What a Fly Does When It Lands on Your Food (And Why You Should Toss It)

1. Lands – Tarsi (feet) taste sensors trigger proboscis extension.
2. Regurgitates – Vomits digestive enzymes to liquefy solids.
3. Sponges – Labella (mouthpart) sop up the slurry.
4. Defecates – Often simultaneously; deposits pathogens.
5. Repeats – Moves across surface, cross-contaminating.

Pathogens carried: E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, cholera, parasitic eggs—on feet, body hairs, gut.

Bottom line: Discard any food a fly has landed on. The "five-second rule" does not apply to flying vectors.