A court in northwest China sentenced a kindergarten operator to life in prison after an investigation linked contaminated meals to abnormal blood-lead results among 247 children and 28 staff members.
The Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court issued its first-instance verdict Friday, Oct. 16, against Li Huifang, whom it identified as the actual person in charge of Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province. The Gansu provincial investigation identified Li as an investor in the kindergarten.
The court convicted Li of producing and selling toxic and harmful food. It imposed a life sentence and ordered the confiscation of 500,000 yuan in personal assets, about $74,700.
Executive principal Zhu Jinglin received 15 years in prison and a 300,000-yuan fine. Four kitchen workers were sentenced to terms of six to eight years. The court said Li and Zhu had instructed kitchen workers to add toxic substances to meals.
The provincial investigation said all 247 affected children received care; 235 were hospitalized, while the others received nutrition support at home. It also found abnormal blood-lead results in 28 staff members.
Investigators said staff added inedible paint to make meals more colorful and attract families to the kindergarten. Tests recorded 1,340 milligrams of lead per kilogram in corn sausage buns and 1,052 milligrams per kilogram in three-color steamed red date cake. The applicable national food-safety limit for the two sampled foods was 0.5 milligrams per kilogram, the investigation said.
The investigation also documented testing and oversight failures. A hospital altered two children's test reports, while procedural errors led to inaccurate results in provincial disease-control testing. It separately said local education and market-regulation officials received favors and described bribery as suspected.
The World Health Organization says lead exposure can disrupt children's development and damage the brain and nervous system.
Guidance issued more than a year before the verdict, on Aug. 2, 2025, by the Ministry of Education and a market regulator calls for checks on incoming ingredients, documentation and supplier lists for each batch. It also calls for centralized purchasing of flour, rice and cooking oil where localities or schools have the capacity.
