A Chinese court has sentenced a kindergarten owner to life imprisonment and jailed five employees after lead-contaminated meals left 247 children with abnormally high blood lead levels in northwestern China.
The Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court in Gansu province handed down the sentences on Friday over food served at Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, according to Chinese state media.
The poisoning was uncovered in July 2025, prompting an investigation into the nursery's food preparation practices and subsequent attempts by officials to conceal the incident.
Investigators found that kindergarten owner Li Huifang and executive principal Zhu Jinglin had instructed kitchen workers to add inedible paint to meals to make them more colorful and attractive to prospective families.
The contaminated pastries, including steamed red date cakes and sausage corn buns, had reportedly been served monthly since May 2024.
Laboratory testing revealed lead concentrations of 1,052 milligrams per kilogram in the cakes and 1,340 milligrams per kilogram in the buns, far exceeding China's national food safety limit of 0.5 milligrams per kilogram.
Li was sentenced to life imprisonment, permanently deprived of political rights and ordered to forfeit 500,000 yuan ($74,000) in personal assets.
Zhu received a 15-year prison sentence and a 300,000-yuan fine, while four kitchen employees were sentenced to between six and eight years.
Of 251 children tested, 247 recorded abnormally high blood lead levels, while 235 required treatment for lead poisoning.
All affected children received hospital care or nutritional intervention at home, with most completing their initial treatment and leaving hospital by July 20, 2025.
The investigation also uncovered efforts by provincial officials and hospital personnel to conceal the poisoning through manipulated blood tests and bribes linked to a kindergarten investor.
China subsequently introduced national school meal guidelines requiring testing of new food batches and centralized procurement of essential ingredients, including flour, rice and cooking oil.
The World Health Organization warns that lead exposure poses particularly serious risks to young children, potentially causing severe damage to the brain and central nervous system.