Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has called for a Europe-wide overhaul of food testing in the wake of the horse meat scandal.

The current system relies too heavily on trusting paperwork that comes with meat shipments, Mr Paterson said.

"We have agreed in this particular issue there will be Europe-wide testing for horse DNA, there will be Europe-wide testing for bute, which is a major advance. When this is through I want to have a proper look at the whole system."

Mr Paterson also said he had asked the Food Standards Agency to investigate claims that Government ministers were warned in 2011 that horse meat was illegally entering the human food chain.

His comments came as Malcolm Walker, chief executive of frozen food firm Iceland, said the blame for contamination lay less with supermarkets and more with the catering industry and local authorities. "Schools, hospitals – it's massive business for cheap food and local authorities award contracts based purely on one thing: price. So, if you're looking to blame somebody who's driving down food quality, it's invisible. It's schools, it's hospitals, it's prisons, it's local authorities who are driving this down."

The Local Government Association said Mr Walker was "a little confused".

"The law is 100% clear that it is the responsibility of the manufacturer, supplier and retailer to make sure the product they sell us is what they say it is," a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Richard Lochhead said: "I will be in London to meet with the UK Government and key food industry representatives to discuss the horse meat issue.

"It is important that retailers and food service providers are also considering what further action they should be taking to restore the integrity of their supply chains and win back consumer confidence."

Detailed inspections and testing continue to be carried out across Scotland.

Companies supplying meals to the public sector in Scotland have also been carrying out checks. To date, they have confirmed they are clear of any mis-labelled meat.

Research out today suggests the buying habits of consumers are set to be transformed by the horse meat scandal.

Almost one quarter (24%) will buy less processed meat, and more than a fifth (21%) have already started buying less meat in general, according to Consumer Intelligence. It found about 4.1 million people would stop buying processed meat altogether.