Before eating a medium-cooked burger, a Canadian hotel requires its guests to sign a food waiver

Food tastes may vary greatly from person to person, particularly when it comes to meat. An unexpected incident occurred at a Hilton hotel in Canada, when a US Reddit member requested a medium-cooked burger and was had to sign a Food Waiver. The customer said that the only thing on offer was a well-done burger, and he was “flabbergasted” when he was asked to sign a release form.

The purpose of the waiver was to shield the chain of restaurants from any lawsuits relating to foodborne diseases brought on by the medium cooking request. Redditors’ responses to the traveler’s questions about whether such a precaution should have been disclosed sooner and if such waivers were standard procedure in Canada were not uniform.

“I ordered my burger medium, and the waiter took it with no question or comment,” the individual who shared the post said. When she delivered it, it looked fantastic. She gave me a release form after I took my first bite, saying, “We always make our burgers well done, but since you wanted it medium, you should sign this now.” I was taken aback. I suppose I’ll never be able to eat a burger after reading the release form. I paid and went, trying to be courteous, but I was unable to finish the burger. Since I’m American, I’m not sure. Is that typical in Canada? For example, how can you sign this kind of form and then consume it? Why didn’t the server mention anything ahead of time? It still amazes me.

A lot of Reddit users were shocked to learn that a waiver may be needed for a certain meal order. Some were shocked, however, not by the form but more by the fact that the person might choose a medium-cooked burger.

“Most places in Canada don’t offer cooking preferences on budgets due to food regulations, hence the waiver,” an explanation was provided by a user.

“I experienced that at the Fairmont Royal York,” another person wrote. Uncooked meat that has been ground or processed increases the risk of foodborne disease.

“Yes, medium burgers are not at all standard here, but I’d have lost my appetite too if my food came with a waiver,” one person said.

Another said, “I used to be asked all the time for a medium burger when I was a waitress at a restaurant that catered to a lot of US tourists. People would become upset with me if I tried to explain why it wasn’t lawful for us to do it.

In response, a Hilton representative said that the hotel offers a waiver as an extra precaution against foodborne illness when patrons ask for meat to be cooked below the minimum needed temperature. The hotel is acting to resolve the issue in light of the current occurrence. They are now working on including a warning on their menus to inform patrons about the dangers of requesting certain preparation methods. The hotel also said that they will no longer be using waivers in these kinds of circumstances.

To guarantee food safety, there are detailed instructions for cooking ground beef in the Ontario Food Safety Guide. The advice states that ground beef, including burgers, has to be cooked for at least 15 seconds to a minimum temperature of 71ºC. This rule is intended to lower the possibility of bacterial survival and guarantee food safety.