Associate Education Minister David Seymour has labelled the principal at the centre of mouldy school lunch a media ‘frequent flyer’. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has labelled the principal at the centre of mouldy school lunch a media ‘frequent flyer’. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has defended the company that may have served kids in Christchurch with “mouldy and furry food”, saying it could have easily been the school’s fault.
Seymour told RNZ’s First Up that Haeata Community Campus principal Peggy Burrows was a “frequent flyer” with the media andsaid there needed to be further investigations before we knew who to blame.
But the school’s principal has hit back saying the food is delivered daily and any leftovers are removed each day.
“I regret to say, you’ve just made an assumption about what’s happened here. And as I just said, we’re keeping a very open mind about what’s happened here,” Seymour told RNZ.
“I also note that this particular principal is a frequent flyer in the media, complaining about quite a range of government policies, which people have the right to do, but I think people need that context.”
Seymour, the Associate Education Minister and the driving force behind the lunches scheme, claimed it was not clear if it was a mix-up by the school or with the food group that supplied the lunches, Compass.
“I need to be clear that there has been no illness. You know, there’s been reporting by this principal,” he said.
The meals, provided as part of the Government’s school lunch programme, were eaten by some students yesterday before a teacher intervened.
Burrows said at around 11pm last night, less than 10 students and one staff member who had reported feeling ill.
She said she could not confirm that this was definitely caused by the mouldy lunches.
“But, I mean, it’s pretty horrendous.”
She said at last one parent had spoken out and said her children would not be allowed to eat the lunches today, despite relying heavily on the program to feed her whanau.
She said she was “horrified” that Seymour had called her a “frequent flyer” as an advocate for a vulnerable community.
“I am really privileged to hold the position, and I’m in a position where I can articulate what that community often thinks and feels.
“And so, at the moment, I see this as probably the greatest advocacy that we can do for the community at the moment is to highlight how vulnerable it is and how inappropriate this whole situation is.”
In response to the claims that it could have been the school’s fault, she gave insight into the process of how the lunches are picked up and disposed of.
“[Compass] has a van driver who delivers all of the food. It begins delivery at 10am in the morning.
“The food is then distributed, and then the waste is put back into the containers that the food comes in, and then all containers are taken straight back to Compass.
“So, the school has absolutely no involvement with the preparation or the disposal of the food. We simply distribute it.”
She said today, all lunches would be opened and thoroughly checked by an adult.
Burrows said as soon as teachers realised the food was “mouldy and furry”, they leapt into action.
“One of the teachers decided that they would have lunch because, of course, we are encouraged to eat the lunches as well,” Burrows said.
The lunches served at Haeata Community Campus were covered in a thick layer of mould.
Compass Group NZ and Gilmours form a partnership to supply meals under the School Lunch Collective.
Burrows said the Compass Group was the provider of the contaminated lunches, but of the two batches provided to the school, only one appeared to have mould.
Helen Hurst, hautū (leader) operations and integration, Ministry of Education, said they were investigating the incident.
“We have been in touch with the school.
“There are no reports of student illness. We have advised the school to monitor students, and any illness is to be reported to Te Whatu Ora.
“We are working with MPI on this investigation. No other school has reported any issues with today’s lunches.”
A School Lunch Collective spokesperson said they were working with the school and MPI to better understand what had happened.
“We take pride in our food quality and know this is something that cannot be compromised.
“Our kitchens are verified and audited regularly by an independent MPI-verified provider, and we follow the Food Act, Food Control Plans and related regulations.
“These measures have been in place since the beginning of the programme.”
