Singapore food agency warns against eating food off hawker tables
What's new: The agency used a viral TikTok clip to debunk the "three-second rule," saying dropped food can pick up bacteria immediately.
Singapore’s food regulator warned diners not to eat food that falls onto hawker centre tables after a viral TikTok video showed a woman picking up noodles from a tabletop and eating them. In a June 21 LinkedIn post, the Singapore Food Agency said food dropped on an unclean surface would be contaminated by bacteria and rejected the popular “three-second rule” as a myth. The clip, posted on May 27, appeared to show the diner using chopsticks to lift noodles from the table, then putting them in her mouth. The video drew disgusted reactions after it was reshared on Reddit, though some commenters said they might do the same at home on a cleaned table.