Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
The owner of a Chinese kindergarten has been jailed for life after more than 200 children were poisoned by lead in the nation’s worst food safety scandal for almost two decades.
A total of six people were jailed by the Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Gansu province last month for making or selling harmful foods.
The scandal emerged in July last year, when more than 200 children were found to be suffering from lead poisoning.
Police said that canteen staff bought decorative paint online with permission from the kindergarten’s owner and its principal, diluted it and added it to food. Tests confirmed that the paint – which had been clearly marked as not safe for consumption – contained lead.
Of the 251 children at Peixin Kindergarten, 233 were found to have abnormal blood lead levels. Food samples from the kindergarten had more than 2,000 times the national limit.
The school principal and four canteen staff were also jailed and given fines.
