A McDonald's customer was horrified when he realised he had bitten into a 'completely raw' Big Tasty burger.
Michelangelo Thomson and his partner Liam Purdy bought the food at the Brighton branch of the fast food chain on Saturday night.
Mr Thomson checked the burger after it tasted 'mushy' – and he was shocked to discover it appeared to be uncooked.
Horrifying footage shows the 'bloodied' and bright pink burger falling apart with the 'raw' meat crumbling as the 32-year-old holds it up to the camera.
While the outside of the patty seemed to be seared, the inside appeared still raw and completely pink – with Mr Thomson claiming he even saw 'blood' in it.
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The manager fears that his weakened immune system – stemming from a childhood illness – meant swallowing raw meat would have been 'dangerous' for him.
Luckily he experienced no food poisoning symptoms but has vowed to avoid the McDonald's branch in the future.
The fast food company apologised and said they were 'disappointed that on this occasion their rigorous standards were not upheld' – but investigations had shown the kitchen equipment not to be faulty.
Mr Thomson, from Brighton, in East Sussex, said: "I'm glad that my taste buds work well, because it was when I tasted it that I realised that it wasn't like a normal burger.
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"I eat a lot of McDonald's… but I've also never experienced a burger like this.
"It was about 11.30pm and I went to the Western Road McDonald's with my partner Liam.
"We were walking back and we were a bit peckish and we were about to walk past the restaurant so we decided to order food and take it home.
"The order that we did was a happy meal with a plain burger, the cheesy bites that they do, and a large Big Tasty meal.
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"We'd ordered it all and live just around the corner, so we took it home to eat.
"I ate the cheese bites and everything was fine, but we were talking about how the chips were a bit anaemic and not warm.
"I took a bite of the burger and tasted the Big Tasty sauce that they use. But it was really mushy, so I wondered why. Had the tomato been crushed?
"But I looked in and I realised it was red and pink and had blood.
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"I had some stomach aches after eating the first burger but I think that's because it was how I thought it was making me feel.
"I felt really uneasy afterwards, but with it being very close to bedtime I slept it off.
"I was actually quite shocked and concerned from my part because of my health situation.
"I have (a weakened) immune system, so eating raw food like this which has the potential for E. coli and salmonella to be present in the burger (is really dangerous).
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"Had I been drunk rather than sober and not noticed that burger was raw and eaten it, I would be in a much worse position than what I am in.
"But I also don't expect to have my health compromised by a big corporation like that, who should be able to prevent these instances from happening.
"It has put me off that branch of McDonald's, potentially forever, unless they can identify the error that they have made and what they are going to do to change it."
Mr Thomson, who claims he used to work at McDonald's, believes the grill might have been faulty for the burger to be served raw.
When he spoke to the manager the next morning, he was refunded £5.50 for the Big Tasty burger, but was frustrated that the matter wasn't being properly investigated.
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Mr Thomson said: "Being an ex-McDonald's employee I know how those burgers are pressed down and cooked for three minutes minimum before they come up and can be served.
"This managed to get partway through. So either the grill was broken or the person on the grill didn't do the food testing correctly.
"That's another thing I flagged to them when I took it back to them. It's nearly impossible to do because the machine would prevent you from lifting up the patty before it is cooked.
"I said to them about the patty being raw and not even being cooked on the outside, let alone the inside.
"Luckily I am perfectly fine, but it's their reaction and response to it that they are not taking seriously."
A McDonald's spokesperson said: "Food safety is of the utmost importance to us and we place great emphasis on quality control.
"As soon as this issue was brought to the attention of the restaurant team, they apologised to the customer and offered a full refund and replacement.
"We follow rigorous standards to avoid any imperfections, and are disappointed that on this occasion these were clearly not upheld.
"The restaurant team took the product for testing, and have subsequently investigated to ensure there was no fault with kitchen equipment that could have caused the issue in the kitchen.
"Our customer services team are also in conversation with the customer, and are in the process of finding a satisfactory solution."
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