A court in Gansu province has handed down a life sentence to the owner of a private kindergarten after more than 200 children were poisoned by lead‑tainted meals. The verdict also imposed heavy fines and prison terms on the school’s principal and several kitchen staff, while ordering the seizure of half a million yuan in personal assets.
The toxic meals at Heshi Peixin Kindergarten
In July 2025, health officials discovered that 247 pupils and staff at the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui had abnormally high blood lead levels after a wave of illness swept through the facility. Investigators traced the contamination to the kitchen, where chefs had been instructed to add inedible paint – clearly labelled as unsuitable for consumption – to steamed red date cakes and sausage corn buns in order to make the food look more appealing.
Laboratory tests showed the red date cake contained 1,052 mg/kg of lead and the corn sausage rolls 1,340 mg/kg, both figures far exceeding the national safety limit of 0.5 mg/kg. In effect, the lead concentration was roughly 2,000 times higher than permitted levels.
Court hands down life term and asset seizure
The Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court found Li Huifang, the nursery’s owner, guilty of producing and selling toxic food and sentenced her to life imprisonment. The court also ordered the confiscation of 500,000 yuan (approximately £56,200 or $74,700) of her personal assets.
Zhi Jinglin, the executive principal, received a 15‑year prison term and a fine of 300,000 yuan. Four other kitchen workers were given sentences ranging from six to eight years each, after the judge concluded they had followed direct orders from Li and Zhi to introduce the harmful substances into meals served to children and staff.
Attempts to hide the scandal and new safety rules
Beyond the immediate poisoning, the investigation revealed that dozens of provincial officials and hospital employees tried to conceal the incident by altering blood test results and accepting bribes from an investor linked to the nursery. The World Health Organization warned that lead poisoning is “particularly harmful to young children” and can “severely damage the brain and central nervous system”.
In response, Chinese authorities have issued nationwide guidelines for campus catering. The new rules require every fresh batch of food to be tested for contaminants and mandate that flour, rice and cooking oil be sourced only through centralised procurement programmes.
Why it Matters
This case exposes a disturbing failure of oversight in China’s private education sector, where profit motives appear to have overridden basic child‑safety standards. The extensive cover‑up attempts by public officials further erode trust in institutional accountability. While the freshly introduced national guidelines aim to prevent a recurrence, the scandal underscores the urgent need for stricter enforcement, transparent monitoring and a cultural shift that places children’s wellbeing above financial gain.
