Overview

• The National Health Commission and other central government bodies have joined the ongoing investigation into the contamination at Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui.
• Families have traveled to hospitals in Xi’an for independent testing after local authorities reported lower blood lead levels than those found by external labs.
• Eight staff members, including principal Zhu Moulin and financial backer Li Moufang, remain detained on suspicion of using industrial lead pigment as a food additive.
• Official tests identified lead concentrations more than 2,000 times above national safety limits in two food samples from the kindergarten kitchen.
• Residents report censorship of online discussions and draw parallels to past food safety scandals, fueling widespread mistrust in local enforcement.