A kindergarten proprietor in north-western China has been sentenced to life imprisonment for contaminating the meals of hundreds of pupils with lead-based substances.
The Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court handed the life sentence to Li Huifang. The court said she was guilty of producing and selling food containing toxic and harmful materials.
Li was the owner of Heshi Peixin Kindergarten, located in Tianshui city, Gansu province.
Her co-defendant, the school’s executive principal Zhu Jinglin, was jailed for 15 years and fined 300,000 yuan. The court also convicted four kitchen staff members, sentencing them to between six and eight years in prison each.
According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the case was exposed in July 2025.
Health authorities discovered that 247 children and staff had elevated blood lead levels. Food tested from the school’s kitchen showed extreme contamination.
Prosecutors told the court that steamed red date cakes and sausage corn buns served to pupils contained lead levels of 1,052mg/kg and 1,340mg/kg. China’s national safety limit is 0.5mg/kg.
Investigators said the industrial pigment, which was clearly labelled as inedible, was deliberately added to make the food look more colourful.
As part of her punishment, Li will also forfeit 500,000 yuan in personal assets and be stripped of her political rights for life.
The World Health Organization has warned that lead exposure poses a serious risk to young children, as it can cause irreversible damage to the developing brain.
Leave a comment