A food safety scandal has come to light from Gansu province in northwest China. At least 230 kindergarten children fell ill after consuming poisoned food mixed with industrial-grade lead paint at Brownstone Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city.
The Guardian reported six staff members, including the principal and kitchen staff, have been arrested while twenty-seven others from the school, hospital, and local government are being probed over the matter. They are being accused of negligence and bribery for tampering with medical records.
The investigation revealed that in an attempt to boost admissions, the principal of the kindergarten had ordered to make the food in school cafeteria more attractive by using poisonous bright colours. The school had earlier used cheaper food safety colouring but later switched to brighter, industrial-grade pigment. The colours were bought online, and despite the packaging clearly warned ‘not for consumption’, however, the school used it. One of the pigments was found to contain lead levels 400,000 times the legal limits.
Aftermath of consuming the meal
The poisonous food had infected the students of the school, with reportedly at least 235 children being hospitalised. The common symptoms found were stomach pain, nausea, and, in some cases, blackened teeth.
The Tianshui Second People’s Hospital, where the children were treated, also came under fire. As per reports, the hospital changed the test results of at least two children to show lower lead levels than present. The Gansu provincial centre for disease control and prevention violated testing protocols, resulting in false readings that led to the exposure. The functioning and the conditions in the hospital have been described as pathetic with poor management, insufficient training, and no quality control systems in place.
Previously, Peixin school had been charged with charging premium fees despite lacking a valid operating licence. Officials from multiple departments are now under investigation for accepting bribes from the kindergarten’s main investor, who helped the school operate without proper oversight.
The food safety scandal, which came to light on Sunday, July 20, sparked immediate public outrage. Angry parents of the students gathered outside the kindergarten in protest. According to Li, a Chinese dissident who monitors domestic unrest, violent confrontations broke out between the police and the parents, with officers resorting to use of batons. The parents blocked police vehicles that were transporting plain-clothed individuals, suspected of being involved in the assault, while shouting, “Hand over those who beat people up!”
The Gansu provincial party committee released a formal apology, saying “We are deeply saddened by the abnormal blood lead problem in the Brownstone Peixin Kindergarten… and express our deep apologies to the children and their parents.”
The authorities have promised free medical care for affected children, legal assistance for families, and temporary state management of the kindergarten. The extended reforms included centralising food procurement for schools, more rigorous testing protocols, and stricter oversight of private kindergartens.
The case in China has reopened the previous wounds of the 2008 melamine-tainted baby formula scandal, in which six babies died and thousands fell ill due to the contamination by melamine.
