The meals were covered in “furry stuff”.<\/p>\n
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 Compass.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to be clear that there has been no illness. You know, there\u2019s been reporting by this principal,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
But Burrows said the food was delivered daily and any leftovers were removed each day. <\/p>\n
Some students ate the meals, provided as part of the Government\u2019s school lunch programme, before a teacher intervened. <\/p>\n
But this morning, Burrows said by around 11pm, fewer than 10 students and one staff member had reported feeling ill. <\/p>\n
She said she could not confirm that this was definitely caused by the mouldy lunches. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut, I mean, it\u2019s pretty horrendous.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said at least one parent had said her children would not be allowed to eat the lunches today, despite her relying heavily on the programme to feed her wh\u0101nau. <\/p>\n
A parent said they would not allow their child to eat a school lunch today after mould was found yesterday. <\/p>\n
The principal said she was \u201chorrified\u201d that Seymour had called her a \u201cfrequent flyer\u201d as an advocate for a vulnerable community. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am really privileged to hold the position, and I\u2019m in a position where I can articulate what that community often thinks and feels. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so, at the moment, I see this as probably the greatest advocacy that we can do for the community at the moment: to highlight how vulnerable it is and how inappropriate this whole situation is.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response to the claims that it could have been the school\u2019s fault, she explained how the lunches were picked up and disposed of. <\/p>\n
\u201c[Compass] has a van driver who delivers all of the food. It begins delivery at 10am.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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. <\/p>\n
The lunches served at Haeata Community Campus were covered in a thick layer of mould.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the school has absolutely no involvement with the preparation or the disposal of the food. We simply distribute it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said an adult would thoroughly check all lunches today. <\/p>\n
Burrows said as soon as teachers realised the food was \u201cmouldy and furry\u201d yesterday, they leaped into action.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the teachers decided that they would have lunch because, of course, we are encouraged to eat the lunches as well,\u201d Burrows said.<\/p>\n
Compass Group NZ and Gilmours form a partnership to supply meals under the School Lunch Collective.<\/p>\n
Burrows said the Compass Group provided the lunches, but of the two batches provided to the school, only one appeared to have mould.<\/p>\n
Mould could take days, weeks to grow<\/p>\n
Massey University Professor of Food Safety and Microbiology Steve Flint said mould could typically form within a few days in room temperature environments or over a few weeks refrigerated. <\/p>\n
He said that the food in the lunches, cooked meat and vegetables, would have typically needed to be exposed to the air or had mould spores sealed into the containers for it to have grown mould.<\/p>\n
Flint also said that consuming mould was generally safe and it was rare to develop illness, especially mould that forms on cooked meat. <\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people will cut mould off cheese, for example, and eat it, and that\u2019s fine. The risks are low. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a possibility of fungal toxins, but that\u2019s quite rare.<\/p>\n
\u201cMould is really not generally a risk unless it\u2019s producing microtoxins, and only certain moulds do that, and it\u2019s on things like grain, normally and those types of products. But not on a meat sort of type product.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen Hurst, Ministry of Education haut\u016b (leader) of operations and integration, said they were investigating. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been in touch with the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working with MPI on this investigation. No other school has reported any issues with today\u2019s lunches.\u201d<\/p>\n
A School Lunch Collective spokesperson said they were working with the school and MPI to better understand what had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe take pride in our food quality and know this is something that cannot be compromised.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur kitchens are verified and audited regularly by an independent MPI-verified provider, and we follow the Food Act, food control plans and related regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese measures have been in place since the beginning of the programme.\u201d<\/p>\n