# Nursery owner jailed for life after poisoning 200 children

> A Chinese kindergarten owner and staff were sentenced after serving lead-tainted food to pupils, with paint used to make meals look more appealing.
- Title: Nursery owner jailed for life after poisoning 200 children
- Summary: A Chinese kindergarten owner and staff were sentenced after serving lead-tainted food to pupils, with paint used to make meals look more appealing. Li…
- Keywords: li huifang, heshi peixin kindergarten, tianshui, gansu, lead poisoning, china, food safety, news, world, Nursery, owner, jailed
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqe9lx54g7x9o
- Published: 2026-10-17T12:11:58.492+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: li huifang, heshi peixin kindergarten, tianshui, gansu, lead poisoning, china, food safety, news, world
## Kindergarten owner sentenced to life
Li Huifang, who operated Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, was sentenced to life in prison for producing and selling toxic and harmful food.
## Paint used to enhance meal appearance
In July twenty twenty-five, two hundred forty-seven pupils and staff were found to have abnormally high blood lead levels. Chefs had used inedible paint to enhance the look of meals to attract more students.

> enhance the look
## Food samples vastly exceeded safety limits
Food samples were found to contain lead two thousand times in excess of China's national safety limit.
## New national food safety guidelines introduced
China published national guidelines for campus meals requiring every new batch of food to be tested and flour, rice and cooking oil to be purchased from centralised procurement points only.
## Key takeaway

Li Huifang, owner of Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Gansu province, received a life sentence after 247 children and staff were poisoned with lead-contaminated food in July twenty twenty-five.