Kindergarteners Found With Abnormally High Lead Levels From School Meals, Chinese Authorities Say

For years, authorities have struggled to boost public trust in China’s food quality since the 2008 baby formula scandal.

Children eating at tables with plastic partitions during lunch time at a kindergarten in Yongzhou in central Hunan Province, China, on May 11, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

More than 230 children were found to have “abnormal” levels of lead in their blood after consuming food at their kindergarten in northwestern China, local authorities said on July 8, the latest in a string of food safety scandals that sparked public outrage.

After testing all 251 children at the school, the authorities found that 233 had abnormal lead levels, while 201 of those students required hospitalization, according to state broadcaster CCTV.