School lunch provider Libelle Group in liquidation

A company involved in supplying school lunches has gone into liquidation.

Deloitte New Zealand, who has been appointed liquidator, said Libelle Group was contracted by Compass Group to deliver approximately 125,000 meals daily as part of the Government’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme.

"The Liquidators are undertaking a full and urgent review of all of Libelle’s operations, with our immediate focus being working with Libelle’s employees and affected stakeholders to ascertain the way forward, including ensuring students around New Zealand continue to receive their school lunches," said David Webb of Deloitte New Zealand.

Libelle Group is a member of the School Lunch Collective alongside Compass Group NZ and Gilmours.

Associate Education Minister David Seymour said it was a commercial matter between Compass and Libelle.

"Compass has assured the Ministry that any disruption will be minimised, and the liquidation process will not materially impact the provision of school lunches.

"To ensure the uninterrupted delivery of the school meals provided by Libelle central production kitchens, the Compass Group has told the Ministry that it will assume operations during this transition and take responsibility for providing meals every school day."

The School Lunch Collective's Paul Harvey acknowledged this was a "difficult situation" for Libelle and that the priority remained ensuring that 120,000 students continued to receive meals through the program.

He said Deloitte had asked Compass to help manage the transition and ensure stability while options for Libelle's future were explored.

"To minimise disruption, Compass Group NZ has taken immediate steps to support Libelle, including ensuring staff wages are paid and keeping kitchen facilities running.

"We recognise the vital role that Libelle’s staff and partners play in delivering school lunches, and we are committed to ensuring the future of Libelle as part of the programme and supporting its people through this process."

Libelle's liquidation is the latest in a string of issues that have plagued the revamped scheme.

At the beginning of the revamped programme at the end of January, some lunches arrived late or not at all, with several schools paying out of their own pocket to help feed their students.

The School Lunch Collective acknowledged there had been "teething problems" and Seymour said there would be "continuous improvement".

The Ministry of Primary Industries launched an investigation into meals that had plastic packaging melted into the contents on March 4.

It is one of a number of investigations underway into food safety issues with the lunches: the mislabelling of lunches with special dietary requirements in Christchurch, another report of a packaging failure during heating and transportation in Whanganui, and a complaint from a Thames school about lunches being delivered at an unsafe temperature.

A Gisborne schoolboy was allegedly taken to hospital for treatment after being burnt by the contents of a school lunch when it spilled on their leg last week.

Education Minister Erica Stanford was due to speak with Seymour about the scheme last week, but the meeting was postponed.