David Seymour says to go to fully halal certified would require the massive expense of separate preparation facilities, packaging and distribution processes that he believes is not justified. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
School lunch provider Compass has admitted the halal meals it delivers to schools are not halal certified.
Stuff had reported a school in Papatoetoe raised concerns that the meals it was supplied were instead classed as 'halal friendly.'
Halal (meaning 'permissible' in Arabic) refers to practices that are permitted under Islam.
With reference to food, it is a strict dietary standard which not only applies to the ingredients themselves, but also their preparation.
Meat is slaughtered and prepared in a specific way, but must also not be contaminated by other surfaces, utensils or equipment that have not been cleaned according to Islamic law.
In a statement, The School Lunch Collective (which Compass is part of) told RNZ its meals were made with halal certified beef and chicken ingredients, and did not contain pork or pork containing ingredients.
"Our team are very well trained, and we have very strict cleaning and wash down procedures between each meal production, although our facility is not halal certified. Therefore, we class our meals as 'Halal Friendly'", the statement said.
Compass said it was open to engaging with the Muslim community to see how it could develop its halal meals further, and advised individuals with halal requirements exercised personal discretion and assessed their comfort levels before consuming the meals.
Labour said students had been "misled" on the meals and it was unacceptable.
"Claiming a meal is religiously permissible for groups of students when it isn't breaks a trust we have fought long and hard to establish with communities who have long called Aotearoa home," said its ethnic communities spokesperson Jennie Salesa.
In a statement, associate education minister David Seymour - who was responsible for the changes to the school lunch programme - said Labour was being misleading for saying students were misled, as the School Lunch Collective had always described the meals as halal friendly.
The Collective's website does state that the meals were not halal certified because the production facility is not strictly halal.
"Halal lunches are prepared separately, with no pork, and halal certified chicken and beef.
"However, to go to fully halal certified would require the massive expense of separate preparation facilities, packaging and distribution processes. I don't believe that expense would be justified," he said.
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