Latest news with #GansuProvincialCentreforDiseaseControlandPrevention
News18
22-07-2025
- Health
- News18
‘Brighter Meals' Lead To Mass Poisoning At China Kindergarten, 230 Kids Hospitalised
Last Updated: Authorities arrested six kindergarten staff and are investigating 27 others after over 230 children in Gansu were poisoned by food contaminated with lead pigment. Chinese authorities arrested six kindergarten staff and launched disciplinary investigations into 27 others after more than 230 children in Gansu province were poisoned by food contaminated with industrial-grade lead pigment. The incident, which took place earlier this month at the Brownstone Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city, is being described as one of the worst school food safety scandals in recent Chinese history. An investigative report released by the Gansu provincial party committee cited widespread failures, misconduct and cover-ups at nearly every level of oversight, from school administrators to public health and government officials. According to the report, the kindergarten's principal instructed kitchen staff to enhance the visual appeal of meals by adding brightly coloured pigment to the food with the aim of boosting enrolments. The school cook purchased industrial-grade colourants online despite packaging clearly marked 'not for consumption." One of the pigments was later found to contain lead levels 400,000 times above the legal safety limit. The kindergarten had previously used food-safe dyes but reportedly switched to the more toxic version because it produced more vivid colours. Hundreds Of Children Affected Initial reports said 235 children were hospitalised after eating the tainted meals, with symptoms including stomach pain, vomiting and in some cases even blackened teeth. Subsequent testing confirmed that 247 children and several staff members- including the principal- had elevated levels of lead in their blood. While most students have since been discharged from hospital, the provincial government said the case caused 'deep sorrow" and issued a formal apology to affected families. Institutional Failure And Cover-Up Revealed The official report accuses multiple institutions of negligence and misconduct in both the lead-up to and aftermath of the poisoning. The Gansu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was faulted for violating health protocols while collecting samples, resulting in test results that vastly understated the true scale of contamination. The local education bureau was also heavily criticized for allowing the kindergarten to operate without a valid license. Authorities admitted that no food safety inspections had been conducted at private kindergartens in the area for at least two years. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Saudi Gazette
22-07-2025
- Health
- Saudi Gazette
China finds cover-up in lead poisoning of 200 children
BEIJING — Dozens of provincial officials and hospital staff attempted to cover up a lead poisoning case that made hundreds of children sick in north-west China and sparked widespread outrage, an official investigation has found. The officials tampered with the blood tests of students who were poisoned at Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui city, Gansu provincial authorities said in a report on Sunday. City officials also accepted bribes from an investor in Peixin while neglecting food safety inspections across several pre-schools, the report said. In an attempt to attract more students, Peixin chefs had used inedible paint to "enhance the look" of its meals, the report said. Food samples were later found to contain lead 2,000 times in excess of the national safety limit. Eight people were initially detained for their involvement in producing the toxic snacks. Six of them - including the kindergarten's principal, cooks, and an investor - have been arrested, according to the other officials will face "formal accounting procedures" while another 17 people are under disciplinary revealed on 8 July that 235 children from the privately-owned kindergarten were being treated in hospital for lead poisoning after eating steamed red date cakes and sausage corn of Sunday, 234 of them have been Gansu Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was ordered to test 267 students and staff at Peixin after some showed symptoms earlier this month, but officials "did not take the work seriously".The person in charge of the tests "seriously violated operating procedures, which distorted the results", according to the report named several people under investigation and set out lead concentrations of various food samples, among other also accused staff at the Tianshui No. 2 People's Hospital of "serious dereliction of duty" and described the institution's management of the case as "chaotic".The Chinese internet paid keen attention to the report, with some commending what they see as transparent disclosure and others asking for perpetrators in this case to be held contrast to its chiding of provincial and city-level officials, the report said there was "quick response" from the central government, which convened an expert panel "at the earliest opportunity" to review any gaps in Monday, China published a set of national guidelines for the provision of meals on campuses. Among other things, it mandates that every new batch of food must be tested, and that rice, flour and cooking oil must be bought at centralised procurement in Tianshui have also announced that children suffering from lead poisoning can receive free treatment at designated hospitals and legal assistance will be made available to affected will be temporarily managed by a state-owned kindergarten. — BBC
