29111 (2026). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Associate Minister of Education

29111 (2026). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Associate Minister of Education: How many, if any, investigations into meals provided to schools were closed during the week of June 8th 2026; if any, what were the findings of the investigation?

Hon David Seymour: I am advised by the Ministry of Education that it closed five meal investigations during the week of 8 June 2026. None were serious enough to warrant further investigation by New Zealand Food Safety. Investigation findings included: • foreign matter in meal was determined to be plant origin, probably a piece of bay leaf • burst seals caused from temperature on sealing machine needing adjustment for a meal with more moisture • soft plastic in meal determined to be small piece of sealing plastic • mouldy snack, potential bag sealing issue allowing moisture; isolated incident among many snacks • chicken bone in meal was isolated, missed in boning process by third party supplier.