AIBU for wanting compensation from Morissons after getting ill from BBQ?

[TammiesBackHurts]

Had a BBQ at ours last evening. It was me, DH, our two DC, my MIL and FIL, my sister and her partner. DH popped into Morrisons at about 2:30 to get the food, including a packet of their own-brand burgers.

We started the BBQ at 6:15 and ate at about 7ish. DH was cooking while I was getting everything else ready, so I wasn’t really watching the BBQ. Luckily… it was sweltering next to it. Got my burger straight off the thing, nothing wrong with it, just that normal brown edges and that bright pink in the middle just like you get from a BBQ burger. At about 10 I started feeling really unwell and was vomiting during the night. It’s now 7pm the day after and I still feel awful. This morning I looked at the burger packet and noticed the eat by date was 14/08/26, which is the exact day we ate them.

What is making me suspicious is that it was Morrisons own-brand food, so presumably Morrisons are responsible for making sure the date printed on their packaging is correct. If the date is wrong, how are customers supposed to know whether the food is actually safe? I relied on the date when I ate it. Nobody else who ate the burgers seems to have become ill, but I don’t think that necessarily rules them out because people react differently and I may have eaten more than everyone else. I still have the packaging and the receipt from Morrisons, so I have proof of exactly what I bought and when.

I’m considering contacting Morrisons and asking them to investigate the batch and explain why I’ve become ill after eating something on the actual use-by date. I’m also wondering whether I should be asking for compensation, because if their date was incorrect then surely that’s quite a serious food safety issue? AIBU?

Pfft, Morrisons customer service is awful anyways so even if they had sold you rancid burgers (which they didn't or everyone would be sick), at best you'd get a "soz mate" and ignored

In the States a burger cooked with some pink is not uncommon. At a restaurant you are asked how you would like it cooked, ie medium, medium-well, well.
I'm in and from Canada. Burgers are always cooked well-done. We just call that "cooked." 😂. If a buger has any pink we'd say "this isn't cooked!" 😮
My point is that it's not unheard of to eat a burger with some pink.
However, it is obviously risky and if the ground meat is not absolutely fresh it's even riskier.
FWIW I'd never eat a burger that isn't cooked all the way through. People's food safety knowledge varies. As do their cooking and food handling practices.
In OP's case: how was the meat handled would be one question. Was it kept absolutely cold until cooked? How much temp change from shop to grill? The "best by" date is just one consideration, but I would not have used it because I am very cautious with ground meat. I also would not have eaten it if pink.

Your husband gave you food poisoning NOT Morrisons!! Next time hand the burger back to him and tell him its not cooked in the middle!

So you ate half cooked food now want compensation from the shop?

Given my compensation from confirmed campylobacter, from a recalled batch of contaminated dip from a major supermarket was the princely sum of £25, I'd not bother.

Is not the supermarket's fault, your sickness could have been caused by anything and nobody else was ill. Is this a wind up?

Agree pink steak - fine. Pink burger - health hazard

If you think any pink in the middle is ok your not cooking properly

Your DH needs to learn how to BBQ. Burgers should be cooked all the way through, no pink, to kill off the harmful bacteria. That's basic food safety.

Also, if no one else got sick from eating the burgers you'd have a very hard time proving your case.

No, don't ask for compensation for eating extremely undercooked meat. 🙄

Meat thermometer

the general rule of thumb is is needs to achieve 70° and maintain that for two minutes to be microbially safe, so for example if it reaches 70° and in 90 seconds it’s dropped to 64°, then it is not safely cooked.

I would not generally suggest using a meat thermometer it really does seem overkill, but if you’re determined to eat burgers pink in the middle, then absolutely please do buy a thermometer. It’s minced meat from
a supermarket, not wagyu burger at Gordon Ramsays.

it is generally perfectly safe to eat on a use-by, but you do need to keep it properly chilled in the meantime, cook it properly, not contaminate the cooked burger with tongs that touched the raw burger etc.

You get bacteria on the surface of a steak/piece of meat, so when the steak is ground down into minced beef to make the burger, any bacteria will be mixed up with the burger. You therefore need to make sure it is cooked right the way through (or at least to 75 C for at least 30 seconds or more).

Posh restaurants use a meat thermometer so they can check the temperature at the centre. For home cooking it's much safer just to cook it all the way through to make sure all bacteria are killed.

If you eat a steak, then they outside of the steak with the bacteria is seared so you don't have the same issue as the inside is bacteria free, hence being able to eat them blue!

Exactly. Also Canadian, I only know one person who liked hamburgers with a tiny bit of pink in the middle but at least she made the burgers from scratch.

Raw burger! 🤮

I assumed it was a relatively amusing joke until I read the OP’s updates.

I know, it's very funny. And the post saying someone's freckles made them look like a leopard.

Oh come on! Everyone and I mean everyone knows not to eat raw burgers! Blaming Morrisons what a piss take 😂

@TammiesBackHurts "Had a BBQ at ours last evening. "

What? Was that pre or post alarm?

I sort of stopped reading there, but undercooked meat is on you, not the store.

Please do complain- the Morrisons customer service team likely need a good laugh

Deleted as I quoted the wrong poster.

@TammiesBackHurts

The issue with meat is that anything exposed to air is exposed to bacteria and needs to be cooked.

You can have a rare steak because you sear the outside, the part with the bacteria, but the inside can be pink or raw because it hasn’t been exposed so is safe to eat raw.

With anything minced, the whole lot has been exposed and needs to be cooked. You don’t eat raw or rare burgers, even on a BBQ. That’s just someone who cannot cook.

The only time it is safe to eat a rare burger is in a place that buys in steak and freshly grinds the meat before making the burgers - then it hasnt had time to get full of bacteria.

Steak tartare is the same - it’s freshly ground/diced and properly handled meat that is safe for total raw consumption.

A burger from a supermarket is not safe for raw consumption. You need to learn to cook minced food through.

Some people won’t get sick, some people will. Depends on the meat, how it’s been stored, and also your own stomach handling the bacteria.

You are absolutely not entitled to compensation.

Oh yes I laughed at that too but didn't realise it was the OP! 😂
Still, probably the funniest thing about this thread is the amount of people posting serious answers.

Some restaurants serve burgers pink in the middle, but they are using high quality steak.

A pack of burgers from a supermarket won't be, and cooking instructions will tell you to fully cook them. Unfortunately, your husband failed to cook them properly (or just yours) and you've got food poisoning. Morrisons are not at fault, and they can also sell food with the same use by date until close of business.

If you’d carried on reading (which you clearly did) then you’d have seen she stated the time.