More than 200 children from a Chinese kindergarten had “abnormal” levels of lead in their blood after eating food provided by the school that contained painting pigments, state media reported Tuesday, the latest food safety scare in the country.
Only 18 students of the 251 tested at the school in Tianshui, a city in northwestern Gansu province, had normal lead levels, according to the report, which cited investigation results published by the local government.
Investigators tested 223 samples of food provided by the kindergarten to the children, and found two samples contained excessive lead content, the report said. The kindergarten used diluted lead-containing painting pigments purchased online as food dye — despite the products being marked as “inedible” on their packaging — the investigation found, according to the report.
The two samples contained lead levels above 1,000 milligrams per kilogram — much higher than China’s national food safety standard of less than 0.5 milligrams per kilogram, it added.
The local government formed an investigation team early this month after children in the city were reported as having months of symptoms including diarrhea, hair loss and nosebleeds. Police have detained eight individuals, including the kindergarten’s director, on suspicion of providing harmful food, the report said.
Recent incidents have revived food safety fears in China, long after a 2008 scandal involving tainted infant milk powder rattled public trust.
China fined seven companies last year for their involvement in a tainted cooking oil scandal that saw edible oil being transported in trucks that had been used to carry coal oil without being properly cleaned — causing a nationwide uproar. Parents in southwestern Yunnan province also reported that a school canteen had used rotten pork for students’ meals.
Hashtags related to the lead incident quickly attracted millions of views on Chinese social media platforms, with some users on social media questioning the investigation’s transparency and whether the pigment was the real reason for the children’s health scare.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.