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?

You had a raw bugger. It's not like a medium rare steak.

Burger ffs

Essentially because there is less surface area exposed to air in order for bacterial growth

When meat is minced to make it into a burger the surface area to volume ratio is hundreds of times greater & therefore the surface area exposed to bacteria & oxygen is vastly increased leading to rapidly multiplying bacteria.

Not sure if you wanted the full scientific explanation.

In short steak tartare is fine to be eaten as long as the meat has been prepared & stored correctly.

Burgers, mince or anything processed you need to coon all the way through

@AtlasCedar thank you for explaining that and @Portmore

Clue’s in the name - high quality steak meat is chopped just before serving. Pre ground mince can have all sorts in it so must be cooked properly

I was at a BBQ and a young chap drank 10 pints of lager and was sick in a hedge. He hadn't eaten anything, and so I told him he should ask the Off Licence or Brewery for compensation as clearly the lager must have been off.

You ate on the date it should have been eaten by?

Impressive number of bites

Ouch

Because it is very cold and chopped just before serving and same with carpaccio.

Oh, dear. 😮
Is that a British term for bareback?

And, what has that to do with BBQ? 🤔

Hi Tammy you say you still have the wrapper - have a look at the cooking instructions and I’m pretty sure they will say cook until juices run clear and no pink remains

I was thinking this was a wind-up. Not cooked properly, and BBQs are a contentious subject right now.

What about steak tartare? That is raw mince is it not? How come that’s ok but a pink burger isn’t?

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.

The fact you felt the need to describe this so much makes me wonder if you already know that you are probably responsible! No, burgers, like all minced up meat needs to be cooked through. I've never seen a burger with bright pink in the midde!

Oops I see this was answered above!

Because it's chopped and served immediately afaik (I am veggie!)

Burgers are not like steak. They need to be cooked through. Plus it’s your responsibility to check products before you eat/ cook them. If it smelt/ looked off you could have taken it back for a refund but if you ate it it’s at your own risk.

Burgers shouldn't be pink in the middle! I use a meat thermometer when cooking meat products, it should reach 75°C in the middle, otherwise it goes back in the oven.

This!

The thought of steak tartare tempts me to turn veggie 🤢

They eat raw pork in Germany...

@TammiesBackHurts

1. generally speaking, people don’t develop food poisoning symptoms within 3 hours. Unless the food had been long prepared, spoiled (smelled, or tasted off) and bacterial toxins were present in high quantities. Rare. Unlikely.
2. Were you drinking? Excess alcohol more likely the cause
3. Use by dates have a little error built in. On the day is safer than it may seem. To you.
4. Did you have sides like rice salad? B.cereus is a much higher cause of food poisoning than e.coli, also undercooked chicken.
5. dates are not incorrect. The systems on this are very tight, especially given the product under question

You are far more likely to get food poisoning from insufficiently washed salads than an underdone burger. Either way Morrissons have no case to answer!

I agree!