Principal Detained After Over 200 Children Suffer Suspected Lead Poisoning In China

A kindergarten principal has been detained following a suspected mass lead poisoning incident that left more than 200 children ill in northwestern China, state media reported on Tuesday.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, medical tests revealed “abnormal” levels of lead in the blood of 233 children enrolled at Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province. Of those affected, 201 are currently receiving hospital treatment.

The incident has sparked renewed concerns over food safety in China, a country still haunted by past scandals such as the 2008 contaminated milk formula crisis that sickened hundreds of thousands of infants and caused at least six deaths.

Authorities launched an investigation after receiving reports from concerned parents, who said their children were experiencing symptoms including stomach pain, nausea, and discoloured teeth. One parent told state-run Jimu News that the children’s teeth had turned black.

Testing revealed that two food items served at the kindergarten—three-colour steamed date cakes and corn rolls—contained lead levels more than 2,000 times the national safety limit.

The date cakes recorded a lead concentration of 1,052 milligrams per kilogram, while the corn rolls contained 1,340 milligrams per kilogram. The legal limit for lead in wheat and starch products in China is just 0.5 milligrams per kilogram.

Surveillance footage showed kitchen workers mixing packaged yellow colouring into flour used for the contaminated meals. Authorities later discovered that the colouring contained toxic paint pigments purchased online, marked clearly as inedible.

CCTV reported that the kindergarten’s principal, identified by the surname Zhu, and an investor surnamed Li were taken into custody, along with six others. Two additional suspects were released on bail pending trial.

Officials have confirmed that other kindergartens affiliated with Peixin returned normal test results, suggesting the contamination was isolated to the Tianshui location.

While China has made strides in tightening food safety regulations in recent years, high-profile lapses continue to stir public outrage. A scandal last year, in which cooking oil was found to have been transported in containers previously used for fuel, provoked widespread condemnation on Chinese social media.