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The company Villimey slf produces organically certified products from Icelandic herbs that grow in the wild nature of the Westfjords. Villimey's products came on the market in August 2005 and production has been growing in recent years. The products have been well received in Iceland and where they have been introduced abroad.

Villimey bases its operations on the utilization of the resources of Vestur-Barðastrandasýsla, which are pure and unpolluted nature and plants that grow wild in nature. Aðalbjörg Þorsteinsdóttir, owner and managing director of Villimeyjar, uses this purity of nature to produce products from herbs and bases the production on centuries-old recipes that she has developed in line with modern requirements and needs. Villimeyjar's products have become well-known in Iceland and are becoming increasingly popular.

Results from bioactivity studies of Villimey products

In recent months, herbal products produced by Villimey in Tálknafjörður have been studied at Matís' laboratory in Sauðárkrókur and in Reykjavík. The production of the herbal ointments from Villimey is in accordance with the strictest requirements regarding hygiene and quality workmanship. No preservatives are added to the ointments and they meet the requirements generally made for such production. These are natural products that have their natural activity against bacteria. This activity of the ointments was demonstrated by a so-called "Preservative efficiency test (challenge test)", which was carried out in Matís' laboratory. These tests followed the guidelines of the European Pharmacopoeia (7th edition from 2011).

Villimeyjar skin care products have also been tested in a variety of skin cell tests where it is possible to measure the activity of various substances in skin cells and thus find out their effect on the structure of skin cells. The skin cell tests measure the amount of collagen that promotes the development of skin cells, the elastase that causes the skin to degenerate, the metal proteinase 1 that breaks down collagen and the metal proteinase 2 that is necessary for the regeneration of body tissues.

These tests showed a positive effect of Villimey's skin care products on these substances and they either prevent their formation such as elastase and thus counteract the degeneration of the skin or stimulate their production such as collagen and thus contribute to the regeneration of the skin. There was also a considerable positive response of the skin care products in tests that measure their inhibitory effect on inflammation in muscles and joints.

Furthermore, the skin products were found to be effective in healing cells in the epithelium by means of a so-called "Scratch wound healing" test, and their healing effect in this test was found to be significant beyond the untreated criteria.

Antioxidant effects were also measured in Villimeyjar's products, both skin care products and herbal apple cider vinegar, and the antioxidant activity was found to be significantly higher than untreated criteria, and this antioxidant activity can be traced to the herbs used in the products. There was also a significant anti-inflammatory effect of the herbal mixture in the apple cider vinegar.

Matís 'research on Villimey's products has been funded by the V-Barðastrandasýsla Research and Innovation Fund, and Villimey and Matís' fund would like to thank the fund for their important support.

Guðjón Þorkelsson, an employee of Matís, recently received the position of professor at the University of Iceland. Guðjón has taught at the University or all the streets for a long time since 1978. Guðjón studied biology at the University of Iceland where he graduated in 1977 and subsequently studied food science, but Guðjón has a master's degree in food science from the University of Leeds in England where he graduated in 1981. In addition, Guðjón sits on the board of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Iceland.

At Matís, Guðjón oversees everything related to education and food production, and Guðjón is an important connection between Matís and the universities in Iceland. We are very proud of Guðjón's professorship and look forward to tackling future projects together.

Guðjón gave a lecture at a special introductory lecture last week. week, but at the School of Health Sciences at the University of Iceland, the promotion or hiring of new professors is celebrated with such a presentation. The ceremony began with a brief overview of Guðjón's main jobs, but then he took over himself and gave a talk on his work and vision in teaching and research.
 
Matís sincerely congratulates Guðjón on his professorship.

Two new articles have now been published in the scientific journal Icelandic Agricultural Sciences and can be accessed at IAS website. 

The first article A Comparative Analysis of the Energy Return on Investment of Organic and Conventional Icelandic Dairy Farms (EROI) by Reyni Smári Atlason, Karl Martin Kjareheim, Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir and Kristín Vala Ragnarsdóttir. It was examined which agricultural method returns the most energy to the community against the energy that the farms use. This is the first time that energy used by Icelandic farms is compared with the energy they produce. This is an important contribution to the debate on energy efficiency in agriculture and how we use non-renewable energy and raw materials in agriculture. It also allows us to start comparisons with other countries in this field.

Another innovation was that the energy profitability of traditional and organic farms was compared here. The results are not unequivocal as there were too few organic farms to draw definitive conclusions, but the study indicates that organic cow farms can provide better energy yields than traditional farms. The yield per hectare is smaller, but on the other hand, artificial fertilizers are not used, but their preparation, transport and anesthesia require a great deal of energy combined.

The other article Soil nematode communities on Surtsey 50 years after its formation (50 years after the formation of the volcanic island) is by Krassimira Ilieva-Makulec, Brynhildur Bjarnadóttir and Bjarni D. Sigurðsson. The article discusses the changes that have taken place in wireworm communities in the soil on Surtsey since it was formed in 1963, but nematodes play an important role in the primary development of ecosystems and in soil formation. The authors compare malnourished areas and areas that were nutrient-rich due to dense gulls. A total of 25 genera of nematodes were found, of which 14 had not been found before. The authors found a connection between several soil factors and vegetation, but at the same time the development of nematodes had a different process than the development of vegetation.

Research on soil life is very rare in Iceland and therefore this research can be seen as a novelty in that field and an important contribution to basic research on soil life. This study is also an important contribution to the development of soil life on a new island, on previously unvegetated land.

It is clear that a large amount of data is collected during fishing and processing at Icelandic fisheries companies. This information is often used by themselves in later fisheries management, where specific species or specific units of catch are retrieved. There are also examples of companies using this data in margin calculations for fishing and processing.

This detailed data collection that takes place during fishing, landing and processing at Icelandic fisheries companies can then be used for further processing by regulators or as accompanying data with products to buyers or customs authorities.

The purpose of this document is to show what information is involved, where it is obtained and its flow between parties according to different fishing, processing methods and sales processes.

The document can be accessed here (best viewed in Acrobat Reader).

For further information Valur N. Gunnlaugsson at Matís.

At the beginning of the 2012/13 fishing year, a regulation came into force that obliges the operators of processing vessels to bring ashore some of the cod heads that are caught during processing in Icelandic jurisdiction. The background to the enactment of the regulation, the effect of the regulation on the amount of cod heads landed in the first two fishing years that the regulation has been in force and the possible ways for the fishing companies to meet the conditions of the regulation, are outlined in a recent report by Matís.

In August 2011, the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture issued Regulation 810/2011 on the utilization of catches and by-products. In that regulation, it was stated that vessels processing catch on board were obliged to bring cod cliffs and cod heads ashore. The regulation stipulated that from 1 February 2012, vessels should bring ashore 50% of all cod climbs and cod heads caught during fishing in Icelandic jurisdiction. As of 1 September 2012, the same vessels would be obliged to bring all cod climbs and cod heads ashore during fishing in Icelandic jurisdiction. However, this regulation met with considerable opposition from shipowners, who considered its objectives to be technically unrealistic and economically unreasonable. The Ministry therefore sought consultation among the various stakeholders and professionals to reach a conclusion that all parties to the case could agree on.

Subsequently, Regulation 1296/2011 was issued in December 2011 and the obligation that processing vessels should bring cod climbing ashore had been completely abolished and obligations regarding the proportion of cod heads that should be brought ashore with cargo space had been linked. of the vessels. According to the regulation, which entered into force on 1 September 2012, processing vessels with a usable cargo volume of between 600 and 800 m³ obliged to bring 30% cod heads that occur during fishing in Icelandic waters and freezer trawlers with more than 800 m³ cargo space was to bring 40% of incidental cod heads ashore. Processing vessel with a usable cargo volume of less than 600 m³ were, however, exempted from this Regulation. The processing vessels were allowed to replace the heads, to bring the corresponding amount of gels, cheeks and / or feet ashore or of other products made from heads on board.

There are various problems with the possibility of landing cod heads on at least part of the freezer fleet. There is very limited space on the mezzanine deck of most ships and therefore it is difficult to install new equipment for processing heads, the freezing capacity is limited and the freezing equipment is not suitable for freezing heads, the heads used to deliver raw materials that are unsuitable for further processing, storage space in freezers is limited, the workload on the crews is already high and it is difficult to increase it for the relatively limited financial return from head processing.

However, some parts of the fleet come ashore with some of their cod heads, and this proportion has been increasing in recent years. In those cases, the company has managed to adapt the processing to the utilization of heads without this affecting the processing of the main products. However, it cannot be seen that the regulation in question has had a significant effect on this development, as there has been a similar development between the vessels that are exempt from the regulation and the vessels covered by the regulation. This is simply a value that many shipowners see an opportunity to retrieve, regardless of the regulation.

The main problems when it comes to the utilization of cod heads on board processing vessels are lack of space and limited freezing capacity. Therefore, there are opportunities to work the heads with the aim of reducing the scope and then only the most valuable parts. Now, for example, there are machines on the market that can process the most valuable products from the heads, such as gels, cheeks and lumps. By taking care of these three head products, the volume of what needs to be frozen and stored in trains can be reduced by 65% and still bring more value ashore than if the heads had been completely frozen. For the current Icelandic freezer fleet, there are opportunities in such processing. However, there is a great accumulated need for the renewal of the freezer fleet to meet new demands and challenges. Although their importance in the Icelandic fishing industry has diminished in recent years, there will always be a need for these vessels in the fleet, and especially to seek more distant targets. It can be expected that the design of new processing vessels and changes to the old ones will take into account requirements for improved utilization of all raw materials, heads and other by-products. The renewal of the freezer trawler fleet is therefore of great interest to the industry and the nation as the owner of the resource.

Matís has closely monitored head utilization on board processing vessels and assisted fishing companies in looking for opportunities in improved utilization of by-products. When Regulation 810/2011 was in the process of being reviewed, Matís' experts came to work on formulating the regulation, and they have subsequently been involved in research and development in that field. The AVS Fisheries Project Fund supported small projects in 2012 to assess the impact of the aforementioned regulation. This project has been carried out intermittently for the past three years and was formally completed with the publication of a Matís report which can be accessed here. Previously, the project had supported work on Gísli Eyland's master's project in Corporate Finance at the University of Iceland. Among the products of Gísli Eyland's project was an operating model for processing vessels where, among other things, it is possible to compare the profitability of different options for collecting and processing heads on board. This operating model can be accessed here. Gísli Eyland's project was also presented TAFT 2012 (Trans ‐ Atlantic Fisheries Technology Conference) with poster which attracted considerable attention.

The AVS Fisheries Project Fund is thanked for supporting the project.

For more information Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís.

The municipality of Skagafjörður has been named Iceland's quality destination for a project called Matarkistan Skagafjörður. The Icelandic Tourist Board named Skagafjörður, but quality destinations are selected all over Europe in pan-European project but a news item to that effect appeared in Kjarnan a short time ago.

One of Matís' most powerful offices is in Skagafjörður Matís Biotechnology Center is located in Sauðárkrókur. Matís' activities at Líftæknismiðjan are multifaceted. First, Matís has set up a specialized laboratory in the field of biotechnology and biochemicals. Secondly, Matís operates a pilot plant in the processing hall of Líftæknismiðjan, where the company Iceprotein ehf. has built up its operations. Finally, Matís' staff at Líftæknismiðjan works with companies in Skagafjörður and NV-landi on various improvement and optimization projects.

With Líftæknismiðjan, research facilities have been created with associated processing facilities where scientists and pioneers in biotechnology can develop their products and processing processes in collaboration with Matís. The Biotechnology Center's laboratory is working on measuring the bioactive properties of biomaterials from Icelandic nature. The biotechnology center is open to all Icelanders, and individuals and companies can have facilities there for a shorter period of time for product production. The workshop will be a kind of hatchery for new start-up companies in biotechnology and important in shortening the process from idea to market. By choosing the location of Líftæknismiðjan, one looks at the local area, which is Skagafjörður's food pantry.

Kjarnan's news about Matarkistuna Skagafjörður can be found here: http://kjarninn.is/2015/07/skagafjordur-er-gaedaafangastadur-islands-samkvaemt-ferdamalastofu/

The fishing industry's collection of terms that is now published on the web brings together various terms from the fishing industry and gives them a clearer meaning. Attempts have been made to do this with both words and pictures. The museum was originally created in connection with the project "Increased value of data. "

The collection of information in the project "Increased value of data" revealed that the understanding of individual words and concepts is difficult to understand and that the same word can have different meanings between parties. Obviously, there is nothing more important in communicating about great value than having a coherent meaning in words and concepts.

The customs register contains over 100 terms, some difficult to understand and others not used in the right context. There are repeated misunderstandings in the classification and product descriptions due to this. The glossary can therefore undoubtedly be useful in the preparation of product descriptions in the customs register and in the drafting of regulations and laws of the public sector, it can also make communication between business partners more targeted. This glossary will also be useful to employees in the fisheries sector, in the preparation of product descriptions and other communications where it will be possible to refer to the glossary as a source.

The glossary can be accessed here (best viewed in Acrobat Reader).

As this is the first edition of the collection, all comments are welcome and will be appreciated Páll Gunnar Pálsson at Matís receive them as well as provide further information if requested.

Matís plays a leading role as one of the most powerful research companies in the country, leading research and collaborative projects of companies and thus strengthening national knowledge, trusting value creation and promoting improved living conditions. Integrity is of great importance to managers and employees, whether it is integrity in scientific work and research or integrity when it comes to Matís' operations and financial management.

Growth has characterized Matís from the beginning. This policy has been systematically followed after the company has progressed in international co-operation between food and research companies, in parallel with the extensive services it provides in this country. Matís' share of foreign income is just over a third and has never been higher. Increased foreign income not only contributes to increased growth, but Matís' operating base will be more solid in the future with more ways of generating income. To date, Matís has mostly worked in European countries, but in 2014, successful steps were taken into the North American market that promise good things to come in the near future.

The benefits of Matís' operations for Icelandic society are unequivocal. The company plays a leading role as one of the most powerful research companies in the country, it leads research and collaboration projects of companies and thus strengthens national knowledge, trusts value creation and promotes improved living conditions. Despite its young age, the company has already demonstrated how effective research is in society in innovation, product development, value creation and better use of resources, to name a few. Good research has directly resulted in greater value for companies and the economy.

Matís not only rises to a responsible role in research and innovation in food production in this country, but increased emphasis has been placed on the part of the company's service that deals with food safety; monitoring and measurement of food. This service is valuable to Icelandic consumers and is becoming increasingly important for the export of Icelandic food companies as the demands of foreign buyers and consumers increase.

Matís enjoys professional as well as operational trust, which is best seen by the number foreign participation projects of which the company is a member and the leading role that Matís has in many of them. A number of foreign companies also make use of Matís' research services, which also testifies to the trust it has built up in recent years. This trust is also enjoyed by companies and institutions in this country, which in many cases are Matís' partners in foreign projects. It can be said that not only does Matís itself benefit from project participation abroad, but also opens doors abroad for other domestic parties.

By its nature, the operation of Matís ohf. in many ways different from traditional public limited companies, but at Matís the goal is to utilize the funds created to further develop the operations and increase project participation. The best measure of the company's success is not least the experience that is built up within the company, professional knowledge, the level of education of the employees, the number of research projects and the results in them and other measurable factors. They form a so-called knowledge index that has never been higher within Matís than now. This fact is yet another proof that managers and employees are delivering quality work.

Everything results in the aforementioned work abroad, powerful research companies in Icelandic society. Professional knowledge and experience created in foreign projects is used in other projects that Matís is working on in Iceland. In this way it can be said that the old adage is true that every way from home is the way home.