TikTok Video Sparks Debate Over Burger Safety Concerns

Videos shared on TikTok a few weeks ago that show a burger from a school lunch has sparked a debate on whether or not it's safe to eat.

While many feel it's a totally normal phenomenon to eat what many called a "barnacle" burger, others are disgusted at the fact that anyone would think to eat it let alone serve it in schools.

Have you ever seen a burger that looks like that? A few videos on TikTok that share photos of a school-served burger have people debating whether or not it's safe to consume.

The first video was shared in December and received more than 1.1 million views. It was just a simple video that included two photos of the burger and the message, "I contacted my school board of education." More than 8,000 people shared their thoughts in the comment section.

"isn't that just the juice bubbles, from cooking a frozen patty?" one person asked. Another added, "fats deposits and water from steaming."

And then there's the other side of the debate. While many said it caused them "trypophobia," others talked about how they wouldn't trust it.

"Never in my life have I been more scared of a burger ?," one viewer wrote. "This why I stopped eating school Cheese burgers?," shared another.

A follow up video shared a few weeks ago captioned, "The long awaited PART 2," shares a little more information about the burger.

The second photo in the video shared, "For anyone who is new, my school served me this 'cheeseburger.' My family is pressing charges...here's how it went." The third photo shared an email to the school.

The next photo slide shared the response they got from that email.

"I'm sorry to hear about your student's bad lunch experience. Many complaints have been sent to us about food quality issues, however we do not see any issues with the food being served," the response said. "Although there is a slight discoloration with the meat, it is still edible. If you or your daughter have an issue with the lunch being served, don't eat it. Packing a lunch is still an option."

The video received more than 50.5 million views and 63,000 comments.

"'Don’t eat it' would have absolutely sent me into a rage," one viewer wrote in the comment section. Another added, "that is NOT a slight discoloration ???."

Then there's the other side of the argument.

"This is normal with frozen burgers or ones with grid patterns. Pressing charges is wild," one person shared. "The 'barnacle burger' is simply consisted of your average burger meat creating air bubbles that eventually pop due to juices."

See video HERE.

A viral TikTok creator who goes by @IdkSterling on the app, shared a video about the strange texture of some burgers. He talked about a video that popped up on his FYP page about a Burger King burger. He described the "strange texture" as looking like "bubbles."

"If you have trypophobia this would definitely trigger that," he said. "This prompted a lot of people in the comments to state similar experiences they've had with the quality of the burgers but I'm here to tell you that this is actually not dangerous."

He then explained what causes the strange texture and pattern on some burgers. He showed what the frozen patties looked like prior to being cooked with a grid-like pattern on them. He said they are there to "allow the juices to kind of escape a little bit."

"While the burgers are cooking, protein, fat and other compounds are going to be escaping through these grid patterns, which creates kind of like a bubble effect where it bursts up and pops and leaves this behind," he said. "There are seriously tons of photos of people that have had similar experiences and textures on their burger and they're completely fine so don't be too concerned about it."

The debate was strong in the comment section with some feeling this is totally fine, and others saying no way!

"I know it safe to eat but I’m still not eating that ?," one viewer wrote in the comments. "I'm never eating burgers again," said another.

Have you ever eaten a burger that looks like a "barnacle" burger? Would you, or is it going in the trash?