A RESTAURANT boss has criticised a council rule banning him from serving his burgers medium rare.

Joao Carmo, manager of Steak, Cattle and Roll said the restaurant has been regularly serving its burgers rare on request, since it opened in Glasgow in 2014.

However, the Portugese-born manager said he has now been told by environmental health officials that he can only serve his burgers well done.

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The company has two diners on Weaver Street and Sauchiehall Street with plans to open a third in the pipeline.

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said environmental health policies were in place to protect the public.

Mr Carmo said: “Every week we have customers asking if they can have it cooked medium rare.

“The burger is more juicy. Some people like it like that.

“As long as it is cooked at the right temperature - 78 degrees - we should be able to do it.

“It’s not like a steak, as long as the temperature is there, it’s perfectly safe.

“We’ve been told they now have to be cooked for longer, which can make the meat drier.

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“Our burgers are thick so it’s still pink if you cook it at the right temperature.

“We had health and safety in last year and they never said anything to us. Now they are enforcing it.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Environmental Health policies and procedures are in place to protect the public.

“Consuming undercooked minced meat products can be dangerous.”

Diners were warned about the dangers of eating rare burgers after a TV investigation revealed how easily deadly bacteria can be served up at popular high street chains.

Minced beef bought from the upmarket burger restaurant Byron was found to contain listeria innocua.

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Although a mild strain which does not cause disease, experts warned the presence of it only served to show that other potentially lethal strains of bacteria - such as E.Coli - could easily be found there.

Hugh Pennington, a professor of bacteriology, has previously warned dishing up rare burgers is a ‘serious public health issue.’