© 2026 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Five seconds: the rules of food cross contamination

Richard Munckton
/
Flickr

The so-called “five-second rule” is something many of us cited when we drop a piece of food on the floor and then eat it anyway. But how does cross contamination of food really happen? This week on WRVO's health and wellness show "Take Care," hosts Lorraine Rapp and Linda Lowen speak with Don Schaffner, a Rutgers University food microbiologist and food safety expert about how bacteria transfers onto food.

More of this interview can be heard on "Take Care," WRVO's health and wellness show Saturday at 6:30 a.m. and Sunday at 6:30 a.m. Support for this story comes from the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York.

WRVO is now well into its second year without federal funding. Through it all, our mission has stayed the same: serving central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. Listeners like you are what keep journalists on the ground, asking the hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today. You'll be supporting more than yourself. You'll be supporting everyone who depends on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.