Major Financial Rules
  • Investing
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Latest News
  • Investing
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Latest News
No Result
View All Result
Major Financial Rules
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest News

More than 200 children found with high lead levels after kindergarten in China uses paint as food coloring, authorities say

admin by admin
July 9, 2025
in Latest News
0
More than 200 children found with high lead levels after kindergarten in China uses paint as food coloring, authorities say
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

More than 200 kindergarten students in northwestern China were found to have abnormal blood lead levels after kitchen staff used paint as food coloring, authorities said, in a case that’s stoked outrage in a country long plagued by food safety scandals.

Eight people, including the principal of the private kindergarten that the children attended, have been detained “on suspicion of producing toxic and harmful food,” according to a report released Tuesday by Tianshui city government, as cited by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The principal and a financial backer of the school had allowed kitchen staff at the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten to use paint pigments to color the children’s food, leading to contamination, according to the report, which followed a days-long but ongoing probe into the cases.

Of the 251 students enrolled at the kindergarten, 233 were found to have abnormal levels of lead in their blood, the report found. The children were undergoing medical treatment with 201 of them currently in hospital, authorities said. Medical evaluation on the effects of their exposure, which can cause long-term and developmental harm, were not yet made public.

Local media cited a pediatrics professor as saying aspects of the case suggest there could be chronic lead poisoning, meaning exposure over a period of more than three months.

During the investigation, two food samples from the kindergarten – a red date steamed breakfast cake and a sausage corn roll – were found to have lead levels more than 2,000 times the national food safety standard for contamination, according to figures cited in the investigation report.

Authorities said they launched the probe on July 1 after becoming aware of reports that children at the school had abnormal blood lead levels. Lead exposure in children can lead to severe consequences, including impacting children’s brain development, behavior and IQ.

The government report did not disclose how long the exposure had gone on, with some affected parents interviewed by state media saying they had noticed abnormal signs in their children’s health and behavior for months – and clamoring for more answers about how the exposure happened.

“My mind went blank,” a mother of one affected student told state media after learning from a hospital in a nearby city that her child had a blood lead level of 528 micrograms per liter – a revelation that came after she said a local department in Tianshui told her the blood levels were normal, according to a report published by outlet China National Radio (CNR). China’s National Health Agency classifies “severe lead poisoning” as anything above 450 micrograms per liter.

“Right now, I’m not thinking about compensation – I just want my child to be healthy,” she was quoted as saying.

‘How could they be poisoned so seriously?’

The case has raised all-too-familiar concerns in China about food safety as well as the levels of transparency with which such cases are handled – especially in a system where independent journalism is tightly controlled and officials are under pressure to resolve issues quickly.

Earlier this month, after the school conducted tests on the students but did not issue individual results, many parents took their children to Xi’an – a major city a roughly four-hour drive from Tianshui – for testing, according to a report published by a news outlet affiliated with the official People’s Daily.

Reports from state-affiliated media found that 70 children who were tested in Xi’an had blood lead levels surpassing the threshold of lead poisoning, with six of those cases exceeding 450 micrograms per liter. According to China’s official guidelines, this level is classified as “severe.” A full picture of the results from all the students with abnormal levels was not publicly available.

One mother told the People’s Daily-affiliated outlet that she had been confused by her daughter’s constant stomach aches, loss of appetite and behavioral changes over the past six months, which didn’t improve after treating her with traditional Chinese medicine.

Others expressed skepticism about the results of the official investigation.

“The children only eat three-color jujube steamed cake and corn sausage rolls once or twice a week, how could they be poisoned so seriously?” one mother, who gave her surname Wu, told CNR. “If something like this happened to the children in school, at least give us an explanation. Now there is nothing.”

Earlier this week, Tianshui’s mayor Liu Lijiang said the city would “do everything possible to ensure the children’s treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up protection,” while vowing to close “loopholes” in Tianshui’s public food safety supervision.

‘Serious accountability’

The case has led to widespread expressions of outrage across Chinese social media, the latest among dozens of high-profile scandals have been reported by local media since the early 2000s.

“Serious accountability must be maintained and food safety issues cannot be ignored or slacked off. When it involves the life safety of young children, severe punishment must be imposed,” wrote one commentator on the X-like platform Weibo.

“Children are the hope of a family. I hope they can recover soon and grow up healthily,” said another.

Past scandals have also impacted children. In one of the most egregious examples, six infants died and some 300,000 others were sickened by milk powder formula containing the toxic industrial chemical melamine. Several executives found to be responsible for the 2008 case were ultimately handed death sentences, and the tragedy drove deep mistrust of domestic products and food safety in China.

Lead poisoning used to be a more widespread issue in China. In 2010, the central government for the first time allocated special funds for heavy metal pollution prevention in response to at least 12 high-profile cases the previous year that left more than 4,000 people with elevated blood lead levels, according to state media.

Officials have also moved to tighten food safety regulations in recent years, but pervasive cases have shown more needs to be done in terms of enforcement and to build back public trust, experts say.

Improving the food regulatory system calls for “more transparency, more thorough investigation of food safety cases,” said Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and author of the book “Toxic Politics: China’s Environmental Health Crisis and its Challenge to the Chinese State.”

Huang also said a lack of public confidence in the safety systems could evolve into a “trust crisis.”

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Previous Post

Crypto Market Recap: Cryptos Rally as Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Passes Congress

Next Post

A torpedoed US Navy ship escaped the Pacific in reverse, using coconut logs. Its sunken bow has just been found

Next Post
A torpedoed US Navy ship escaped the Pacific in reverse, using coconut logs. Its sunken bow has just been found

A torpedoed US Navy ship escaped the Pacific in reverse, using coconut logs. Its sunken bow has just been found

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descends into blame game and uncertainty

Planned Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap descends into blame game and uncertainty

June 8, 2025
UK to get first female spy chief

UK to get first female spy chief

June 16, 2025
MACD Crossovers: Why Most Traders Get It Wrong

MACD Crossovers: Why Most Traders Get It Wrong

July 3, 2025
Desperate to get its illegally detained civilians out of Russia, Kyiv offers Ukrainian collaborators in exchange

Desperate to get its illegally detained civilians out of Russia, Kyiv offers Ukrainian collaborators in exchange

June 9, 2025
Breakout Watch: One Stock in Each Sector to Watch Now

Breakout Watch: One Stock in Each Sector to Watch Now

0
Procter & Gamble to cut 7,000 jobs as part of broader restructuring

Procter & Gamble to cut 7,000 jobs as part of broader restructuring

0
Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota

Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota

0
Israel says it has killed leader of Palestinian militant group that took part in October 7 attack

Israel says it has killed leader of Palestinian militant group that took part in October 7 attack

0
Breakout Watch: One Stock in Each Sector to Watch Now

Breakout Watch: One Stock in Each Sector to Watch Now

July 10, 2025
Small Caps Are Rotating In — Here’s Why It Matters

Small Caps Are Rotating In — Here’s Why It Matters

July 10, 2025
Want Faster, Lower Risk Trades? Use This Setup

Want Faster, Lower Risk Trades? Use This Setup

July 10, 2025
The Seasonality Trend Driving XLK and XLI to New Highs

The Seasonality Trend Driving XLK and XLI to New Highs

July 10, 2025
Master Your Money – Sign Up for Our Financial Education Newsletter!

    Ready to take your financial knowledge to the next level? Our newsletter delivers easy-to-understand guides, expert advice, and actionable tips straight to your inbox. Whether you're saving for a dream vacation or planning for retirement, we’ve got you covered. Sign up today and start your journey to financial freedom!

    Recent News

    Breakout Watch: One Stock in Each Sector to Watch Now

    Breakout Watch: One Stock in Each Sector to Watch Now

    July 10, 2025
    Small Caps Are Rotating In — Here’s Why It Matters

    Small Caps Are Rotating In — Here’s Why It Matters

    July 10, 2025
    Want Faster, Lower Risk Trades? Use This Setup

    Want Faster, Lower Risk Trades? Use This Setup

    July 10, 2025
    The Seasonality Trend Driving XLK and XLI to New Highs

    The Seasonality Trend Driving XLK and XLI to New Highs

    July 10, 2025
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Disclaimer: majorfinancialrules.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2025 majorfinancialrules.com | All Rights Reserved

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Investing
    • Economy
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Latest News

    Disclaimer: majorfinancialrules.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2025 majorfinancialrules.com | All Rights Reserved