Shropshire's Iceland boss: I wouldn't eat a value meal

Malcolm Walker – who set up the company in Oswestry in 1970 – also blamed 'dodgy cutting houses and back street manufacturers' for horsemeat getting onto dinner tables.

Mr Walker, who helped turn Iceland into the country's biggest frozen food retailer, described the scandal as a 'storm in a teacup' and said supermarkets should not be blamed for it.

Most supermarkets sold three types of products, he said – premium, standard and economy – and he would not eat the economy product.

"Iceland has never sold economy products – we do not sell cheap food," he said.

"We have one brand of food, one level of food?.?.?. we know where all our food comes from, we follow the supply chain right the way through and it's very short.

"You can say we have not been testing for horse. Why would we? We don't test for hedgehog either."

But he added: "I wouldn't eat value supermarket products because they won't contain much meat. There will be other things in there, whether it's rusk or filler or whatever it is."

Mr Walker, whose chain has removed other firm's beef products which tested positive for traces of horse DNA, denied that horse meat was endemic in the food chain.

Mr Walker blamed schools and hospitals for driving down food quality standards by setting up cheap food contracts.

"If we're going to blame somebody let's start with local authorities, because there's a whole side to this industry which is invisible – that's the catering industry," he said.

"Schools, hospitals – it's massive business for cheap food suppliers and local authorities award contracts based purely on one thing . . . price.

"Dodgy cutting houses and backstreet manufacturers have been supplying products to the catering industry and a lot of that is bought by local authorities for schools and hospitals – that's where the problem really lies."

But the comments have provoked an angry reaction in Shropshire.

Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, said today Mr Walker's remarks were 'completely out of order'.

"Our food is actually locally sourced for the schools," he said. "Obviously we try and get the best deal we can but quality is important and sourcing food is important. All the products are sourced locally."

He said catering staff at Shirehall had recently put up a sign to tell workers where food such as beefburgers were being sourced from. "If Shropshire Council can tell you where it is from, why can't supermarkets?" he said.

David Coull, chief executive of Coverage Care and chairman of governors at The Priory School in Shrewsbury, said: "It is a pretty cheap shot deflecting the blame when in reality there can be no excuses.

"As a society we have sought cheaper food, but increasingly we have to take responsibility as individuals. It is unfair to refer it to the council."