A DUBLIN restaurant has been told by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to stop serving burgers cooked rare and medium-rare or face legal action.
The Rathmines restaurant Jo’burger has been warned by the Environmental Health Officer with the HSE to serve only well-done burgers or prove that undercooked meat can be served without the risk of E.coli bacteria and other contamination.
Jo’burger received a written warning this month that continuing to serve burgers cooked rare or medium rare could represent a “risk to public health”. Restaurant owner Joe Macken said he had first been warned about the issue of undercooked burgers when the restaurant opened over three years ago. He responded by putting a disclaimer at the bottom of the menu, telling customers: “We will serve your burger as you request it, rare to well-done. Rare and medium-rare burgers are undercooked. Note eating of undercooked or raw meat may lead to food borne illness.”
He said the rare and medium-rare burger was a popular choice among his customers.
He said an average of about one in four of the burgers served in the restaurant is ordered rare or medium-rare.
Asked how he could be sure his customers would not get sick, he said he was not sure. “But we have a belief in our product,” he said, and in the abattoir that produces the mince and sends it to them vacuum-packed. “The last thing they want is an E.coli outbreak.”
The E.coli bacterium is typically found on the outside of meat and is killed in the cooking process. Steaks can be served rare as any bacteria are killed on the hotplate or pan. When meat is ground into mince, surface meat is spread through the ground-meat, leading to a more stringent cooking regime from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
Mr Macken said he had referred the written warning to a barrister and was prepared to go to court on the issue. A spokeswoman for the HSE said the sanctions available to the HSE for non-compliance include issuing an improvement notice, a prohibition notice and ultimately a closure order under FSAI legislation.
