Is it safe to eat a medium rare burger?

For lunch today I decided to try a burger at a sandwich place I normally frequent. They asked me how I like it, I said medium well. Brought it back to the office and was starving, needed to eat to have my antibiotics for a sinus infection I have. The burger was completely pink throughout the middle. Rather than walk back to complain of this, I needed to eat immediately as I had the shakes, so I ate it. Now is it ok to eat a medium rare burger? If they ask how I want it, could I be assured that it is safe?

Is it safe to eat a medium rare burger?
it's safer to eat rare steak, or so i was told by ServSafe when i took that class. the reason is this: a steak, when processed, is a piece of meat with a clearly defined set of outside edges. if, and when the meat comes in contact with bacteria during processing, the bacteria cling to the outside of the meat. when you cook it, if you don't cut into it before hand and handle it properly, presumably you would kill the bacteria on the outside of the meat. now, hamburger is all ground up so if the meat had come in contact with bacteria during processing, the bacteria was ground and mixed all throughout the meat when it was ground into hamburger. but...this obviously isn't always the case. i've eaten hamburgers on the rare side. hamburger isn't....say..... chicken, you know. proper handling is key.
Reply:I have been eating very rare hamburgers and rare other meats for many years now and have never gotten sick.
Reply:most of the time yea but i wouldnt suggest it
Reply:If it was from a place you trust, then it should be fine.
Reply:You'll be fine. Don't worry about it. :-)
Reply:It's not the doneness of the burger that determines whether or not you might get sick, but rather the presence of pathogenic bacteria such as E coli. These bacteria may be released from the intestines during slaughter and can contaminate the meat. In the case of a steak, the bacteria are only on the outside and are destroyed during the cooking process - the meat can be very rare on the inside, but that is ok since the bacteria were only on the outside. In the case of hamburger, the meat is ground up and the bacteria can be throughout the meat. Hamburgers should be cooked until an internal temperature of 160F is reached. Anything less and you are taking risks with your health.
Reply:Burgers are not your best option for pink. Steak is ok, the grinding process to make burger can allow alot of bacteria into the meat. If the temp of the meat gets high enough it's ok. If you frequent the place and it's clean, you will most likely be ok. Medium well is safer.
Reply:That's how I eat it. Its all has to do with the internal temp. Rare beef isn't bad for you..but its not the best for you, a little pink in the middle is good. You won't get worms.
Reply:Yes, very safe. Have you ever heard of steak tartar? Raw ground beef with seasonings. Very tasty. Also, Carpachio. Raw beef sliced thin then marinated. The meat you eat though is only as safe as the place that is prepareing it. If the establishment is not clean or employees hands are not wahsed, you do run a risk of contracting the E Coli bacteria. On a whole, I'd say eat up.
Reply:If the place is clean and you have had no problem from them before. Cant see a problem, I often eat rare to medium home made burgers but I trust my butcher.

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