News

Saltfish past and present

Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, project manager at Matís, is a guest on Matvælin, Matís' podcast show. The show covers a wide range of topics when it comes to saltfish, its history and culture.

Kolbrún tells us about the projects that Matís has worked on in relation to the saltfish and what got her interested in that work. The common misconception that salted fish should be very salty is discussed and it is predicted why fully salted fish products are one of the most valuable export products for Icelanders, but salted fish is not popular here at home.

Should salted fish be to Icelanders what Parma ham is to Italians, and what needs to happen to make salted fish more popular among the people of Iceland?

Don't miss this episode. Listen to the full episode here:

Moderator: Hildur Ýr Thráinsdóttir

The partners of the project are: Íslandstofa, Icelandic saltfish producers, Club of chefs, Møreforsking AS.

The project is funded by: AG-Fisk (Arbejdsgruppen for Fiskerisamarbejdet) organized by the Nordic Council of Ministers, AVS Research Fund.

News

Head of Finance and Operations

Matís is looking for a versatile manager in the field of finance and
of operation. The job involves a lot of communication, negotiation and
analytical work.

Main tasks and responsibilities:

  • Financial settlement of Matís and settlement of individual projects
  • Responsibility for project accounting
  • Financial plans in collaboration with finance managers and department managers
  • Financial analysis work
  • Development of data utilization and formulation of management information
  • Supervising the operation of real estate, canteen, equipment, computer system and software
  • Overseeing the implementation and development of ICT projects
  • Negotiating and communicating with numerous parties
  • Development of processes and methods

Qualification requirements:

  • University education in the field of finance and operations
  • Strong communication and organizational skills
  • Good analytical skills
  • Experience in management and operations
  • Experience in accounting and settlements
  • Good knowledge of financial software
  • Experience in the operation of information technology systems is desirable

Matís is a leader in the field of food research and biotechnology. At Matís's
employs a strong group of 100 people who are passionate about it
to find new ways to maximize the use of raw materials, increase sustainability
and promote public health. Matís' role is to strengthen the competitiveness of Icelandic people
products and industry and ensure food safety, public health and sustainability
utilization of the environment through research, innovation and services. Matís
focuses on practical research that increases the value of Icelandic
food production, promote the safety and wholesomeness of products and sustainability
utilization of natural resources.

Applications must be accompanied by a detailed CV and cover letter. 

All genders are encouraged to apply. 

Information provided by Geirlaug Jóhannsdóttir, geirlaug@hagvangur.is

News

The Minister of Food visited Matís

Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Minister of Food, together with the ministry's employees, visited Matís.

Oddur Már Gunnarsson, CEO of Matís, welcomed the ministry, along with other Matís staff. The Ministry of Food looked into Matí's board meeting where, among other things, the countless opportunities that lie in research and innovation in food production were discussed. The visit was most enjoyable.

Matís' staff would like to thank you very much for the visit and look forward to continued successful cooperation with the Ministry.

News

Matís is advertising for a professional manager in Neskaupstaður

Matís runs an office in East Iceland, which is located in Múlan in Neskaupstaður. The activity is two-fold and is divided into service measurements (microbiological and chemical) and development and research work. The facility has a powerful biomass plant at its disposal, which is used for research work as well as for servicing the food and biotechnology industry in the country.

Area of work

  • Customer acquisition, communication with companies, individuals and municipalities
  • Operational responsibility for the establishment in Neskaupstaður
  • Formulation of the strategy of the establishment and biomass plant in Neskaupstað
  • Project procurement
  • Planning, prioritization and coordination of projects and measurements
  • Supervision of personnel matters at the establishment

Qualification requirements

  • University education that is useful in work. Further education is an advantage
  • Good interpersonal skills
  • Initiative, independence and ambition
  • Experience with measurement and acquisition and management of research projects is desirable

Employment rate is 100%. The person will work at Matís' laboratory in Neskaupstaður.

Matís is a leader in the field of food research and biotechnology. We have a dynamic team that is passionate about finding new ways to maximize the use of raw materials, increase sustainability and promote public health.

All genders are encouraged to apply. Applications must be accompanied by a detailed CV as well as the phone number or email address of the recommender.

The application deadline is January 31, 2023

More information about the job is provided by:

Guðmundur Stefánsson, department manager, gst@matis.is, phone: 422 5048.

News

Rubella genotyping tests – Price change at Matís

This autumn, Matís offered rickets genetic analysis (PrP analysis) at a bargain price (3,000 ISK + VAT per analysis), but the analyzes were subsidized by the Sheep Breeding Development Fund. This project was set up in order to ensure that it would be possible to carry out the analysis quickly and efficiently in the autumn, in parallel with the selection of intentions. The offer price has been valid until now but as of today January 18, 2023, this project has been closed. 

A more detailed description of Matís' services and the price of PrP analyzes for the coming term will be announced soon.

Advisory Center for Agriculture

News

New technology for environmental monitoring of aquaculture in sea pens

Matís and RORUM combine the companies' unique expertise to jointly develop new technology for environmental monitoring of aquaculture in sea pens. In the project, species richness will be used, which is a good measure of the condition of the bottom of the fish ponds.

The aim of the project is to develop a safe, cheap and fast method to assess the state of benthic communities in farming areas using a genetic method. The method will simplify and speed up decision-making about the length of the rest period of farming areas and thus base the length of the rest period on real data about the state of the ecosystem at any given time. This is not the least important in light of the fact that regulatory bodies need to be well informed about the condition of farming areas and it is in the interests of the farming companies to use farming areas in a sustainable manner.

RORUM's research shows that certain species, or groups of species, characterize different conditions under and near fish farms. In the project, 30 species of invertebrates are selected that are characteristic of different seabed conditions and the DNA sequences in their mitochondrial genes are sequenced, but mitochondrial genes are unique for each species.

The DNA sequences are stored in a database for species identification of unknown bottom samples, and therefore the database serves an important role for monitoring and research.

Knowledge, experience and a database of benthic animals in Icelandic fjords, is the basis for Matís and RORUM's collaboration in the project and which will result in this new technology. The results will be directly useful in the monitoring of fish farming and research in general on the biosphere of Icelandic fjords.

The project is funded by Sjókvíaeldi's Environmental Fund.

News

Is the grass greener on the other side?

In the latest issue of Bændablaðin, there is an interview with Margréti Geirsdóttir, project manager at Matís, about the project Is the grass greener on the other side? which is supported by the Food Fund.

Together with Matís, the Agricultural University of Iceland (Lbhí), the Icelandic Farmers Association (BÍ) and the Agricultural Advisory Center (RML) are participating in the project. The project started last fall and is for one year. Its purpose is, among other things, to acquire knowledge about protein processing from Icelandic grass and analyze the feasibility of setting up a plant for protein processing from grass in Iceland. The benefit of the project is increased food security in Iceland, which is achieved by increasing domestic protein production for use in feed and food.

Photo from the initial meeting of the project. Sitting at the table from left to right: Þórey Gylfadóttir (RML), Þóroddur Sveinsson (LBHÍ), Margrét Geirsdóttir (Matís), Rósa Jónsdóttir (Matís), Jóhannes Sveinbjörnsson (LBHÍ), Eva Margrét Jónudóttir (Matís) and Sæmundur Sveinsson (Matís). Ditte Clausen (RML), Borgar Páll Bragason (RML) and Valur Klemensson (BÍ) participated electronically

The interview can be found in Bændablaðin on page 14, here.

Learn about the project Is the grass greener on the other side?, by clicking on the link below:


News

The concentration of unwanted substances in Icelandic seafood is well below the EU maximum limit

The aim of the project is to demonstrate the status of Icelandic seafood in terms of safety and wholesomeness, and to use the data in the preparation of food risk assessments to ensure the interests of consumers and public health.

The project builds a knowledge base on the amount of undesirable substances in economically important species and marine products, it is defined as a long-term project where expansion and revision are constantly necessary.

This report summarizes results obtained in 2022 and is generally consistent with previous results obtained in the monitoring years 2003 to 2012 and 2017 to 2021.

All seafood samples analyzed in 2022 contained dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) and non-dioxin-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs) below the maximum levels according to EU regulations. The results also revealed that the concentration of heavy metals, eg cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in the edible part of seafood was well below the maximum limit set by the EU.

The full report is available here.

Reports

Results of continuous monitoring of unwanted substances in seafood from the resource 2022

Published:

11/01/2023

Authors:

Sophie Jensen, Branka Borojevic, Julija Igorsdóttir, Natasa Desnica

Supported by:

Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries

Contact

Sophie Jensen

Project Manager

sophie.jensen@matis.is

This report summarizes the results of the monitoring of unwanted substances in the edible part of seafood in 2022. The monitoring began in 2003 with the support of the then Ministry of Maritime Affairs, now the Food Ministry, and Matís ohf. on collecting data and issuing reports for this systematic monitoring in the period 2003-2012. Due to the lack of funding for this monitoring project, this important data collection as well as the publication of the results was paused in the period 2013-2016. The project started again in March 2017, but due to a lack of funds, it now only covers the monitoring of undesirable substances in the edible part of seafood from the resource intended for human consumption, but not fishmeal and fish oil for feed. For the same reason, chemical analyzes of PAH, PBDE and PFC substances are no longer carried out.


The aim of the project is to demonstrate the status of Icelandic seafood in terms of safety and wholesomeness, and to use the data in the preparation of food risk assessments to ensure the interests of consumers and public health. The project builds a knowledge base on the amount of unwanted substances in economically important species and marine products, it is defined as a long-term project where expansion and revision are constantly necessary.

In general, the results obtained in 2022 were in accordance with previous results from 2003 to 2012 as well as 2017 to 2021. The results showed that Icelandic seafood contains insignificant amounts of persistent organic substances such as dioxins, PCBs and pesticides.

in this report, the European Union (EU) maximum levels for dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) and non-dioxin-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs) in food according to Regulation no. 1259/2011 used to assess how Icelandic marine products meet EU requirements. The results of the year 2022 show that all samples of marine products for human consumption were below the EU maximum values for persistent organic substances and heavy metals. The concentration of the so-called ICES6-PCB substances was found to be low in the edible part of seafood, compared to the EU maximum value according to regulation no. 1259/2011. Likewise, the results showed that the concentration of heavy metals, eg cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in Icelandic seafood was always below the EU maximum values.

View report

News

Interview with Jónas R. Viðarsson in World Fishing & Aquaculture

In the latest issue of World Fishing & Aquaculture, there is an interview with Jónas R. Viðarsson, Division Manager at Matís, about how it has been possible to increase the full utilization of seafood in Iceland in recent decades, and what opportunities exist regarding further utilization and value creation in the fishing industry.

Iceland is looked to as an example of how it is possible to greatly increase utilization and value creation in the fishing industry, but there Matís, in collaboration with companies, universities and authorities, has played a major role.

The interview with Jónas was done at the conference Fish Waste For Profit, which was held last June. But experts and business partners from all over the world gathered there to discuss how to increase utilization in the fishing industry.

The interview with Jónas can be found by clicking here:

The paper in its entirety can be found here

EN