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The Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court convicted Li Huifang the person in charge of Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui for producing and selling toxic harmful food imposing a life term with lifetime deprivation of political rights and confiscation of 500000 yuan in personal assets. Executive principal Zhu Jinglin received 15 years in prison and a 300000 yuan fine while four kitchen staff members were sentenced to between six and eight years each with additional penalties according to a verdict reported by Xinhua. The court found that the six defendants had violated national food safety regulations by adding non-edible substances to meals served to children and staff resulting in serious consequences that warranted the stiff punishments.
Li Huifang and Zhu Jinglin instructed kitchen workers to purchase online paint pigments clearly labeled as inedible and mix them into pastries such as red date cakes and corn rolls to enhance color and visual appeal for promotional purposes. The scheme aimed to attract more enrollments by making the food appear more attractive to children and parents a provincial investigation report released in July 2025 stated. Kitchen staff including Niu Aiyuan Wen Yafang He Xuxia and An Chunling followed the orders and faced their own convictions for participating in the production of the contaminated items.
Health testing showed that 247 of 251 children at the kindergarten exhibited abnormal blood lead levels after the tainted food was served monthly beginning in May 2024. All affected children received either hospital treatment or home-based nutritional interventions with most completing their first course of care and leaving medical facilities by July 20 2025 Xinhua figures indicated. The South China Morning Post described the case as the country’s most severe food safety scandal in almost two decades prompting immediate government intervention and arrests.
Lead concentrations in the adulterated food reached up to 1340 milligrams per kilogram exceeding the national safety limit of 0.5 milligrams per kilogram by a factor of 2680 according to details cited in regional media reports. The deliberate contamination was uncovered in 2025 leading to a criminal probe that classified the episode as a public health emergency tied to food safety violations. Multiple outlets including ABC News reported that state media released footage showing kitchen staff adding the pigments during food preparation.
The sentences parallel outcomes from China’s 2008 melamine milk scandal in which two men received death penalties a dairy executive was given life in prison and nearly 300000 infants were sickened with at least six deaths according to Reuters records from the period. That earlier crisis exposed regulatory shortcomings across the dairy supply chain and spurred nationwide reforms aimed at tightening food oversight. In the current case health authorities continue monitoring the affected children as lead exposure carries risks of long-term neurological impacts even after initial treatment.
The World Health Organization states that there is no known safe blood lead concentration and that even low levels can result in reduced intelligence quotient behavioural changes and lower educational attainment in children. The Gansu kindergarten incident has fueled renewed calls for enhanced inspections of private kindergartens and stricter controls on kitchen supplies. Follow-up medical data from the provincial health response showed that the majority of children had shown improvement following the nutritional interventions provided.
