It all started from a conversation in 2012 that Chen had with Chen Hongrong, a Tsinghua alumnus, on the university's 101st anniversary.
He asked about my future plans, recalls Chen Qiaoling.
"I said I wanted to buy a bigger apartment, a nice car and live a comfortable life," she says.
But he told her that, as a student of the country's top university, she should think about social responsibility more than personal gain. Then the discussion turned to their worries on food safety in China, and the two decided to do something about it.
As part of their initiative, they first asked the people in their immediate surroundings what they understood about safe food. Answers varied.
Some believed only organic food is safe. Others thought fare without additives is.
"All of them were right, but their understanding was fragmented," says Chen Qiaoling.
"So we wanted to present a comprehensive look into the question."
Then they visited farms, wholesale markets, supermarkets and random food vendors in nine provinces, and compared China's food safety standards with those of the US and European Union.
"We found there isn't a big gap in standards, but the biggest problem in China lies in enforcement," says Chen Qiaoling.
"For example, the first Sudan Red (an industrial dye barred from being used in food in China) scandal happened 10 years ago. But when I searched online, there are still reports of similar scandals in the years after."
During their investigation, she says, they told some of their interviewees that they were working on a dissertation and wanted to know more about the industry.
That way, they learned many "open secrets" of China's food industry.
For example, some small hotpot restaurants add opium poppy pods to broths to enhance flavor. The prohibited spice can be bought online.
"Many restaurant bosses told me that, in their trade, if you act honestly, you lose customers because your prices are too high," says Chen.
Today, there are some 20 volunteers in the team that Chen Qiaoling leads, writing reports and operating the online platform.
She believes that, besides governments ensuring stricter enforcement, the public should not remain indifferent toward the issue.
"Food safety is a social issue. The government, businesses and the public should all share the responsibility of solving problems," she says.
