Controversy surrounding the respective cookbooks of two popular Australian “health and wellbeing” writers has led to their publishing companies announcing no further copies of their books will be printed.
Penguin announced it would cease printing copies of Belle Gibson’s The Whole Pantry cookbook, launched on the back of the success of her health and wellbeing app, because the author failed to verify key aspects of her story.
Meanwhile, Pan Macmillan announced it would not be publishing the Bubba Yum Yum cookbook for children, initially planned for release on 13 March and featuring celebrity chef Pete Evans as an author, following concerns from health experts about the safety of the recipes.
Gibson claims she has managed to treat multiple cancers, including terminal malignant brain cancer, by shunning conventional medicine and following a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Gibson used her experience to launch a wellness app, called The Whole Pantry, which led to the release of her debut recipe book of the same name last year, which was marketed using her experiences of treating cancer through diet.
The book describes how Gibson “began a journey of self-education that resulted in her getting back to basics, as she set out to heal herself through nutrition and lifestyle changes”.
But in the past fortnight, doubts have been cast over the legitimacy of Gibson’s cancer claims, and last week Penguin admitted it had not fact-checked Gibson’s story before launching the book.
On Monday, Penguin released a statement saying they had given Gibson the opportunity to produce documentary proof of her story.
“Despite our best endeavours, Penguin Books has not received sufficient explanation from Ms Gibson in response to recent allegations,” it said.
“As such, we have been left with no other option but to stop supplying the book in Australia. We remain hopeful that we will receive the formal assurances we have requested in the coming days.”
Gibson has reportedly hired a defamation lawyer in response to media reports questioning her illness claims. It was also revealed that thousands of dollars in charity donations Gibson promised through the success of her app never reached the beneficiaries.
Gibson has not spoken publicly about the allegations.
In a statement on its Facebook wall, The Whole Pantry wrote: “Belle is struggling with managing the loss of some of those close to her at the moment and has pulled back a lot over the last year, and even more so recently. She has been forced to put the health and wellbeing of herself and her family first.”
The Facebook page was subsequently deleted.
Guardian Australia has requested comment from Gibson.
Meanwhile the Bubba Yum Yum cookbook, authored by celebrity chef Pete Evans, blogger Charlotte Carr and naturopath Helen Padarin, never made it to shop shelves.
Ahead of the book’s launch last week, Heather Yeatman, president of the Public Health Association of Australia, said a recipe for DIY baby milk formula, made from liver and bone broth, contained 10 times the maximum safe daily intake of vitamin A for babies.
“In my view, there’s a very real possibility that a baby may die if this book goes ahead,” Yeatman told Women’s Weekly.
The federal health department also said it was investigating the book.
Initially, the publisher said the launch of the book was merely being delayed, but Pan Macmillan now says it will not be printing further copies or releasing the book.
“The authors of ‘Bubba Yum Yum – The Paleo Way - for new mums, babies and toddlers’ have decided to release a digital version of the book very shortly, and will, therefore, no longer publish the book, in any format, with Pan Macmillan Australia,” the publisher said in a statement.
