Year: 2017

Contact

Aðalheiður Ólafsdóttir

Sensory evaluation manager

adalheiduro@matis.is

Matís organizes the seventeenth Nordic Sensory Workshop (NSW) conference from 3 to 4 May 2018. The topic of the conference is the interplay of different perceptions and the use of perceptual assessment in the food industry. 

The results of scientific research in this field and how companies can make use of them will be discussed. The conference will bring together experts in sensory evaluation and consumer research, as well as industry representatives, to discuss the latest research in this field in the Nordic countries. Participants are given an exciting opportunity to examine the perception and interaction of different senses from new perspectives and how this information can be used in a practical way, for example in service or product development. The conference is open to everyone.

More information and registration are at website of the conference. 

Integrity in business is a prerequisite for trust. Integrity in the food trade is the key to long-term consumer spending. Shocks have hit food producers and consumers, and confidence has been eroded by scandals that distort the food industry. Matís is a participant in the project MatarHeilindi.

Well-known examples of scandals that have shaken the food industry include 1985, where ethylene glycol (often used as a solvent and antifreeze) was found in measurable amounts in Austrian wines. In 2008, melamine was found in powdered milk in China. Many people still remember that in 2013 there was something about horsemeat being sold as beef. Then we can mention OPSON features Europol during the year this year and last year which dealt with cheating in the food trade and most recently analysis fipronils in eggs. It is worth mentioning that legal provisions on the responsibility of food companies for the safety of the food they produce, handle and distribute.

Matís has participated in the project MatarHeilindi (e. FoodIntegrity) from the beginning of 2014. The project aims to develop methods to detect and prevent fraud in the European food industry. The project is led by Fera, the British Food and Drug Administration. The project is funded by the Seventh European Framework Program for Research and Development.

MatarHeilindi deal with food that is whole / intact or in perfect condition, ie that buyers can safely deliver the product they think they are buying. Consumers or other stakeholders in the European food value chain need to be assured of safety, reliability and quality. Integrity in the food industry is a key factor in increasing the value of the continent's bioeconomy. The integrity of European foods is constantly threatened by fraudulent labels or imitations sold to reap the benefits of its added value. The project is intended to be a focal point in international coordination in the use of research and development to ensure the integrity of European food with the participation of the project's core group.

Further information about the project is provided Jónas R. Viðarsson, director of Matís.

Matís and the Laboratory of Geriatrics, Landakoti 5L, are requesting participants in a study that has been approved by the Science Ethics Committee.

Participants must be adults, 40 years and older with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg / m2 (see table with calculated body mass index below). Pregnant or breastfeeding women are excluded from participation. Individuals who are in contact and interested in participating in the study should reduce their intake of omega-3 foods and avoid fish oil for 2 weeks before and during intervention.

See more in leaflet from UI and LSP.

Contact

Viggó Marteinsson

Research Group Leader

viggo@matis.is

The SUSTAIN project, a huge international project, is currently underway, the purpose of which is to drill two holes in the island and utilize the data obtained for various and complex studies. This is the largest study ever conducted on Surtsey and is a multinational group of scientists involved. Matís is a participant in the project, led by dr. Viggó Þ. Marteinsson, but the project as such is under the direction of dr. Magnús Tuma Guðmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland and dr. Marie Jackson, Associate Professor at the University of Utah in the United States. 

The researchers involved in the study are from Iceland, the United States, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand and Australia. Leading researchers in the project on behalf of Iceland are in addition to Magnús Tuma, Andri Stefánsson professor of geochemistry at the University of Iceland, Viggó Þór Marteinsson microbiologist from Matís, Tobias B. Weisenberger geochemist from Ísor and Kristján Jónasson geologist from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History. More specialists and technicians from these institutions will participate, but also experienced drilling geologists from Verkís and the Geotechnical Institute will be involved in the project, as well as a group of graduate students and new doctors.

A great deal of effort is put into not disturbing the ecosystem of Surtsey with this extensive research. All parties involved in the project and working on the island have received detailed instructions regarding the preparation and the conditions there to ensure a minimum of disruption. In addition, the Coast Guard has provided a helicopter that loads people and equipment back and forth so that intrusion will be kept to an absolute minimum in this sensitive and beautiful place. 

See more on the website of the University of Iceland.

Website of the project.

Contact

Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir

Deputy CEO / Director of Research & Innovation

annak@matis.is

From the 12th to the 14th of July. A meeting of high-ranking officials from the European Union and members of the governments of Brazil and South Africa took place. The meeting was set up to welcome a new agreement on cooperation between these parties to place greater emphasis on understanding the link between global warming and its impact on the marine ecosystem (the blue bioeconomy).

Matís participated in this meeting but two projects, MareFrame and PrimeFish, discuss the subject of the meeting directly and indirectly, but both of these projects are managed by Matís, under the strong guidance of dr. Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir (MareFrame) and dr. Guðmundur Stefánsson (PrimeFish).

It is safe to say that this event is an important beginning for the co-operation of these nations and other nations with the Atlantic, and it is therefore important that Iceland was represented at this event.

It is interesting to note that a new project, FarFish, which is chaired by Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís, also discusses issues that are directly related to the topic of the meeting and concerns the fishing of the European fishing fleet outside the jurisdiction of the European Union.

Further information: 

• Cooperation between Europe, Brazil and South Africa 
• MareFrame
• PrimeFish
• FarFish

Contact

Margrét Geirsdóttir

Project Manager

mg@matis.is

This spring, an agreement was made with Matís for the Mjólk project in many forms, where grants are awarded for entrepreneurship, where milk is used as a raw material. 8 applications were received for grants and the projects were of various kinds.

At a meeting of Auðhumla's board on June 29, it was decided to award three grants this time:

Fascinating power of organic whey

• Kr. 3,000,000.-
• Biobú and more
• Mysa is well known and widely used in various products around the world. However, the utilization potential has been lacking and large quantities are being discarded. The project promotes innovation and increased utilization of organic whey that is currently generated in the production of Biobú's dairy products. Utilization of by-products contributes to less waste in accordance with the United Nations Global Goals.

2. Jökla, Icelandic milk liqueur 

• Kr. 3,000,000.-
• Pétur Pétursson
• The project is quite innovative, as alcoholic beverages from Icelandic milk have never been produced or whey has been used to make liqueurs. The prototype of the product is ready and the grant will be used in further work due to the tests and processing processes.

3. A spike builds up

• Kr. 500.000.-
• Birna G. Ásbjörnsdóttir and Guðmundur Ármanna Pétursson
• Grant for a preliminary project on the development of health products from colostrum. Broddur is a unique product that is hardly used in Iceland today and breast is a product that few people know and is negligible. Icelandic milk is unique in that it contains Beta-Casein A2, which has been tested for health.

Matís will take care of project management.

Matís received a grant from the AVS fund to analyze the characteristics of cod heads.

In this preliminary project, the intention is to analyze the properties of cod heads, by examining different parts of it. The analysis will support the establishment of a database that can be an important part of the further development of valuable products from cod heads to date to offset the recent market decline in dried cod heads. 

The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2018.

Contact

Ólafur H. Friðjónsson

Research Group Leader

olafur@matis.is

A project is now starting at Matís, which is funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund. The project is called Súrþang and refers to the possibilities that exist in the treatment of seaweed with lactic acid bacteria and other fermentation microorganisms.

The aim of the project is to develop and standardize the action method of seaweed based on the treatment of lactic acid bacteria and other fermentation microorganisms. The lactic acid bacteria break down polysaccharides in the seaweed, making it more digestible and usable as a feed supplement rich in oligosaccharides and polyphenols with a variety of bioactivity and prebiotic properties.

Contact

Sæmundur Elíasson

Project Manager

saemundur.eliasson@matis.is

Five companies, with support from the Technology Development Fund and the AVS Fund, are currently working on the development of a new system in high-speed fishing boats that ensures good handling, cooling and finishing of catches and records information in a cloud.

The companies are Frostmark ehf. which produces cooling equipment, Trefjar ehf. which produces Cleopatra fast fishing boats, the fishing company Blakknes ehf. which makes such boats, Sæplast which produces pots and Matís, which directs the research aspects of the project.

Fiber boats are very productive, but there are some problems with installing a controlled cooling system in these boats. Frostmark has designed a new type of sea cooling system that circulates cold seawater at consistently low temperatures. 

In this project, a fully equipped system for high-speed fishing boats will be designed, which delivers cooled catch directly to a tank in a train, where recycled cooling sea is used in a bleeding tank on deck. The benefit to the fishing industry is well-cooled catch, which gives the possibility of processing into more expensive products and strengthens the competitiveness of fast-fishing boats. 

News about the project was published recently Morgunblaðið.