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RNZ News
26-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
School lunch documents reveal nutritional assessments, student taste test results
Butter chicken lunch from Lincoln Heights school (left) and chicken teriyaki lunch at Massey Primary School. Photo: RNZ / Louise Ternouth The amount of coconut cream allowed in a curry, the questionable categorisation of potato as a salad vegetable, and the wildly varying results of taste tests are among matters covered by school lunch scheme documents obtained under the Official Information Act. The documents provided insight into meal development by the School Lunch Collective last year and earlier this year as it prepared to take over the contract for feeding students at about 440 schools . They included Education Ministry assessment of the nutritional value of the meals and accompanying side snacks, ministry emails to staff at Compass, the company leading the School Lunch Collective, and the results of taste testing of three meals last year. They showed that curries should not have more than 15ml (about one tablespoon) of coconut cream per serving and soy sauce in a teriyaki meal should not exceed half-a-teaspoon. They also showed that children's reactions varied enormously with one child describing a meal as "five star", but another in the same class writing "taste bad and looks bad and smell is bad" about the same meal. The documents included advice from the now-defunct food preparation company Libelle on how schools could increase children's uptake of the meals. It suggested withholding treats until after lunch, serving meals at the first break of the day rather than waiting until lunch time, and providing condiments such as tomato sauce. It also suggested serving food buffet style so children could choose, changing lunch orders on an online portal to avoid unpopular meals, and "the five senses initiative" which asked children to consider their meal and note their observations on a brightly-colour checklist. Advice from food preparation company Libelle told schools how they could increase children's uptake of the provided meals. Photo: Screenshot / Compass Group The documents inluded results from taste tests last year of three meals with children in different schools. In February last year a taste testing of a beef curry and rice meal across a number of schools and classrooms resulted in comments ranging from "meat is amazing" and "liked everything about the meal" to "too bland" and "didn't look appetising". Multiple comments noted difficulty opening the meal containers and that a hot meal was not appealing on a hot day. Overall, 13 percent of students did not like the meal, 35 percent were neutral and 53 percent liked or strongly liked it. "As a result of receiving the above summary feedback, Libelle made changes to the process of cooking the diced meat and started to investigate the claims of difficult to open lids again," the document said. It showed a macaroni and cheese meal was revised to improve the cheese flavour and hide vegetables following feedback that akonga "do not like vegetables and couldn't taste the cheese flavour". A test of the revised meal across six schools resulted in 57 percent of pupils giving a positive rating, 21 percent neutral and 23 percent negative. One school said all children ate the meal and wanted it back on the menu, but another said everyone disliked it: "Their feedback was that it was gluggy. I dissected a meal and it was quite congealed and the pasta did appear overcooked and mushy". The document showed further investigation revealed the negative feedback was from a school that received the meal several hours before it was consumed and negative opinions about the meal from school staff might have influenced pupil opinions. Comments about the meal included "I love it, give us more of it please", "it was so cheesey", "looks weird", "smell yuck", "basic and ok". A trial of beef rissoles across two schools proved the most divisive with 44 percent positive, 24 percent neutral and 32 percent negative. "It was good but not that good," wrote one student, while another wrote "I like all of it and it was amazing". "Too much thyme or mixed herbs - it's in everything almost every day," wrote another. By 22 May last year, Libelle noted that 13 schools had opted to stop receiving the beef rissoles and gravy meal and it was planning to update the meal with a new improved version for the following term. Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal 13 schools opted to stop receiving a beef rissoles and gravy meal from the school lunch programme. Photo: Screenshot / Compass Group Among the released documents was a spreadsheet showing Education Ministry assessments of 24 meals and, for older children, accompanying snacks against nutritional requirements. It showed an early version of Mac n Cheese failed to make the grade because it was too light, 209 grams instead of at least 240 grams with just 30 percent of the required protein, while a gluten-free version had 99.875 percent of the protein required. Muesli bars, yoghurt raisins, banana chips and pretzels failed to make the grade as acceptable snacks. A 12 December 2024 email from the Education Ministry to Compass Group said all main meals for the proposed menu for term 1 2025 had been assessed as meeting nutrition requirements, but two changes were requried for the sides that accompanied lunches for students in Year 9 and above to ensure the total meal met nutritional requirements. "There are four meals that fall short of meeting nutrition standards, two are within an acceptable margin (Beef Rissoles and Mac n Cheese), however the other two will need to be adjusted to meet nutrition standards. Beef bolognese is 9g below the protein food requirement and Chicken Teriyaki Rice exceeds the amber allowance by 8g," the email said. The School Lunch Collective said amber ingredients, such as coconut cream, were allowed in meals, but only up to a certain amount. On 10 January 2025, the ministry emailed Compass Group asking for changes to four meals. "Butter Chicken: Coconut cream is double the allowed serving size for both age group. Needs to be reduced to 15mls per serve. "Ham Mac n Cheese: no percentage of cheese in the sauce so can't confirm meets protein requirements. "Thai Chicken: Coconut cream again is over the amber serving limit of 15mls per serve. "Beef rissoles: Doesn't meet veg content (note saying potato considered as salad veg?) but even with veg in rissole, brownie and onion in gravy it is still short." On 13 January 2025 a ministry email to Compass Group listed changes required to five meals. "Butter Chicken and Thai Chicken - reduce the coconut cream content to no more than 15mls per serve. "Mac n Cheese: confirm cheese content (needs to be at least 17g per servce to meet yr 4-8 protein requirement) and ensure sides contribute sufficient protein to meet Y9+ requirements of at least 50g. "Teriyaki Chicken: ensure that soy sauce content is less than 1/2 tsp (2.5ml) per serve. "Beef Rissoles: increase vegetables by at least 15g to meet Y4-8 min requirement (60g)." School Lunch Collective figures showed it was delivering about 103-107,000 lunches to about 440 schools a day with waste or uneaten lunches ranging from six to 10 percent. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Dead insect larva found in government funded school lunch
File image. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Food safety officials are investigating the discovery of a dead larva found in a government funded school lunch in Auckland. Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle says it was found in a meal at Kelston Boys' High School on 12 May. He said the larva has been sent away for testing and the results were expected back next week. The tests should confirm what type of insect it is and help determine how it might have got into the food. He said although officials were looking into the complaint, at this stage there was no evidence there was a wider problem with the School Lunch Collective which provides the meals. The Collective has been approached for comment. The lunch scheme was plagued by problems in term one, with criticism of late, inedible, repetitive or nutritionally lacking lunches, and even a case of a lunch containing melted plastic. The Auditor-General's office has announced plans for an inquiry into the programme .
RNZ News
06-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Principals welcome Auditor-General's school lunch scheme inquiry, keen to see results
The Auditor-General has launched an inquiry into the revamped school lunch programme that has been riddled with problems. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Principals say they will be keeping a close eye on the Auditor-General's inquiry into the revamped school lunch programme that has been riddled with problems. The Ministry of Education's programme has been under fire since the School Lunch Collective took over provision of lunches to about 430 schools this year, shaving millions off the cost of the scheme. The watchdog said the inquiry was prompted by concerns raised both in the media and directly with its office. The lunch scheme was plagued by problems in term one, with criticism of late, inedible, repetitive or nutritionally lacking lunches, and even a case of a lunch containing melted plastic . Rotorua's Kaitao Intermediate principal Phil Palfrey was pleased there would be an inquiry, but said it had come too late. He said a review should have taken place before the new system was up and running. "I actually put the question to Associate Minister of Education David Seymour last week and said, why wasn't there a review done then, and that could've given the savings that were required if that had been audited and checked on prior to making holus-bolus changes which, in my view, and certainly in my school's experience, has been a very unsuccessful journey," he said. Palfrey said his school of 260 pupils faced problem after problem with the new programme, including lunches being too late, too early or too spicy. This term meals had been arriving on time but children were refusing to eat them, he said. "It's the quality of the meals that makes us think that the system still is just not working properly. The issue with us, and it is very sad, is that a least a third of our kids are just returning them. I don't like that, it's not what I envisaged years ago when we wanted this programme to come in," he said. The Auditor-General's inquiry will cover the Education Ministry's oversight of the lunch programme. It will examine the ministry's decision-making - including how the model was developed and how providers were selected. But it will not look into the policy decisions underpinning the model, nor the merits of selecting a particular provider. In its announcement, the office noted the ministry had in October last year awarded a two-year contract to the School Lunch Collective, reportedly for $85 million a year, under which lunches would be provided for $3 each. The ministry was also reported to have paid a further $8.9m to the collective for Year 9 and older students. Associate Minister of Education David Seymour at the launch of the revamped programme last year. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Libelle Group, which had been part of the School Lunch Collective, went into liquidation on 11 March 2025. A further $4 million grant was provided to KidsCan for a food programme in Early Childhood Education services. Associate Education Minister David Seymour said the inquiry was welcome. "I actually would like to offer [the Auditor-General] some of the lunches so he can audit them with his mouth, and I think what he's going to find is a programme that has overcome some initial hurdles to deliver great value, very good lunches at half the price of Labour's scheme," he said. Andy Ashworth is the principal of Murchison Area School, where lunches showed up with melted plastic in them last term. He was glad an inquiry was happening, and that it would be looking into how the cost of each lunch was determined. "I don't believe the money being spent, which in theory is $3 per lunch, is a true cost because of the transport and other external factors ... so I would suggest there is more money being spent than $3 per child and if that is the case why don't we go back to a more localised scheme in certain areas, certainly in the rural areas where you can get more bang for your buck," Ashworth said. He said principals involved in the lunch scheme countrywide would be watching the review with interest. "It's very much still top of the mind ... I see [the inquiry] as good news, hopefully it will make everybody more accountable and perhaps lead to some positive changes," he said. The Auditor-General will publish a report once the inquiry is completed and the report has been tabled in Parliament. The School Lunch Collective declined RNZ's request for an interview. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Auditor-General launches probe into school lunches
By Russell Palmer of RNZ The Auditor-General's office has announced plans for an inquiry into the school lunch programme that has drawn criticism since a revamp. It will cover Ministry of Education planning, procurement and contract implementation under David Seymour's alternative model. Terms of reference for the inquiry set out its scope: • how the school lunch model was developed and how the total amount of the contract and the amount that would be paid for each school lunch was determined; • how the providers were selected and what due diligence was carried out; • how decisions were made to expand the scope of the Model to include some Year 0-6 students as well as Years 7-13, and what the Ministry told providers affected by this decision; • how the Ministry assured itself that the new school lunch model would deliver lunches of similar nutritional value and food standards as Cabinet had agreed; • the process for selecting the provider for the Early Childhood Food Programme, including the funding mechanism used (a conditional grant); • how the Ministry planned to monitor, and has monitored, the provider's performance; • how actual or perceived conflicts of interest have been managed; and • any other related matters the Auditor-General considers relevant or desirable to inquire into. However, other matters would be out of scope, including: • Policy decisions underpinning the Alternative Provision Model • The decision to provide school lunches • The merits of any decision to select a particular provider The Auditor-General's office said it decided to investigate because of concerns raised both in the media, and directly with them. "Concerns have been raised, both in the media and with us directly, about aspects of the revised lunch programme, including the selection of the providers, the quality, timeliness, and appropriateness of the food provided, how the cost of each lunch was determined, and what the Ministry communicated with previous providers," it said. "Because of the importance of these services, the concerns we have heard, and the amount of funding involved, we have decided to carry out an inquiry." In its announcement, the Office noted the ministry had in October last year awarded a two-year contract to the School Lunch Collective, reportedly for $85 million a year, under which lunches would be provided for $3 each. The ministry was also reported to have paid a further $8.9m to the collective for Year 9 and older students. Libelle Group, which had been part of the School Lunch Collective, went into liquidation on 11 March 2025. A further $4m grant was provided to KidsCan for a food programme in Early Childhood Education services.
