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06/22/2012 05:24 PM

Changing food regulations will allow rare burgers in NC

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The hamburger: It's as American as apple pie. From the establishments where it's served to the temperature of the meat, everyone has their preference.

"Medium rare. It has more flavor. I like the blood. I like it bloody," said Boone resident Keith Chesnutt.

"I love cheeseburgers and I like to put ranch, mayonnaise and ketchup on them. And tomatoes," said Walkertown resident Ryan Gore.

There are many places to get a hamburger in the triangle. But there aren't many places you'll find that will cook a hamburger rare.

But new state guidelines could change all that. Under the new regulations restaurants would be allowed to serve raw and undercooked foods as long as the customer is warned prior to the food being served.

"We feel like the consumer advisory will help us raise the level of education and intervention applied to a wide variety of foods," said North Carolina Division of Public Health Larry Michael.

Steven David Elliot runs the website rareburger.com . He said it's about time state lawmakers gave customers more choices.

"There are a lot of foods out there, sushi for example, it's raw. There is the potential for illness. Are we going to close all sushi restaurants because of that potential?" said website founder Steven David Elliot.

Others said the dangers of food borne illness lie in how the meat is handled.

"E Coli is a naturally occurring organism. It's in beef. It's in meat. It's more about the process of grinding it in a commercial facility which makes it far more dangerous," said Urban Food Group owner Kevin Jennings.

Wherever you order it and however you want it soon getting it raw won't be as rare as the meat itself.