China jails nursery owner for life over lead poisoning of 200 children
A nursery owner and five employees have been sentenced to prison after being found responsible for poisoning more than 200 children with food contaminated with lead in China.
Li Huifang, who ran the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, was sentenced to life imprisonment for producing and selling toxic and harmful food, according to Chinese state media.
The incident came to light in July 2025 after 247 children and staff at the nursery were found to have abnormally high levels of lead in their blood following reports of illness among pupils.
An investigation revealed that chefs at the kindergarten had used inedible paint to improve the appearance of meals in an attempt to attract more students, despite the product being clearly labelled as unsuitable for consumption.
In addition to her life sentence, the Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court ordered the confiscation of 500,000 yuan (approximately £56,200 or $74,700) in Li’s personal assets, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The kindergarten’s executive principal, Zhi Jinglin, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 300,000 yuan.
Four other kitchen staff members received prison terms ranging from six to eight years. The court found that they had acted on instructions from Li and Zhi to add toxic and harmful substances to food served to children and employees.
Laboratory tests later revealed that some food samples contained lead at levels up to 2,000 times higher than China’s national food safety limit.
The investigation began after 235 children at the nursery required treatment for lead poisoning following the consumption of steamed red date cakes and sausage corn buns.
Investigators found lead concentrations of 1,052 milligrams per kilogram in the red date cakes and 1,340 milligrams per kilogram in the corn sausage buns. Both figures were significantly above the national safety limit of 0.5 milligrams per kilogram.
The World Health Organization warns that lead exposure is particularly dangerous for young children, as it can cause severe damage to the brain and central nervous system.
Authorities subsequently discovered that several provincial officials and hospital staff had allegedly attempted to conceal the incident by manipulating blood test results and accepting bribes from an investor in the nursery.
Following the incident, China introduced national guidelines for providing meals in schools and other educational institutions. The measures include mandatory testing of every new batch of food and requiring flour, rice and cooking oil to be purchased exclusively through centralised procurement channels.
Source: BBC
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