Overview

• More than 230 children at Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city were hospitalized after cooks mixed meals with industrial-grade lead pigments, one sample testing at 400,000 times the national safety limit.
• The Gansu Provincial Party Committee report found that local disease control and hospital officials altered blood test results and accepted bribes, exposing systemic lapses in food-safety oversight.
• Six staff members, including the principal and kitchen workers, have been arrested on charges of negligence and evidence tampering, and probes into 27 school, health and government personnel are ongoing.
• China’s National Health Commission and Ministry of Education issued new rules mandating safety testing for every batch of school meal ingredients and centralized procurement from vetted suppliers.
• Affected families are receiving free medical treatment and legal assistance as authorities implement reforms to restore confidence in the country’s school lunch programs.