A Christchurch school was given rancid, mouldy meals as part of the government's school lunch programme today.
Haeata Community Campus, which covers from Year 1 to 13, said a teacher noticed the meals were off after they had been distributed to a number of children.
Principal Peggy Burrows said they have had some problems before - but nothing this catastrophic.
"A staff member opened it and it was absolutely rancid, covered in furry stuff, completely rotten and smelt absolutely revolting.
"So of course we immediately shut the whole lunch programme down, but what we did notice was in the rubbish tin was some children had opened the lunches and there was evidence that some had eaten some of this putrid stuff."
It looked like the meal was supposed to be a hot meal of mince, potatoes and vegetables, but Burrows said it was completely mouldy, looked putrefied and stank.
They opened several other cartons and they were also all inedible, she said.
Burrows told RNZ's Checkpoint programme today she believed the meals were returned to the supplier - Compass Group - mixed up and put back into the ovens, then heated up when days old and returned to the school.
Compass Group, which came and collected the remaining meals today when they were contacted by the school in Breezes Rd, Aranui.
Burrows said Compass Group have said they would open all of the meals delivered and determine how many of the meals were contaminated.
She told Checkpoint the local Compass workers who delivered the meals were horrified by the state of the food, but had no answers for what happened at this stage.
Some of the children had reported that the lunches that had been given were perfectly fine, she said.
"So they were fine, but some of the students said 'Oh, it tasted a bit funny' - and that fills me with horror, because imagine if they have eaten something that has been contaminated."
School wanted out of Compass contract
In March this year, Haeata had previously asked to be exempted from its contract from Compass, so it could make its own lunches, but Associate Education Minister David Seymour said at the time that exemptions would not be granted.
Burrows said another load of lunches would be delivered by Compass tomorrow, but they would now ensure that an adult checked each lunch before it was handed over.
"So that requires us to put more staff on, which will be a cost to us. But all lunches will be opened by an adult and then be given to children.
"You wouldn't think you would have to monitor it to the point of - is the food safe. But tomorrow we will be doing exactly that."
The school has its own commercial kitchen and wanted to make its own meals - but the ministry had always argued that was a risk to food security, she said.
"This is the worst example I have ever seen in my entire life of a lack of food security."
By the end of the school day, there had been no reports of children becoming sick.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Helen Hurst said it was working with the Ministry for Primary Industries on an investigation into the "food quality issue".
"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 (Health New Zealand)."
Hurst said no other school had reported any issues with today's lunches.
In a statement, a School Lunch Collective spokesperson said it was working with the school and MPI to better understand what has happened and "will provide more details when we can".
"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."
Associate Education Minister David Seymour's office referred questions to the ministry, adding that it was an operational matter which the ministry was handling.
Food poisoning symptoms
Parents should check to see if their children are unwell and look out for the common symptoms of food poisoning including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, fever and headaches.
More severe symptoms could include bloody diarrhoea, a fever over 38°C, dehydration and frequent vomiting. This would require medical attention.
