Hong Kong
CNN
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More than 200 kindergarten students in northwestern China have been found to have abnormal blood lead levels after kitchen staff used paint as food coloring, and authorities embrace anger in a country that has long been plagued by food safety scandals.
Eight people, including the principal of the private kindergarten where the children attended, are in detention “on suspicion of producing toxic and harmful foods,” according to a report released on Tuesday by the Tianshui city government, cited by China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
The school’s principal and financial supporters have allowed Hesi Paicin’s kindergarten kitchen staff to use paint pigments to color their children’s food, leading to contamination, which has followed ongoing cases for the next few days.
Of the 251 students enrolled in kindergarten, 233 were found to have abnormal levels of lead in their blood, the report found. The children were currently receiving treatment for 201 people in the hospital, authorities said. Medical assessments of the effects of exposures that can cause long-term and developmental harm have not been published yet.
Local media said pediatrics professors suggest that chronic lead poisoning may be present, and that chronic lead poisoning may be present for more than three months.
During the investigation, the figures cited in the research report found that two food samples from kindergarten (a red date steamed breakfast cake and sausage corn roll) had lead levels of more than 2,000 times the national food safety standard for contamination.
The paint was also seized by the authorities and found to contain lead. And the package was clearly labelled as unfulfilled, the report says. Tianshui’s top law enforcement officer told CCTV that the principal and his investors were aiming to “attract more registrations and increase revenue” with colorful food. CNN is reaching out Heshi Peixin Kindergarten has been several times for comments.
Authorities said they began an investigation on July 1 after they noticed reports of children at school having abnormal blood lead levels. Lead exposure in children can have serious consequences, including affecting their brain development, behavior, and IQ.
The government’s report did not reveal how long the revelations have progressed. Some affected parents said they noticed over months of months of unusual signs of their child’s health and behavior when interviewed by state media.
“My heart has become blank,” said the mother of a student affected by one He spoke to the state media According to a report published by Outlet China National Radio (CNR), the revelation that a child learns that he has a blood lead level of 528 micrograms per liter is a revelation that was revealed after telling her that the blood concentration is normal.. China’s National Health Organization classifies “severe lead poisoning” as more than 450 micrograms per liter.
“Now I’m not thinking about compensation. I just want my child to be healthy,” she was quoted as saying.
The case raised very familiar concerns in China about the level of food safety and transparency, particularly in a system where independent journalism is tightly controlled and officials are under pressure to resolve issues quickly.
Earlier this month, after schools conducted student tests but did not publish individual results, many parents took their children to Xi’an, a major city, a drive from Tianshui, for the test, about four hours drive from Tianshui, according to a report released by a news outlet belonging to civil servants.
Reports from the state-affiliated media found that 70 children tested on Xi’an had blood lead concentrations above the lead poisoning threshold, of which six cases exceed 450 micrograms per liter. According to official Chinese guidelines, this level is classified as “stricken.” The overall picture of the outcomes for all students with unusual levels was not published.
One mother told people’s daily outlets that she was confused by her daughter’s constant stomach ache, loss of appetite for the past six months and changes in behavior, but she didn’t improve after treating her with traditional Chinese herbal medicine.
Others expressed skepticism about the results of the official investigation.
“Children just eat three-color jujubu steamed cakes and corn sausage rolls once or twice a week. Why are they poisoned so seriously?” one mother who gave them the last name told CNR. “If this happens to the kids at school, at least explain it. There’s nothing at all now.”
Earlier this week, Mayor Tianshui Lujang said the city will “do everything possible to ensure protections in the treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up of children.”
The incident led to widespread expressions of anger across China’s social media. The latest dozens of high-profile scandals have been reported by local media since the early 2000s.
“We need to maintain serious accountability and we cannot ignore or relax food safety issues. If it involves the life safety of young children, we need to impose severe penalties,” wrote one commentator on platform Weibo, like X.
“Children are family hopes. We hope they can recover quickly and grow healthy,” another person said.
Past scandals have also affected children. In one of the worst cases, six infants died, and around 300,000 babies were ill from milk powder formula containing toxic industrial chemical melamine. Several executives, who were found to be responsible for the 2008 lawsuit, were ultimately sentenced to death, and the tragedy led to deep distrust over China’s domestic product and food safety.
Lead poisoning was once a wider problem in China. In 2010, the central government allocated special funds for the first time to prevent heavy metal contamination, as more than 4,000 people with at least 12 blood lead levels remained in response to at least 12 well-known cases, according to state media.
Officials have also moved to tighten food safety regulations in recent years, but have shown that more needs need to be made from an enforcement perspective and that public trust should be built, experts say.
Improving the food regulation system calls for “transparency in food safety, a more thorough investigation,” says Yanzhong Huang, Senior Global Health Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York and author of “China’s Environmental Health Crisis and the Challenge of the Chinese Nation.”
Fans also said there was a shortage Public trust in safety systems can evolve into a “trust crisis.”
