BEIJING — A court in China on Friday sentenced the operator of a kindergarten and other employees to prison terms for serving tainted food, after more than 200 students were found with abnormally high levels of lead in their blood, official media reported. Li Huifang, who operated the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in the city of Tianshui in Gansu province, was sentenced to life in prison, with 500,000 yuan (US$75,000) of her personal assets ordered to be confiscated, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court also sentenced Zhu Jinglin, the kindergarten’s executive principal, to 15 years in prison with a 300,000 yuan (US$44,800) fine, CCTV reported. Four others who worked in the kindergarten kitchen were sentenced to prison terms of between six and eight years, it said. The court ruled that Li and Zhu instructed the four kitchen workers to add toxic and harmful substances to food consumed by young children and kindergarten staff. In July 2025, more than 200 students and over 20 staff members were found to have abnormally high blood lead levels, with media reports saying that the school added inedible lead-containing pigments to their food for visual appeal. High levels of lead exposure can damage a child’s brain and nervous system. The Associated Press
