Patrons visiting the Penn Brewery in Troy Hill might be surprised to be handed a release form when they order a medium-rare burger or a rare steak.

Manager Christy Matuscin, says the release is designed to make sure that customers are informed of the risks of eating meat that is not fully cooked.

Overkill? Maybe. But there's nothing wrong with educating the consumer. Most times at respected establishments it's safe to eat a burger that's pink in the middle or a rare steak, but there can be health trade-offs if you don't take proper precautions.

There are many distinct hamburger camps. One of the most clear-cut divides lies between those who would never, ever eat a hamburger that is well-done and those who would never, ever eat a hamburger that is anything but well done.

This dispute has very little to do with the difference in taste. Few people would suggest that the well-done burger tastes better. It's really a question of whether you give higher priority to your health or to the taste of your food.

When someone cooks a piece of steak, the outside of the steak is at risk for contamination. It's the part that's exposed to oxygen, that people are handling, that the knife has touched. But even when you order a steak rare (even when you order it Pittsburgh rare) the outside of the steak is seared on a very hot grill or pan, destroying most possible contaminants. That's why the Allegheny County Health Department requires food facilities to cook a steak only so that the top and bottom surfaces reach 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

But when beef is ground to make a hamburger, any contamination that was on the outside of a piece of meat is spread throughout the meat. Unless meat is cooked all the way through, any contamination that may have occurred goes unchecked.

According to Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole, all food facilities are required to cook ground beef to a minimum internal temperature of 155 degrees for at least 15 seconds.

But wait -- I'm sure you're thinking, "Just last week I was in a restaurant where they asked me how I wanted my burger cooked!" No, these restaurants are not breaking the law. The Health Department makes an exception.

"A food establishment can serve undercooked or raw animal products provided there is a consumer advisory on the menu," Mr. Cole said.

These health advisories say something to the effect of: "consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions."

The purpose of the advisory, Mr. Cole said, is "putting the consumer on notice [that] there's a risk involved."

You might be wondering, if eating a medium-rare burger is so dangerous, why allow the exception?

The truth is, most restaurants are very good at making sure that meat doesn't get contaminated. Adults in good health usually have little to fear from ordering a medium-rare hamburger, just as they generally don't have to worry about eating sashimi or raw oysters. There is a risk that you may get some kind of food poisoning, but the risk is fairly small.

But young children and individuals with compromised immune systems need to be more careful. That's part of the point of the advisory. It serves as a reminder to people to consider their individual health needs, not just what is generally safe or unsafe.

Personally, I choose flavor over the risk, though I certainly wouldn't do so everywhere. If I didn't trust the restaurant to prepare a medium-rare burger safely, I wouldn't order the hamburger in the first place. In fact, I probably wouldn't eat there (unless I was reviewing the place, which is another story entirely).

Most of us don't want the enjoyment of our food to be tarnished by the reminder that our choices carry risk, just as those belonging to the health camp would be annoyed by a release warning them that well-done burgers are not as moist or flavorful as those served medium-rare. We each make our choices, and that means suffering the consequences.