India to Implement Standards for Street Food For the first time, street food vendors in India will soon be required to meet a set of sanitation regulations, announced the government Tuesday. Street food is a popular option in India because it's convenient and cheaper than offerings at hotels and restaurants. But at the majority of stands it's also unsafe. One study found that, out of 50 random samples of street food taken in 2010, 47 of them - approximately 90 percent - were contaminated with food borne pathogens. Cooked foods were no exception, suggesting mishandling after preparation.

Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome, also known as ‘blue ear disease’, is on an upward trend; as a result, more and more people are contracting a bacterium virus called ‘Streptococcus Suis’ from pigs in North Vietnam. The Central Tropical Disease Hospital has admitted more than 20 people infected with the above bacterium, said Dr Nguyen Hong Ha, head of the hospital on June 19. Patients were rushed to the hospital in critical condition and they were suffering from serious complications such as meningitis and septicemia. More people contract pig virus in North Vietnam

Two Canadian sisters found dead in a Thai hotel room may have died from food poisoning caused by eating blowfish(puffer) or poisonous mushrooms. Audrey and Noemi Belanger, aged 20 and 26, were found on Friday, June 15 by a hotel maid, three days after they were last seen while on a night out. Officials said the sisters were covered in vomit, had skin lesions and were bleeding from their gums. Both women’s fingernails and toenails were blue and had blood under them. Dr Komkrit Phukrityakame, Director of Krabi Hospital, said today he had carried out an initial examination, The Phuket News reports. Did Canadian sisters die of puffer fish poisoning?

He said he suspected the pair had been poisoned, and that the source could have been a meal which included blowfish or poisonous mushrooms. Blowfish, is extremely poisonous if not prepared properly, but considered a delicacy in Japan and is eaten by thrill-seeking gourmets. Blowfish poison, called tetrodotoxin, is nearly 100 times more poisonous than potassium cyanide, and can cause death within an hour and a half after consumption. Did Canadian sisters die of puffer fish poisoning? – Cont’d

A Japanese delicacy is set to disappear from the nation’s restaurant menus, after the health ministry said that it was unsafe and should be banned – and no, it is not the notoriously deadly fugu puffer fish. As of July, restaurants will no longer be able to serve raw beef to their diners unless they wish to receive a fine and possibly a jail term. Concerns regarding the likelihood of raw beef liver causing food poisoning forced the ministry’s decision and this week it issued the ban after the food sanitation council had previously approved the measure, the Yomiuri Daily reported. Raw beef liver taken off the menu in Japan