School lunches minister David Seymour has said the principal of a Christchurch school that raised concerns over mouldy meals is now eating “humble pie”, following the release of a New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) investigation report, Stuff has reported.
The comments come after NZFS on Wednesday confirmed its earlier assessment that mouldy lunches found at Haeata Community Campus last week had most likely been at the school for several days before being discovered. The report said the leftover meals were likely misplaced and left unrefrigerated over the weekend within the school premises.
Principal Peggy Burrows had previously disputed claims suggesting the school was responsible. Haeata Community Campus has been approached for comment after the report’s release and is also conducting its own internal investigation, which Burrows said is expected to be completed by Friday.
Responding to the findings, Seymour dismissed food safety concerns raised by critics. “There is no question here about food safety. People who have tried to say that have had to eat a different meal, which is humble pie.” He added, “I think the findings speak for themselves,” as quoted by Stuff.
The issue surfaced after a staff member discovered about 20 mouldy meals on Monday, December 1. On that day, the school received 343 standard meals and 28 special dietary meals, according to the NZFS report. The meals are delivered in insulated Cambro containers, each holding up to 44 standard meals.
Monday’s menu was savoury minced beef and potatoes, the same meal served the previous Thursday. No meals were delivered on Friday, November 28, as the school observed a teacher-only day. Instead, the delivery van supplied butter chicken and rice meals to other schools. “It is therefore unlikely that the delivery to Haeata Community Campus on Monday could have included leftover meals from the previous week,” NZFS said, Stuff has quoted.
According to a report by Stuff, Investigators found the school kept additional Cambro containers onsite but did not monitor their numbers or contents. After daily distribution, some containers were returned to the cafeteria, where students could access meals later. NZFS concluded that meals from the previous week were most likely inadvertently left in cafeteria containers and later made available to students.
CCTV footage showed that eight Cambro containers were delivered to the school on Thursday, November 27, while nine were returned later that day. All 20 mouldy meals were found in a single cafeteria container.
NZFS said it was unlikely the distributor was responsible, noting no similar complaints were reported by other schools receiving the same meals. It also cited limited chiller capacity at the Christchurch distribution facility, meaning only meals for the following day were stored.
NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said the investigation identified no ongoing food safety risk linked to the School Lunch Collective. Several potential scenarios were examined, including misplaced containers and the reintroduction of leftover meals, Stuff has reported.
The agency has since issued recommendations to strengthen traceability, reporting, and handling processes across schools and suppliers. Parents and students have been reassured that the matter has been fully addressed and that there is no continuing risk to food safety.
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