a no-no. Carpets are also something of a downer. The influence of additional people in the vicinity is variable depending on yr intuitive expectation of any subsequent feedback, ie greed vs fear (sounds very Freudian / Kinseyan).

At one time, I tried to be empirically scientific by only eating half of the object, wrapping the rest in Al foil and putting in the fridge.Then wait for about 6 hours and re-assess one’s “feelings”. Unfortunately this procedure can lead to some friction if noticed and the fridge is multi-user. I must admit to having similar repugnance when observing the remains of previous meals being lovingly stored for future doggy delights.

Good topic for cartoons maybe.

Rgds / Charles.C

[Saviour]

X = 1/S2 x 1/t x 1/10^N x 1/D x C x H

Where 1/S^2 = 1 divided by stickiness squared
1/t = 1 divided by number of seconds item had resided on the floor
1/10^N = 1 divided by 10 to the power of N (N = number of people watching)
1/D = being a lady, number of days until my next neeeeed for something I shouldn't eat
C = the chocolate quotient. How much chocolate is in this item? (The higher the amount and higher the quality, the higher the value of C)
H = The coefficient of "home", this can have two values. At home = 1, at work = 0.

Suppose no one is watching you at the moment you pick the dropped chocolate that means N=0
therefore 10^N will be 10^0 i.e. 0 and 1/10^N will become 1/0
however nothing can be devided by 0.

then how his equation will work???

Regards

[Saviour]

Correction...

T missed out from THIS
then how his equation will work???

Regards

[Charles.C]

Dear Saviour ,

Unfortunately 10 to the power of zero is not zero

http://wiki.answers....er_0_equal_to_1

Or was it a trick posting ?

Rgds / Charles.C

[Saviour]

I need to go back to school.


Your reply led me to ask same Q with my colleagues and surprisingly everyone answered it as 0.

Once I said it's 1 everyone’s reaction was


Thanx Charles.C correcting me.

Regards

[sirilucky]

You are absolutely right Saviour. Actually its school kids who do pick up their dropped food as they dont know its not good for thier health picking up. And its we who suggest them its not correct doing that.