Over 200 Chinese kindergarteners poisoned by lead paint in food

In a case that has sparked widespread outrage and reignited concerns over food safety in China, authorities in northwestern China’s Tianshui city have confirmed that more than 200 kindergarten students were found to have abnormal blood lead levels after kitchen staff at a private school allegedly used paint as food coloring. The startling discovery has led to the detention of eight individuals, including the school’s principal.

A report released Tuesday by the Tianshui city government, citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, revealed that eight individuals have been detained on “suspicion of producing toxic and harmful food.”

Among those arrested are the principal of the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten and a financial backer of the school, who allegedly allowed kitchen staff to incorporate paint pigments into children’s food, leading to severe contamination.

The motive, according to Tianshui’s top law enforcement official, was to “attract more enrollment and increase revenue” with visually appealing, colorful food.

The ongoing probe, launched on July 1 after reports of abnormal blood lead levels in the children emerged, uncovered shocking details. Of the 251 students enrolled at the kindergarten, a staggering 233 were found to have abnormal levels of lead in their blood. Authorities stated that 201 of these children are currently hospitalized and undergoing medical treatment. The full extent of the long-term and developmental harm caused by their exposure has not yet been made public, but local media cited a pediatrics professor suggesting aspects of the case point to chronic lead poisoning, indicating exposure over more than three months.

During the investigation, two food samples from the kindergarten – a red date steamed breakfast cake and a sausage corn roll – were found to contain lead levels exceeding the national food safety standard for contamination by over 2,000 times.

Furthermore, the paint seized by authorities was confirmed to contain lead, with its packaging clearly labeled as “non-edible.”

CNN has reportedly reached out to Heshi Peixin Kindergarten for comment multiple times.

The government report did not disclose the duration of the exposure, but some affected parents interviewed by state media recounted noticing abnormal signs in their children’s health and behavior for months, expressing frustration and demanding more answers.

One distraught mother told state media that her “mind went blank” after learning her child had a blood lead level of 528 micrograms per liter from a hospital in another city, especially after a local department in Tianshui had allegedly told her the levels were normal.

China’s National Health Agency classifies anything above 450 micrograms per liter as “severe lead poisoning.” The mother emphasized, “Right now, I’m not thinking about compensation – I just want my child to be healthy.”

The incident has amplified familiar concerns in China regarding food safety standards and the level of transparency in handling such cases, particularly within a system where independent journalism is tightly controlled.

The Heshi Peixin Kindergarten.

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Earlier this month, after the school conducted initial tests but withheld individual results, many parents traveled about four hours to Xi’an, a major city, for independent testing.

Reports from state-affiliated media indicated that 70 children tested in Xi’an had blood lead levels surpassing the lead poisoning threshold, with six exceeding the “severe” level of 450 micrograms per liter.

One mother, surnamed Wu, expressed skepticism about the official investigation, questioning how children could be so severely poisoned from items reportedly consumed only once or twice a week. “If something like this happened to the children in school, at least give us an explanation. Now there is nothing,” she told CNR.

In response to the growing public outcry, Tianshui’s Mayor Liu Lijiang vowed to “do everything possible to ensure the children’s treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up protection,” promising to close “loopholes” in the city’s public food safety supervision.

The case has generated widespread outrage on Chinese social media platforms like Weibo, with commentators demanding “serious accountability” and severe punishment for those involved, emphasizing that “children are the hope of a family.”

This incident resonates with past high-profile food safety scandals in China, including the 2008 melamine-tainted milk formula crisis that killed six infants and sickened 300,000, leading to death sentences for executives. While officials have tightened food safety regulations in recent years, experts like Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, argue that more enforcement and transparency are crucial to rebuild public confidence and prevent a potential “trust crisis.”