In China, a kindergarten laced food with paint, poisoning 233 children and drawing a life sentence

At Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, China, 233 children suffered lead poisoning after their food was deliberately mixed with inedible paint.

Here's what to know

According to Mothership, Li Huifang was sentenced to life in prison on October 16 and fined 500,000 yuan ($75,000). The newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that Li told kitchen staff to add the paint so the food would "look more colorful and entice children to eat it."

As the BBC noted, testing found severe contamination in the kindergarten's food, with lead levels reaching as much as 2,000 times China's national food safety threshold. The red date cakes contained about 1,052 milligrams of lead per kilogram, while the corn sausage rolls contained about 1,340 mg of lead per kg — the legal maximum is 0.5 mg per kg.

More background

Investigators also found that dozens of local officials and hospital workers tried to conceal the incident by falsifying blood test results and taking bribes from a nursery investor.

Mothership cited the World Health Organization, which says lead is especially dangerous for children and can cause long-term health problems, harming the central nervous system and causing development and learning issues. Reliable medical follow-ups are also needed over time.

What's being done?

Chinese authorities have taken punitive action against the people directly involved in preparing and overseeing the food for their serious breach of national food safety regulations.

According to Mothership, the kindergarten's principal, Zhu Jinglin, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan ($4,492). Four kitchen workers also received prison terms of six to eight years.

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