Life imprisonment after over 200 children were poisoned with inedible paint

The preschool in the Chinese province of Gansu tried to make the food look more colorful and "appetizing". Dyes were bought online and mixed into the food by the chefs, despite the fact that it was written on the package that the dye "should not be consumed".

The scandal came to light in July 2025 when children started complaining that they had stomachaches and felt sick. Some of them had blackened teeth.

It turned out that both children and employees at the school, a total of 247 people, had suffered from lead poisoning via the food.

235 children were forced to seek care after eating steamed red date cakes and corn buns with sausage.

Now the owner of the preschool is sentenced to life in prison for producing and selling poisonous food, the BBC reports with reference to Chinese state media.

The preschool principal is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Four employees who worked in the school's kitchen receive between six and eight years in prison, state media say.

In the red date cake, the lead content was 1052 mg/kg and the corn sausages contained 1340 mg/kg lead. This compares with the national limit for lead in food, which is 0.5 milligrams per kilogram in China.

Lead is especially harmful to young children. Lead poisoning can damage the brain and central nervous system and lead to a permanent impact on brain development, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In connection with the scandal, it was discovered that over a dozen employees of a local authority tried to cover up what happened by manipulating the results of blood tests after accepting bribes.

In 2008, China was rocked by a scandal where poison was added to milk formula, which sickened over 300,000 children and six children died.

After the kindergarten food scandal in Gansu, China has introduced new national guidelines for meals in schools and preschools. All food deliveries must be tested and certain food items may only be purchased via central purchasing points.