Kindergarten Head Gets Life in Prison for Lead Poisoning of 247 Children in China

A court in Lanzhou has sentenced the woman in charge of a kindergarten in Tianshui to life in prison for poisoning 247 preschool children with lead tainted food. The Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court handed down the verdict on Friday, October 16, in the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten case, one of the worst food safety cases involving young children in China in recent years.

Li Huifang, who ran the kindergarten in Tianshui's Maiji District in Gansu province, was convicted of producing and selling toxic and harmful food. The court stripped her of political rights for life and ordered 500,000 yuan of her personal assets confiscated. Zhu Jinglin, the kindergarten's executive principal, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 300,000 yuan. Four kitchen workers who carried out the orders received prison terms of six to eight years and were also fined.

Food coloured with inedible pigment

The court found that Li and Zhu told kitchen staff to add toxic substances to food served to children and employees so the food would look more colourful and attractive. A provincial investigation reported in July 2025 said cooks had mixed pigments marked inedible into flour used for corn rolls and date cakes, and that the pastries had been served to children and staff each month since May 2024. Tests on food samples found lead at 1,340 milligrams per kilogram in the corn rolls and 1,052 milligrams per kilogram in the date cakes.

Blood tests showed that 247 of the 251 children examined had abnormal blood lead levels, and staff members were affected as well. Lead exposure at high levels can damage a child's brain and nervous system. All of the affected children received hospital treatment or nutrition help at home. By July 20, 2025, most had finished a first round of treatment and left hospital, and doctors reported that blood lead levels had fallen by an average of 40.21 percent.

Officials investigated as well

The case did not end with the kindergarten staff. The provincial investigation led to disciplinary probes into 10 local officials, including the director of the provincial health commission and senior leaders in Tianshui. Investigators also examined how blood test results were handled at a local hospital after concerns that some results had been altered. The Gansu provincial government has promised to keep supporting the children's medical care and recovery.

The sentences close the criminal case against the six people who ran and staffed the kitchen. They do not end the treatment for the children, whose families will live with the health effects of lead exposure for years. Food safety in schools has been a sensitive subject in China since the case broke in the summer of 2025, and this verdict is the state's strongest answer so far: a life term for the person at the top.