Med-Rare Burgers Banned in North Carolina

05-31-2011 • Silver Underground - Silver Circle's Politcal

Flavor...now banned in the Tar Heel State We've all heard of government wanting to regulate our health care, the Internet, and what kind of light-bulbs we're allowed to put into our homes. As infuriating as those regulations can be, the state of North Carolina may have just one-upped them all: banning rare burgers. According to North Carolina state law, restaurants are required to cook burgers until they reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees Fahrenheit, or as burger lovers call it, shoe-leather. The reasoning behind this ludicrous law is that 155 degrees is the temperature that dangerous bacteria like E. Coli die, but it also leads to a burger that's dry, unpleasant, and would be more useful as a hockey puck than as food.