A photo of four packs of raw ground beef left on the sidewalk on Sunday morning outside Mission District restaurant Hamburger Project during an unseasonably hot weather spell went viral over the weekend.
The image was posted to Reddit and drew hundreds of comments. By Sunday night, Hamburger Project responded on Instagram, writing that staff disposed of the raw meat “as it was obviously compromised by being on the ground, without proper equipment temperature control.”
Owner Tan Truong told the Chronicle that a delivery driver left the meat outside because nobody was present at the restaurant to receive the order. The restaurant, known for its no-frills smashburgers, had run low on beef due to high demand over the past few days, he said. Because the delivery driver did not have access to the restaurant, the driver left the raw beef outside the front door, next to a large jar of mayonnaise.
The restaurant posted on Instagram a screenshot of what appears to be a message from the driver with a photo confirming the completed delivery with the message, “I don’t have time.” Truong said he would have received the order before staff arrived, but was on a flight back to San Francisco. It’s unclear how long the meat sat outside.
“It’s a horrible image to have ground beef sitting on the sidewalk, but we have protocols against using products like that and we definitely do not condone leaving it outside like that,” Truong said.
This isn’t the first time that Hamburger Project has been the center of controversy. Last year, the restaurant “relieved” chef Geoffrey Lee from his position following a viral dispute with an influencer over a review that sparked major backlash. Lee remains a partner at Hamburger Project, Truong said. Lee and Truong opened Hamburger Project, once-Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Ju-Ni and the now-closed Handroll Project together.
Images of meat in unsanitary conditions have grabbed social media users’ attention recently. In November, an employee at Pho Love in Milpitas was recorded throwing an uncooked rack of beef ribs onto a piece of cardboard on the ground behind the restaurant. The footage went viral and led to the Santa Clara County Environmental Health Department temporarily shutting down the restaurant due to multiple health code violations. The restaurant was cleared to reopen but now appears to be permanently closed; its website and phone number are inactive.