This month, two states ruled by India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced plans to impose hefty fines and imprisonment for contaminating food with spit, urine and dirt.
The northern state of Uttarakhand will fine offenders up to 100,000 rupees ($1,190; £920), while neighbouring Uttar Pradesh is set to introduce stringent laws to address the issue.
The government directives followed the circulation of unverified videos on social media showing vendors spitting on food at local stalls and restaurants – and one video depicting a house-help mixing urine into food she was preparing.
While the videos sparked outrage among users, with many expressing concern about food safety in these states, some of the videos also became the subject of blame campaigns targeting Muslims, which were later debunked by fact-checking websites.
They pointed out that many on social media had alleged that the woman adding urine to food was Muslim, but police later identified her as a Hindu.
This story was originally published in bbc.com. Read the full story here.
