Horsemeat scandal: Ministers call school meals sourcing summit 24 February 2013 Last updated at 00:12 Ministers are to invite councils to a summit on the sourcing of school meals in response to the horsemeat scandal. The Scottish government said it wanted to ensure as much locally sourced food as possible was served in schools. They also plan to discuss ways to "drive up standards and quality even more in future." The move comes days after councils were told not to use any frozen beef products following the discovery of horse DNA in a school canteen burger. Procurement agency Scotland Excel had already advised authorities to place on hold the use of frozen beefburgers. Education Secretary Mike Russell said school meals had already been greatly improved in recent years but the horsemeat scandal had "thrown a spotlight" on the sourcing of school food. "Local authorities are rightly concerned that the good work going on to improve food in schools is being missed while we deal with the consequences of the current issue," he said. We want to work with local authorities to be sure that best practice in procurement is routine in councils and that the procurement reforms we introduced are working well. Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said the recent horsemeat issue had "absolutely underlined that there is no substitute for quality." He added: "In Scotland, local authorities are already looking to use the best ingredients available on their doorstep more often than ever before. In East Ayrshire Council, on occasions that burgers are on the menu, they are made fresh from Scotch beef and recently a local Ayrshire butcher has stepped up and agreed to prepare them to the council's own recipe. I am keen to see more examples of this type of approach across Scotland.