Chef's food 'decoration' at Chinese pre-school poisons 233 children (www.bbc.com)
from babysandpiper@sopuli.xyz to world@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 10:23
https://sopuli.xyz/post/30077186

More than 200 children are being treated in hospital with lead poisoning in north-west China after school chefs used inedible paint to decorate their food.

Eight people have been arrested after tests showed the food samples from a kindergarten in Tianshui City in Gansu province had lead levels that were 2,000 times over the national safety limit.

In total, 233 children from Peixin Kindergarten had high levels of lead in their blood after eating steamed red date cake and sausage corn bun.

#world

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Zwiebel@feddit.org on 08 Jul 10:53 next collapse

Holy fucking fuck what

Shotgun_Alice@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 11:01 next collapse

You know, I was kind of expecting like some sort of poisonous vegetable or fruit that was put on as a garnish. I was not expecting lead fucking paint.

half_fiction@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 08 Jul 12:47 next collapse

Yes, that’s exactly what I expected, too. What actually happened is truly baffling on multiple levels. Why???

voxthefox@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 08 Jul 13:36 collapse

I mean you might still be right. The lead paint was probably being used to hide the subpar or rotting vegetable/fruits they were trying to serve them, your first instinct isn’t to just paint vegetables unless there’s something else your trying to hide.

grrgyle@slrpnk.net on 08 Jul 22:32 collapse

Legitimately wtf

Deestan@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 11:09 next collapse

The school principal asked the kitchen staff to buy the paint online

officers had to search for the supplies which had been hidden.

The paint was clearly marked as inedible

I’m amazed if a single person employed at this school is not going to prison.

SheeEttin@lemmy.zip on 08 Jul 12:07 collapse

Sometimes China executes people for stuff like this.

idiomaddict@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 12:48 next collapse

If there were a crime which deserved the death penalty (there isn’t), intentionally poisoning more than 200 children would be it. It’s technically possible that they’re really negligent and stupid, but hiding the paint was definitely intentional and probably caused additional harm by delaying treatment.

InvisibleShoe@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 13:57 next collapse

Yep.

2008 Chinese milk scandal

2 executed and 1 life in prison

GreenKnight23@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 14:12 next collapse

good.

it’s rare I give praise to China, this is probably the first and only time.

you would think if people were afraid of losing their own lives, shit like this would stop. unfortunately China (and all of Asia really) has a culture problem with “just following orders” even at the detriment of their own lives.

CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org on 09 Jul 04:12 collapse

Sometimes, or sometimes they get a pass based on connections. Those aren’t mutually exclusive, either; scapegoats have long been a useful political tool.

CreatingMachines@fedia.io on 08 Jul 11:41 next collapse

It is not known how long the paint has been used in the food, but several parents told Chinese state media that their children have been complaining of stomach and leg pain and a lack of appetite since March.

user224@lemmy.sdf.org on 08 Jul 12:25 next collapse

Slightly less related, but what modern day paint has lead in it?

remon@ani.social on 08 Jul 12:38 next collapse

You’d be surpised by how many countries do not have a lead paint ban. Though China is one of them that does.

AmidFuror@fedia.io on 08 Jul 13:36 collapse

It's also a country where manufacturers do whatever the fuck they want until they get caught. Then they bribe the local officials.

Randomgal@lemmy.ca on 08 Jul 15:11 collapse

Like the US you mean?

AmidFuror@fedia.io on 08 Jul 16:14 next collapse

If we're going to ignore the degree of the issue, then I guess the PRC is just like every other country in the world.

RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz on 08 Jul 17:04 collapse

Sometimes I feel like you guys think there’s two countries on earth and they have to be compared at every single turn

BeNotAfraid@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 14:12 next collapse

Road signs, like Stop signs, Yield signs. They all use lead as a primary ingredient, I think Chromium is the other metal they use. It’s durable and the Matte-Metallic finish makes the sign easy to read in all lightings. You can still get lead as an additive to oil-based paints, but it’s heavily restricted. You’d have to have a specific use case to import it, it’s called flake white. Metal additives change the texture and reflective properties of the paint, lead is mostly swapped out for zinc and titanium now though.

idiomaddict@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 17:24 collapse

My first thought: wow, the PPE for the people making road signs must be so involved!

My second thought: unfortunately, probably not at all.

naught101@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 22:45 next collapse

White house paint still had lead in it in Australia, just at much lower levels than before the ban

Moonrise2473@feddit.it on 09 Jul 07:20 collapse

One that costs 5 cents less than the others

FauxPseudo@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 13:19 next collapse

Chef obviously never watched Chopped! If you put a non-edible element on your plate you are just asking to get sent home.

notaviking@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 13:32 next collapse

Sugar of Lead, chef’s kiss and sorry children

dan1101@lemmy.world on 08 Jul 14:35 next collapse

China loves lead, gotta watch for it in Chinese toys too. I’m not anti-China but I am anti-harming people.

21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com on 08 Jul 15:10 next collapse

PRESCHOOL? PRESCHOOL? I’M NOT A FAN OF NON-EDIBLE ORNAMENTS ON MY MEALS AND I’M ALMOST 30.

CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org on 09 Jul 04:13 collapse

It actually sounds like they were straight up using normal paint as food colouring.

KMAMURI@lemmy.world on 09 Jul 04:40 collapse

Lead paint.

CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org on 09 Jul 04:14 collapse

Yeah, if you’re looking at food in China, there’s a real argument to avoid anything artificial-seeming because of incidents like this. I’m told it’s part of the reason why wet markets are so popular - there’s no doubt if your meat is real and unadulterated when you just saw it running around.