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I got an Angus burger patty from the meat counter at my local Kroger. I cooked it for about 5 minutes on each side on medium heat with a lid on the pan. The burger was a bit thicker. I was so hungry and ate it really fast and didn't realize that it was somewhat undercooked in the middle. Here is a picture of what was left. Am i going to be okay or should I worry about E.Coli? Is it worth puking it out?

enter image description here

John
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    Short answer: don't make a habit of it, but you're probably fine. – Sneftel Feb 05 '20 at 18:58
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    How does one "accidentally" eat 9/10 of a burger? – moscafj Feb 05 '20 at 19:24
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    You could have had steak tartar for starters. That's how 'gastro' burgers are. if it's not slimy, you'll probably live. People just get so panicky these days. – Tetsujin Feb 05 '20 at 19:32
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    Sorry, food safety is a matter of aggregate rules. There is no way to predict what will happen in a one instance of eating a certain food. And even if you could know if it falls under the "safe" label or not, we cannot tell you whether you should eat it or not, whether you should be worried or not, etc. – rumtscho Feb 05 '20 at 21:10
  • I always cook my burgers medium rare, but I'm also careful to buy good quality burgers to reduce the risk - I'm not dead yet – Gamora Feb 06 '20 at 10:57

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There is no way of knowing, from your picture, if there is E. Coli present in your burger, nor is there any way for us to let you know if you will get sick. However, we can identify the risks and what increases or decreases the risk of infection. If E. Coli is present, it is typically present on the exterior of a whole muscle. So, you can decrease your risk of infection by purchasing quality whole muscles from a reputable source, and grinding the beef yourself. Purchasing pre-ground beef, or pre-made patties, increases your risk, because you don't know the quality of the original cut, or how it was treated during processing. You can, of course kill E.Coli by cooking, however, you need the relatively high, and generally recommended temperature of 160F (71C), and we now know that some E.Coli survive that. I don't enjoy my burgers that well done, so I purchase quality whole muscle and grind my own. Since we don't offer health advice, I can't comment on whether or not you should vomit.

moscafj
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