Paint used in the children’s meals contained lead with “packaging clearly marked that it was not edible,” according to a government report

NEED TO KNOW

• A kindergarten owner and multiple members of her staff were sentenced after poisoning more than 200 children at Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, China
• She had instructed the establishment’s kitchen staff to buy paint online and use it in some food production after dilution
• The owner and vice president were sentenced to prison alongside four other employees involved in the incident

A kindergarten owner and various members of her staff were sentenced after more than 200 children were poisoned.

In July, Chinese authorities launched an investigation into Peixin Kindergarten in the city of Tianshui after receiving reports of abnormally high levels of lead in the blood of some of the children attending the school, CNN and CCTV News reported at the time. 

According to the government report, obtained by CCTV News, principal Zhu Jinglin and Li Huifang, who backed the school financially, allegedly instructed the establishment’s kitchen staff to buy paint online and use it in some food production after dilution.

The paint used contained lead with “packaging clearly marked that it was not edible,” the report stated.

Video footage obtained by the U.K.’s Sky News showed a kitchen staff member allegedly pouring the paint into a bowl, before being helped by another staff member to prepare the food.

Jinglin, Huifang and eight others were eventually detained on suspicion of producing toxic and harmful food, while two others, whose identities have not been made public, were put on bail pending trial, CCTV News reported.

Three months after their arrest, Huifang was sentenced to life in prison for producing and selling toxic and harmful food, per CCTV News. The Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court also ordered that 500,000 yuan (about $75,000) of her personal assets be confiscated.

Jinglin, the kindergarten’s executive vice principal, was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison with a 300,000 yuan (about $44,800) fine, according to the outlet. Four other employees involved in the incident were sentenced to prison terms between six and eight years. 

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At the time, the city government’s report stated that lead was found in “three-color red date steamed cake” that was served for breakfast, as well as “a corn roll sausage” that was provided “for dinner.”

“The lead content of the two samples was 1,052 mg/kg and 1,340 mg/kg, respectively, both exceeding the national food safety standard of 0.5 mg/kg for food contaminants,” the report stated, per CCTV News.

Test results later showed that 233 of the 251 children enrolled had abnormal blood lead levels. Nearby schools Weibei Kindergarten, Ci’ai Kindergarten and Mengdi’ai Kindergarten were also tested, but the blood results from those students showed normal levels.

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