New Zealand Food Safety’s investigation says mouldy mince served to students at a Christchurch school had probably been left unrefrigerated for several days before being re-served with freshly delivered meals.
Haeata Community Campus reported that a teacher noticed the spoiled lunches after they had been given to several students.
“One of the teachers decided that they would have lunch because, of course, we are encouraged to eat the lunches as well,” Haeata Community Campus principal Peggy Burrows said.
She said that when a teacher opened their lunch, they instantly saw the food looked like it had “gone off.” The teachers quickly took action after realising the food was “mouldy and furry.”
A complaint was lodged with the provider, School Lunch Collective, immediately after the incident.
Meanwhile, a New Zealand Food Safety investigation into the incident concluded that it was “more than likely that the affected meals at the school had been delivered the previous Thursday, remained at the school without refrigeration, and then were accidentally re-served to students along fresh meals delivered on Monday.”
“This would explain the deterioration of the meals.”
School Lunch Collective lead Paul Harvey commented on the investigation, “We appreciate the prompt and professional work undertaken by New Zealand Food Safety. Their visit to our Christchurch kitchen and to Haeata Community Campus has provided helpful clarity about what occurred. Their investigation indicates that the most likely cause of this incident was meals from last week being inadvertently distributed on Monday.”
“While the investigation continues, this finding aligns with our internal checks and with what our teams observed on the day.”
According to Harvey, nine Cambro boxes containing the savoury mince and potatoes meals were delivered to Haeata Community Campus on Thursday, November 27.
“However, records show only 8 were returned to us. One Cambro box has sat at ambient temperatures at the school since that date.”
Principal Burrows said the school’s attendance rates have not been negatively impacted following the incident. She also disputed the findings of the NZ Food Safety investigation, saying that no food had been left on the premises.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour supports the findings.
“When an allegation could damage a company’s reputation, frighten parents, and undermine confidence in a programme feeding thousands of kids, the minimum standard should be to test those claims against the evidence.”
“Over the last 24 hours their principal has found time for endless media interviews, attempting to politicise a mistake made by her school and create a controversy to smear others. That is not an educator’s role. The first responsibility of a school is to its students’ learning and wellbeing, not to run a media campaign,” Seymour said.