Overview

• Investigators found that Heshi Peixin Kindergarten staff were instructed to add industrial pigments containing lead to children’s meals, resulting in elevated blood-lead levels in 233 of 251 enrolled pupils.
• Six suspects, including the principal and kitchen staff, have been arrested on suspicion of producing toxic food, while 27 health, education and market-supervision officials are under disciplinary or criminal inquiry.
• A Gansu provincial report confirmed that the local CDC and Tianshui Second People’s Hospital manipulated blood-lead test results to conceal the severity of the poisoning.
• Environmental tests of air, water and soil detected no lead contamination in the area, pinpointing the tampered food as the sole source of the outbreak.
• Authorities will cover all medical costs, reimburse out-of-city treatment expenses and implement the first national school meal service guidelines to rebuild public trust.