Source: Radio New Zealand
One of the meals that was served up to students on Monday. Supplied / Haeata Community Campus
A Christchurch principal says Food Safety officers saw video proof that mouldy meals served to students weren’t left at her school from the previous week.
Students at Haeata Community Campus were served mouldy mince meals through the government-funded school lunch programme, which some of them ate before realising they were off.
NZ Food Safety has said it was more than likely that some lunches provided by Compass Group last Thursday remained at the school and were not refrigerated.
It said school staff then accidently re-served the food alongside fresh meals on Monday.
But Principal Peggy Burrows said investigators watched security camera footage showing that all of the containers holding the hot meals delivered last Thursday were taken away by Compass.
She said the school had no facility to heat lunches, and would not serve cold meals.
New Zealand Food Safety didn’t confirm whether it saw the footage, but blamed the issue on human error by the school.
Deputy director-general Vince Arbuckle said NZFS had a team onsite at the school and Compass on Tuesday investigating the affected meals.
“We have considered all possible causes.
“We think it is 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 alongside fresh meals delivered on Monday. This would explain the deterioration of the meals.”
In a statement, Paul Harbey – a spokesperson for the School Lunch Collective, which represents Compass Group – said one of the heated containers the meals were kept in was left behind at the school on Thursday.
“There were nine Cambro [food storage] boxes of the savoury mince and potatoes meal delivered to Haeata Community Campus on Thursday 27th November, however records show only eight were returned to us.
“One Cambro box has sat at ambient temperatures at the school since that date.
“[On Monday] more than 73,000 lunches of the same recipe were served nationwide, with no concerns raised by any other school.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
