Investigators found that the nursery had used toxic, inedible paint in food to make it look more appealing. A nursery owner in China has been sentenced to life in prison after more than 200 children and staff members were found to have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood.
Li Huifang, who ran the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, was convicted of producing and selling toxic and harmful food, according to Chinese state media.
Food samples revealed dangerously high levels of lead. Following the incident, China introduced national guidelines for meals served at educational institutions. An investigation found that nursery staff had added paint that was clearly labelled as unsuitable for consumption to food served at the kindergarten. The move was reportedly intended to improve the appearance of meals and attract more students. The measures include testing every new batch of food and requiring flour, rice and cooking oil to be purchased through centralised procurement systems.
Steamed red date cakes contained 1,052 milligrams of lead per kilogram, while sausage and corn buns had 1,340 milligrams per kilogram. Both figures were far above China’s national food safety limit of 0.5 milligrams per kilogram.
