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Nursery owner in China jailed for life after hundreds of children poisoned
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Li Huifang, owner of Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Gansu, China, was sentenced to life imprisonment for producing and selling lead-tainted food that poisoned over 200 children and staff.
- Five staff members received prison sentences ranging from six to eight years for adding toxic ingredients to meals, which included inedible paint used to enhance food appearance.
- Food samples contained lead levels up to 2,000 times above China's national safety limit, with contaminated items like red date cakes and sausage corn buns causing widespread lead poisoning.
- Investigations revealed attempts by provincial officials and hospital staff to cover up the incident through tampering with blood tests and accepting bribes.
- In response, China introduced national guidelines mandating food safety measures in schools, including mandatory testing of new food batches and centralized procurement of key ingredients.
