Chef poisons 233 children with food decoration at Chinese pre-school

More than 200 children have been hospitalised with lead poisoning after pre-school kitchen staff used paint not meant for consumption to decorate food in north-west China.

Authorities say eight people have been arrested following tests that showed food samples from a kindergarten in Tianshui City, Gansu province, had lead levels 2,000 times above the national safety limit.

A total of 233 children from Peixin Kindergarten were found to have high lead levels in their blood after eating steamed red date cakes and sausage corn buns. The paint had been purchased online by kitchen staff at the direction of the school principal, according to a police statement. After the children began to fall ill, officers had to search for the paint supplies, which had been hidden.

“The paint was clearly marked as inedible,” the statement said.

One parent told the BBC he was concerned about how the poisoning could affect his son’s health over time.

 “Mr Liu took his child to hospital in Xi’an for testing last week after other parents raised the alarm. His son now needs 10 days of treatment and medication.”

Chinese state media broadcast CCTV footage that reportedly showed kitchen staff adding the pigment to food. Investigators later confirmed that the red date cakes and corn sausage buns contained lead at levels of 1052 mg/kg and 1340 mg/kg, far above the legal limit of 0.5 mg/kg.

The principal of the privately-run Chinese pre-school, also called kindergarten, along with seven others including a main investor, are now being investigated on suspicion of producing food containing harmful substances.

It’s not yet clear how long the paint was being used. However, several parents told Chinese media that their children had been complaining of symptoms such as stomach pain, leg discomfort, and loss of appetite since March. Authorities launched an investigation after these concerns were brought forward.

“The incident exposed shortcomings and loopholes in public food safety supervision and the city would draw lessons from the event,” said Tianshui’s mayor, Liu Lijiang.

(BBC)

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