A nursery owner and five staff members have been jailed in China after more than 200 children were poisoned with lead-tainted food. Li Huifang, who operated the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, received a life sentence for producing and selling toxic and harmful food.
In July 2025, 247 pupils and staff at the nursery were found to have abnormally high blood lead levels after children began falling ill. An investigation found that chefs at Heshi Peixin had used inedible paint to "enhance the look" of meals to attract more students, despite the paint being clearly marked as inedible.
Food samples were later found to contain lead 2,000 times in excess of China's national safety limit. The red date cake and corn sausage rolls had lead levels of 1052mg/kg and 1340mg/kg respectively, far exceeding the national food safety standard limit of 0.5mg/kg.
Nursery executive principal Zhi Jinglin was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 300,000 yuan. Four other kitchen staff members received sentences ranging from six to eight years, having been instructed by Li and Zhi to add toxic ingredients to food.
The Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court also ordered the confiscation of 500,000 yuan (£56,200; $74,700) of Li's personal assets. Officials later discovered that dozens of provincial officials and hospital staff had attempted to cover up the incident by tampering with blood tests and accepting bribes.