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The government has regulated food safety issues for a long time. You just now noticed?

Not defending the regulation, but you ought to reconsider your burger preference. It really IS dangerous. It is not like eating a rare steak. Because it is ground, any bacteria that was on the surface of the meat got all mixed through. It is necessary to cook it to kill the bacteria.

Nonsense. If you are not in a high risk group (e.g., a tiny baby, elderly, weakened immune system, early in pregnancy), it is very unlikely that you will get sick (let alone seriously ill) from eating a medium rare burger. If you have statistics to the contrary, please cite them.

The e-coli risk is only that of a stomachache to those about 15/16 and older. It is only children who are at risk.

In addition, bad and undercooked seafood is the single greatest food poisoning risk, but it gets little media scrutiny. That's why you can order sushi in supermarkets, but not rare burgers.

Personally, I prefer steak tartare.

Not defending the regulation, but you ought to reconsider your burger preference. It really IS dangerous. It is not like eating a rare steak. Because it is ground, any bacteria that was on the surface of the meat got all mixed through. It is necessary to cook it to kill the bacteria.

True enough but how many times in your life have you seen butchers taste raw meat they cut? It used to be a common occurance. I got to admit it's been a few years since I've seen it. But regulations and inspections were a lot more lax then too and you did not hear of E-coli either.

Thanks for being a sensible one here mlo!

My friend Lance had family that were poisoned during the Jack-in-the-Box e-coli outbreak in the Pacific Northwest.

Eldar Pompov

Topeka, KS

It is not like eating a rare steak.

For $8.95 they can take a steak, sear the outside, grind it and cook it.

I suspect that before the terrorist threats go away, there will be a lot more people requesting irradiated food.

I agree with what you say about the difference between steaks and ground meat. But there is another side to this. I've followed this controversy since the early '90s. As some have said this started with the eggs in NJ. (Personal note, if I over cook an egg to the point where the yoke don't run, it goes into the dog bowl. IOW, a hard cooked yoke is inedible to me.)

Now the other side of this. Believe it or not there is sometimes a political side to this. The WSJ reported on a guy in Oregon who was running for state office. One of his platform planks was that all meat, hamburger, steaks, rib roasts, etc., had to be cooked to well done before it could be served in a resturant. Turns out the guy was a PETA/Tree Hugger. When confronted with the accusation that his real intent was that if meat was only served well done, then fewer would order meat in resturants saving the rain forests and ensuring animal rights, he confessed. Once this was known he lost in a landslide.

Bottom line, as in all things, be sceptical when someone states they only have your best interests at heart.