In 2008, a new craze swept the nail industry as women (and men) put their feet into water containing fish that ate the dead skin off feet.

Washington State, and others, said no way, and would not approve the process.

Now there’s some data to back up the ban.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published a report by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science in the United Kingdom, which studied the kinds of bacteria carried by the Garra rufa, or "doctor fish," an 2.5-cm-long silver carp native to Southeast Asia.

"To date there has been only limited information on the types of bacteria associated with these fish," lead researcher David Verner-Jeffreys said. "Our study identified some of the species of bacteria associated with this fish species, including some that can cause infections in both fish and humans."

It's no secret that water provides a fertile breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria. Mix the bacteria living on fish scales or in their waste with even the tiniest cut from an overzealous doctor fish, and the risk of infection is very real.

Doctor fish generally are imported to salons from Indonesia or Malaysia, which can make it difficult to control the quality of the fish breeding and environment.
After an outbreak of strep bacteria last year in a shipment of the fish, the British government seized five containers from London's Heathrow Air-port and found they carried some species of bacteria that can cause disease in humans and fish.

These bacteria included: Aeromonas, which causes wound infections and gastrointestinal problems in humans; Streptococcus agalactiae, which causes skin and soft tissue infections; and Mycobacteria, which the study reported have been responsible for skin infections in some pedicure clients in the U.K.

"To date, there are only a limited number of reports of patients who might have been infected by this expo-sure route," the report says. "However, our study raises some concerns over the extent that these fish, or their transport water, might harbor ... pathogens of clinical relevance."

"It should be emphasized that neither us nor the [British] Health Protection Agency are advising that the practice should be banned," Verner-Jeffreys said.

A German man who was caught with 49 live lizards in his luggage at Munich airport claimed the creatures were for his dinner and even offered to bite the head off one to prove it.

The man was travelling back from Oman in the Middle East when customs officials discovered 31 spiny-tailed lizards and 18 other assorted breeds of lizard in his suitcase, Germany's DPA news agency reported.

The 28-year-old man claimed the reptiles were for his "personal food supply" and offered to eat one of the creatures in front of officials as proof.

The man may face a fine of several thousand euros for transporting protected animals.

In 2006, Keith Richards fell out of a coconut tree.

The Rolling Stones guitarist was hanging in Fiji during a world tour, and subsequently had to be flown back to a New Zealand hospital for observation after suffering a concussion.

Maybe Keith was playing possum.

According to Fairfax NZ News, possum involves a group of people drinking a 24-pack of beer while up a tree. The first one to fall out from drunkenness loses the game.

Dunedin City Council gardens and cemeteries team leader Alan Matchett said people, believed mostly to bestudents, played the game at the gardens in the afternoons and early evenings, during the week and at weekends.

Staff were fed up with the mess left behind, which included glass, food scraps and cans – and vomit.

"It's been occurring fairly regularly for the last two or three years. We don't usually see them, but police and Otago University campus watch staff have had to move people on from the park and told them to clean up their mess," Matchett said.

"What they drink has to come out again, so they do throw up and urinate from the trees. Obviously, it's not nice to have that left behind."

A high-tech tracking device embedded in a slab of chocolate is among hundreds of bizarre complaints about foreign objects found in food.

Among the most unsavoury items was a condom found in a KFC meal, worms and maggots on supermarket pork and a sticking plaster on pizza.

Information obtained by the Herald on Sunday revealed 201 complaints of food safety breaches had been investigated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) since January last year.

Paragon Investigations director Ron McQuilter said the tracking device would have been highly technical and expensive because devices that tiny were difficult to find.
"Something that small isn't normal," said McQuilter. "I'm imagining it would be very high-tech which means it will be expensive."

He suggested it could have been taken from animal researchers or made at home then placed in the chocolate to trace the woman's movements.

"It sounds like a lunatic friend with personal issues going on as opposed to someone at Whittaker's doing it," said McQuilter.

A KFC customer claimed to have found a condom in their quarter pack meal from Hamilton's Frankton store in February last year, Restaurant Brands spokeswoman Jo Bell said.

As a result, KFC has installed cameras in all of its stores' kitchens, serving and customer areas.

Food Safety New Zealand consultant Suresh Din encouraged customers to inform authorities about foreign objects in their food, poisoning or a lack of hygiene.