THE Ministry of Education, on Thursday, has assured parents and the public that all meals served at St. Theresa Primary School in Region Six are of a quality standard and are checked by the headteacher and teachers before being distributed to the pupils.

The ministry was at the time responding to a video, which suggested that its National School Feeding Programme served spoiled, moldy cheese sandwiches to the pupils earlier in the day.

In setting the facts straight the ministry in a statement said:

“𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟏: The cheese sandwiches were 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔. At the time of delivery, the meals were verified by the headteacher of the school to be fresh and of proper quality and standard.

“𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟐:  Every meal served is videoed, photographed and inspected thoroughly by teachers of every school, who then have to sign a letter of satisfaction confirming that the meals meet the requisite high standards fit for our children.

“𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟑: Since September 2025, Hon. Sonia Parag, Minister of Education, made it mandatory for caterers to provide video and photo evidence of meals being prepared for each day, including last Tuesday (as evidenced in the video and screenshot below).

“𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟒:  All reported cases are investigated thoroughly and caterers found to be in breach of the health and safety guidelines are immediately removed from the programme.

“𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟓:  Investigations into many reported cases have found that meals would often be forgotten in book bags for days.”

The ministry pointed out that while there is a “clear attempt to tarnish this very impactful programme for cheap political gains,” it will continue to investigate every single complaint, regardless of the source.

Noting that the overall wellbeing of our children remains paramount in everything that is done, the ministry encouraged parents, teachers and members of the public to remain vigilant and to report any concerns they may have with the programme.