Several yummy pizzas, which can be part of a high-fat diet, are placed in paper holders. (Photo : Reuters)
Shunned for not having commercial viability, a book penned by Chen Qiaoling entitled "China's Compiled Food Safety Incidents" is now published and doing quite well among Chinese readers.
Chen wants to emulate chemist Harvey Wiley of the United States, who advocated food safety by raising public awareness as well as strong policy measures.
Wiley's efforts ultimately led to the formation of the Federal Food and Drug Administration, which was designed to ensure consumer rights are protected when it comes to food and drugs.
Chen thought the best way to follow Wiley's route and apply this on China was to compile food safety incidents in a book. To her dismay, her idea went bust when major publishers refused to mind the book she wrote because they believe this would not sell. The writer said that apart from the publishers, her friends and family thought the same.
However, she did not give the book up. Three years of research by Chen and her team was too important to just throw away. She funded the book's publication using her own money last December. She even came up with an online version.
Surprisingly, the book sold well. The offline version sold 200 immediately. Many also lauded her online version. Now it is continuing to make waves, with agencies now the ones contacting her for the book.
"Initially we planned to give the book to relevant organizations for free and didn't expect so many people would purchase it," Chen says. "There are also some food companies and officials from the China Food and Drug Administration who contacted me for the book," she added.
