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Matís and the Fisheries Research Institute before that have been partners in teaching at the United Nations University's School of Fisheries, UNU-FTP, from the beginning of the school's activities in 1998.

"The program emphasizes practical knowledge and experience, and students work closely with Icelandic instructors in project work and career presentations, which take up more than half of the six months that the program lasts. Each year, special studies are offered in 3-4 tracks, but the special studies last 4-5 months. Matís is in charge of teaching on a quality course, and there are between 5 and 10 students on that course. Every year, 15-20 Matís experts come for teaching and project instructions", says Heiða Pálmadóttir, subject manager at Matís.

It can be quite a puzzle to put together the program for the special course, "first there are lectures for 6 weeks and various people come and not just experts from Matís, but people from far and wide from the Icelandic fishing industry and related sectors such as transport and packaging. There are visits where companies welcome students, these are fun and informative visits for students and no less for accompanying persons. Fun discussions are created more during informal visits than when sitting in a lecture on the subject. I myself have found it fun and informative to go on these visits," says Heiða Pálmadóttir, who has been in charge of the classes for many years.

Benefits of the UNU-FTP school from the collaboration:

• Matís has a wide range of specialists with long experience in research and services in the fishing industry
• Matís' experts have good connections with the Icelandic fishing industry due to the small size of the country, from fishing to export and consumption.
• Matís' specialists collaborate in many ways with Icelandic universities and are connected to education in both undergraduate and graduate studies and form a bridge between industry and universities in Iceland.

Matís benefits from the collaboration:

• Matís contributes to development aid
• Matís' experts maintain links with the fishing industry and the fishing industry and preserve their basic knowledge in that field
• Creates new opportunities for increased projects in the international market

Students work on their final projects at Matís and this creates a connection with students who do not break up. Many return to further studies in Iceland, although some have entered doctoral and master's studies in recent years. By staying in Iceland for so long, a great and lasting connection is created between people. This has given rise to long-term projects and friendships.

"I have been in contact with students from SriLanka, he is setting up a quality system and sought advice on the implementation of individual measurements such as fish quality measurements and further explanations of methodology - this can be done via the Internet and takes little time for us to serve. Another example is a student in Kenya who has been in contact for fatty acid analysis, but she is particularly interested in increasing fish oil consumption, especially in young children and their mothers. Undeniably, one thinks of one's students when disaster strikes their nations, and one never knows what will happen to them, especially if the relationship is not stable. It was also a strong experience to receive students from North Korea and Cuba while the situation was at its worst," says Heiða.

"All of these are well-educated people in the beginning and extremely interested in learning and familiarizing themselves as best as possible with what we have to offer," says Heiða in conclusion.

A project is currently underway at Matís, funded by AVS and the Rannís Technology Development Fund, which aims to promote further processing of mackerel and thereby increase its value.

Until now, it has been most common to export mackerel intended for human consumption, whole frozen to China, for example, where it has been hand-filleted and further processed into valuable products. Such an implementation is expensive and environmentally friendly and means that less value is left in the Icelandic economy. In addition, filleting in Iceland enables companies to utilize what is generated by filleting into other valuable products, such as cosmetics or food supplements. Therefore, it is the competition of Icelandic companies in the fishing industry to find a way to fillet mackerel in this country.

Mackerel, like many other seafood, is a delicate raw material and if you want to get the most value from mackerel fishing, you have to pay close attention to all handling of the catch, from the fish to the stomach. When mackerel is off the coast of Iceland, it is much more sensitive than, for example, when it is west of Norway, it is both more redfish and the fish is looser and more difficult to process.

Matís also participates in a project where Icelanders, Norwegians and Faroese work together on processes that could be used in machine filleting of mackerel. This research was then continued in collaboration between Síldarvinnslan in Neskaupstaður and Matís, and then the challenges that accompany mackerel when fishing in Iceland are addressed.

The aim of the project is, among other things, to assess whether mackerel is suitable for fillet products when caught off the coast of Iceland. The shelf life of frozen fillets packaged in different ways and how to ensure a shelf life of at least 12 months will be investigated. The project will deliver new knowledge to control the quality of final products.

For further information dr. Magnea G.Karlsdóttir at Matís.

The Ecotrophelia competition took place on Wednesday and prizes were awarded yesterday Thursday at the conference "Knowledge and skills in the food sector" held by the co-operation forum Matvælalandið Ísland.

The winning idea came from Hildur Inga Sveinsdóttir, Margrét Árna Vilhjálmsdóttir, Mariu Katrina Naumovskaya and Málfríður Bjarnadóttir. The idea was the product "Mauk" which is made from underutilized raw materials. The aim of the product's production was to address one of the biggest problems in the food industry, food waste. Puree is intended as a marinade for chicken and white fish, but can also be used as a base in soups, sauces or stews. The mainstay of the product are tomatoes and carrots, both of which are grown in Iceland on a large scale and are an enormous amount that is wasted. The reason is, among other things, high appearance requirements from retailers and the consumer himself.

The winners aim to further develop the product for the European Ecotrophelia competition, which will be held in London at the end of November.

For further information, contact Málfríður and Hildur Inga at Matís.

World Seafood Congress (WSC2017) takes place in Iceland 10.-13. september nk. Preparations are going well and a number of people have already registered for the conference which will take place in Harpa. Very interesting speakers have also announced their arrival.

The WSC is one of the world's largest forum for value creation in the fisheries and food security sectors, bringing people from all parts of the seafood value chain to the table. The conference will be attended by employees of fishing and fish processing, investors and people from the institutional and educational environment around the world, not least from developing countries.

Icelandic companies have been diligent in registering, as this is an excellent opportunity for the Icelandic fishing industry to present itself even better. It should also be noted that those who register for WSC2017 get free access to The Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition which opens shortly after the WSC, at noon on 13 September.

Registration fees are at a special discount until 1 May.

#WSC_2017 #icefishevent #iceland

A co-operation forum on Matvælalandið Ísland will hold a conference at Hótel Saga on Thursday 6 April, where ways to strengthen knowledge and skills within the food industry will be discussed. Since its establishment, Matís has emphasized close co-operation with stakeholders on the development of food industries in Iceland with the aim of increasing value creation, improving food security and public health. Matís is a proud participant in the co-operation platform Matvælalandið Ísland.  

11.30     Lunch refreshment in collaboration with the grill's master chefs
12.00     Presentation and presentation of the Ecotrophelia Ísland award. Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture
Technology revolutionizes the food industry - Hörður Kristinsson, Director of Research and Innovation Matís

New methods of communicating education to employees 
Overheating training - how do I reach employees?  - Hlíf Böðvarsdóttir, Managing Director of Securitas' Human Resources Division
New ways of disseminating teaching material - Hróbjartur Árnason, lecturer at the School of Education at the University of Iceland
Workplace learning and education in Icelandair hotels - Erla Ósk Ásgeirsdóttir, Director of Personnel and Quality at Icelandair Hotels
Fisheries education network - Hallveig Ólafsdóttir, economist at SFS

Pause

Experiences from companies
Quality, safety and profitability in production - Bára Eyfjörð Heimisdóttir, Quality Manager at Norðlenski
Who buys our fish, are we on the right track? Klemenz Sæmundsson and Ásdís Vilborg Pálsdóttir, project managers at the Icelandic School of Fisheries  
Vocational training program - Aðalheiður Héðinsdóttir, Chairman of the Board of Kaffitár
Advice to farmers - New challenges in a changing environment - Vignir Sigurðsson, Director of the Agricultural Advisory Center  

Panel discussion with the participation of young people from various disciplines.
Lilja Rut Traustadóttir, Quality Manager of Quality Baking
Viktor Örn Andrésson, chef, 3rd place in Bocuse d'Or 2017
Einar Freyr Elínarson, chairman of the Young Farmers' Association and board member of the Agricultural Advisory Center
Eyrún Sif Skúladóttir, consultant at Wise
Anna Fríða Gísladóttir, Dominos Marketing Manager

16:00     Conference closing

Presenter and conference director: Pétur H. Pálsson, managing director Vísis 

Matís issues the following announcement regarding the FA report "Supervision fees for the economy" where, among other things, Matís' tariff is discussed in the context of food safety supervision. The report criticizes the fact that it is not possible to access Matís 'comprehensive tariff, either through direct communication or on Matís' website.

We welcome an open discussion on food safety monitoring in Iceland and would like to point out the following in this context:

Matís is a research company which, like other research companies in Iceland, serves public regulators (Matvælastofnun and regional health surveillance) and private parties regarding measurements and research. Matís has built up an extensive infrastructure in the field of chemical, microbial and genetic measurements of food and environmental samples in Iceland with a view to serving food producers and the administration of food safety as well as possible. This structure contributes to improved food security for consumers and the production of healthy foods.

Matís 'pricing is based on the actual cost of measurements and Matís' laboratory is accredited. The cost of maintaining accreditation is part of the price of measurements at Matís, together with depreciation costs, specialized maintenance, material costs, staff time, etc. Matís receives samples every working day, but certain measurements, especially microbiological measurements, require a certain time frame, which means that work must in some cases be carried out on weekends.

We offer our customers measurements and work with them to keep costs to a minimum, for example by emphasizing that the organization of sampling is suitable for the organization of measurements. The number of samples is very important in this context and must be taken into account, among other things, the timing of measurements and access to research equipment. The publication of some kind of public price list would be conducive to reducing efficiency and flexibility and would not serve the interests of our customers.

Iceland is in international competition in food production. Matís is in an international competition for measurements. Our competitors have access to multiple samples compared to Icelandic conditions. This offers a simple price list, where it is assumed that samples go to the end of the queue when they arrive. Priority is paid separately. The size of food production in Iceland does not allow such an arrangement. That is why investing in infrastructure and human resources in Matís laboratories is all the more important. In this way, food production and tourism are supported and the export interests of the nation's key industries are secured, food security in Iceland is increased, the response time is shortened and the value creation of food producers is strengthened.

Special notes:

Pp. 14: Regarding the increase in the "sampling fee" from ISK 61,320 to ISK 81,760. It is assumed that this refers to pesticide measurements in fruit and vegetables. In 2014, an extensive development took place in the field of pesticide measurements at Matís, where the number of substances measured was increased from approx. 60 up to 135 and today almost 190 substances are measured. This is done to meet the requirements set out in Icelandic and European food legislation regarding the maximum levels of pesticides in these products. The reason for the increase was the increase in the number of substances, which is less than the relative increase in the number of compounds.

Pp. 21: Matís' price list is not published in the required manner. Matís is in competition on the free market. Customers look for offers and conduct their business according to those offers. Matís always makes an offer for each and every customer with the aim of optimizing the customer's costs by streamlining Matís' work, for example based on the timing of measurements and the appropriate organizational sampling. Public bodies, the Food Administration and regional health inspections, which submit official inspection samples, organize sampling in collaboration with Matís with the aim of minimizing the costs of inspectors. Price increases for measurements are kept to a minimum, for example, increases in most recent years have been much lower than increases in wages and other costs of measurements. 

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís

Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, Head of Measurement Services and Infrastructure

For further information, please contact Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, hronn.o.jorundsdottir@matis.is

Matís' activities seem to be attracting increasing attention, a by-product of that success is the increased number of visitors to Matís. Domestic and foreign parties knock on the door and would like to get to know Matís better.

Matís has been hospitable for the last few days on Vínlandsleið 12. Matís recently got its chairman and managing director Industry Association in a visit to him. Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, received Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir and Almar Guðmundsson. After a presentation of the company's operations, they discussed the results of a successful collaboration over the past ten years and further possibilities for continued collaboration to strengthen the Icelandic economy.

Then a Danish guest came to the yard when seven people from Thisted Municipality in Jutland looked in on Matís. The Danes came to Iceland in the hope that the wealth of ideas and innovation in the Icelandic fisheries sector in recent decades could inspire them to do good deeds in the area of influence in Hanstholm harbor. In addition to Matís, the Danish guests visited Vísi in Grindavík at least.

Finally came Faroese Business Envoy with Matís together with the Minister of Employment and Foreign Affairs of the Faroe Islands last week. In connection with the visit, the development of Matís' co-operation with Faroese parties over the past decade was reviewed, as well as an explanation of the opportunities inherent in the sustainable use of marine resources for increased value creation, improved food security and improved public health. Arnljótur B. Bergsson introduced Matís' operations to the Faroe Islands.

Nordic co-operation is important to Icelanders. The Nordic kitchen is one of the forums for Nordic co-operation, where many herbs are taught. Last week, the Icelandic Farmers' Association reported the Embla Nordic Food Prize where nominations for seven categories are requested until 17 April. Two days later, on April 19, the deadline for submitting project ideas expires the office of the Nordic Council of Ministers  which are based on food for the Nordic youth flowers on the one hand, and on the branding / promotion of Nordic food culture and its values on the other.  

A new Nordic cuisine is under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The aim of the program is to bring the ideology of Nordic cuisine into the homes and institutions of the Nordic countries and to encourage innovation in food product development and local food production. The plan refers to the new Nordic food policy statement from 2004.

The Nordic Farmers' Association has agreed to hold a Nordic food prize entitled Embla. Embla is scheduled to be delivered every other year, the first delivery will be in Denmark in 2017 at the invitation of the Danish farmers' association Landbrug & Fødevarer. The award ceremony will take place at the conference of the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food "Better Food for More People" at Copenhagen Cooking in August nk. Those who put delicacies on the table of all of us. Those who give everything and solidify the traditional. Those who bring the Nordic kitchen to life and enrich the art of gastronomy as it is. To those who bring us Nordic cuisine on a silver platter so we're all hungry for more."

Nordic cuisine, food culture and its value are often held in high esteem internationally.
The Nordic Region is often seen as a single market, in order to continue to promote positive development and to attract more visitors to the Nordic region, continued Nordic co-operation is needed on the development of knowledge and the definition of Nordic food culture in the international arena. Searched for Assignments based on strong Nordic co-operation that can lead to the introduction of new Nordic cuisine.

It is also advertised for Assignments which aims to link joy with food and create knowledge about food and consumption and skills in cooking for children and young people in the Nordic countries, as well as to arouse their interest in Nordic food. 

Interested parties are encouraged to get involved.

Embla's new Nordic food award beats the best in Nordic cuisine: ingredients, food, production methods and the people behind it all. The aim of the prizes is to share knowledge and experience and raise awareness of Nordic food.

On 14 March, the Nordic Farmers 'Association, united under the auspices of the Nordic Farmers' Association (NBC), will launch the first pan-Nordic food prize. The new prize has been named Embla, but according to Nordic mythology, the first woman bore that name.

Embla is intended to promote the pan-Nordic food culture and its characteristics, as well as to increase interest in Nordic food outside the Nordic countries. The prize is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers, but the Icelandic Farmers' Association manages Iceland's participation in the competition.

"We have so much good in the Nordic countries. Tasty ingredients and powerful innovation among professionals in the food industry. We all benefit from sharing these stories with each other, "says Andreas Buchhave, consultant at the Danish farmers' association Landbrug & Fødevarer and project manager of the new Nordic Food Awards.

"It is a great strength for Embla, the image of the awards and their goals, that they are led by an organization with a broad appeal to Nordic food," says Mads Frederik Fischer-Møller, Adviser at the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Embla will be delivered every other year, for the first time in Copenhagen in August 2017 offered by Landbrug & Fødevarer. At the ceremony, it will be announced where Embla will be delivered next, in 2019.

The award ceremony will take place in collaboration with the Danish Ministry of the Environment and Food's conference, "Better Food for More People" at the Copenhagen Cooking Food Festival.

"In this way, there will be a synergy effect as Embla supports a national event and at the same time benefits from the attention it receives as the emphasis is on food," says Jan Laustsen, CEO of Landbrug & Fødevarer.

Embla is divided into seven categories, with one nominated from each of the Nordic countries. A three-member jury will come from each country that selects competitors and there will also be a joint jury that will decide which of the nominees will win the prize.  

Embla's award categories are seven in number

The website emblafoodaward.com accepts nominations in seven categories which are:

• Nordic Food Craftsman 2017
• Nordic raw material producer 2017
• Nordic Award for Food for Many 2017
• Nordic food journalist 2017
• Nordic food destination 2017
• Nordic Food Entrepreneur 2017
• Nordic Prize for Food for Children and Young People 2017.

You can register participants in Embla from March 14 to April 17, 2017. Registration forms for the seven categories can be found at www.emblafoodaward.com , but there you can also learn more about the prizes and their origins.

For further information, contact Tjörvi Bjarnason, Head of Publishing & Promotion at the Icelandic Farmers' Association, at tjorvi@bondi.is and by phone 862-3412.

On the website you can find footage for the media: http://is.emblafoodaward.com/#5