On Tuesday, June 6, Matís' successful seminar on the future of food production in Iceland took place in Harpa's Norðurlósasal. A recording of the seminar is now available below.
Photographs: Anton Brink
Author: admin
The side products and ideas workshop will take place on Thursday, June 8 at 9:30 a.m. in Sjávarklasan
The focus will be on sludge from aquaculture and research in that context. The workshop is organized by the project Microorganisms for aquaculture sludge enrichment which is led by Matís and worked in collaboration with Sjávarklasan and Samherja fish farm.
That June 6 Next, Matís will host a special symposium on the future of food production in Iceland and the role of food research in promoting sustainable production, innovation and increased value creation.
Agenda:
speech
- Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Minister of Food, opens the meeting
Errand
- Studies on pelagic fish
- Aquaculture research
- Food safety in Iceland new challenges
- Food production and climate issues
- Sustainable fertilizer production in Iceland
- Kátur is a meaty crumb
- Icelandic grain and food security
- Are algae the food of the future?
- New opportunities in algae cultivation. Prof. Alejandro H. Buschmann
- Discussion
Board of Directors:
Bergur Ebbi Benediktsson
When
June 6, 2023 – from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m
Where
Harpa's Northern Lights Hall
Matís' annual report for 2022 is now available on the website.
It is clear that the future of food production in Iceland includes great challenges but also great opportunities. We need to ensure that there is enough safe and healthy food for everyone. We need to reduce the negative environmental impact of food production and promote sustainable use of land and sea so that the resources can continue to serve future generations.
Contact
Ólafur Reykdal
Project Manager
olafur.reykdal@matis.is
The Matís website now offers a web application to calculate the nutritional value of food based on a recipe. The program retrieves information from Matís' ÍSGEM database, but it facilitates calculations of the nutritional value.
The web application was developed in the project New solutions in the work of food labeling but it was funded by the Food Fund. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Association of small food producers / Direct from the farm. Matís has worked with the association for many years, so it was clear that there was a need to facilitate the work on food labeling. The web application is supposed to speed up and simplify the work on food labeling, as it is possible to work with both ÍSGEM data and your own data. It is very important for small producers to keep track of information about all raw materials. The web application comes with a detailed manual on how to use the application and other information needed for food labeling. Programming work was done by the company Hugsjá ehf.
The web application can be accessed here.
Instructions for using the web application can be found here:
Páll Gunnar Pálsson, a food scientist and former employee at Matís, recently launched the website Fish and coffee. There, the policy will be to maintain informative articles about fishing, processing and the effect of marine products.
Páll Gunnar has over the years put together a number of manuals on food processing of various kinds and is a wealth of knowledge on these topics. The website is accessible at fishurogkaffi.is.
Ascophyllum nodosum contains many valuable compounds, including polyphenols, peptides, and carotenoids that have been shown to exhibit biological activities. These compounds are not a priority ingredient in seaweed meal products for the current users. Hence, the aim of the study was to investigate the chemical and bioactive characteristics of A. nodosum as affected by seasonal variation and evaluate the potential benefits of alternative processing and the utilization of side streams for product development. The analysis of raw materials, press liquid, and press cake from alternative processing and the commercial seaweed meal at different harvesting periods indicated that the chemical composition is linked to the reproductive state of the algae. Phenolic content and ORAC activity increased following the seaweed's fertile period, making alternative processing more promising in July and October compared to June. Several valuable ingredients were obtained in the press liquid, including polyphenols, which can be used in the development of new high-value bioactive products. The suggested alternative processing does not have a negative effect on the composition and quality of the current seaweed meal products. Hence, the extraction of valuable ingredients from the fresh biomass during the processing of seaweed meal could be a feasible option to increase the value and sustainability of seaweed processing.
The Microbiology team in Reykjavík has been using MALDI-TOF technology (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry) for years to research and analyse a vast number of microbial strains.
Recently our Swedac accreditation has expanded to allow the accredited use of the MALDI-TOF biotyper to confirm Listeria monocytogenes. The technology allows the laboratory to confirm Listeria monocytogenes and this is therefore a significant step forward in the speed of species identification of living bacteria. The aim is to expand the laboratory's accreditation to use this rapid technology for species identification of more disease-causing bacteria, and that process is well advanced.
Further information:
Basic Principles of Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Contact
Ólafur Reykdal
Project Manager
olafur.reykdal@matis.is
The project Challenges in packing vegetables was funded by the Swedish Food Fund in 2021. The aim of the project was to provide an overview of options for packaging vegetables and point out upcoming new packaging materials that can replace plastic. Furthermore, the project was intended to provide an overview of the impact of packaging on the environment and people's health, and to investigate the shelf life and quality of vegetables for different packaging under Icelandic conditions.
The project's contribution will be to make the latest knowledge on vegetable packaging available to interested parties in Iceland. The project has built up knowledge that will be shared with the vegetable sector. It will be possible to make decisions about the best solutions based on product quality and environmental protection. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Department of Horticultural Farmers at the Farmers' Association of Iceland and the Gardeners' Sales Association. Part of the project was work on the assessment of the carbon footprint of several horticultural farms, but the results are presented in another forum. Although this report focuses specifically on vegetables, the topics have general appeal and those planning to package other types of food should benefit from the report. It is hoped that the project will lead to progress in food packaging and pave the way for new types of packaging materials.
View report
Contact
Marta Gall Jörgensen
Director of Human Resources
marta@matis.is
Last January, we did an audit of Matís' equal pay system, but Matís was first certified in January 2020, and we have therefore worked according to an equal pay system for three years. This is the first time a re-certification audit has been carried out on the Matís equal pay system and we are happy to announce that the Matís equal pay system has now received a new certification that it meets the requirements of the standard ÍST 85:2012, in accordance with Article 7. regulation no. 1030/2017, on certification of equal pay systems of companies and institutions based on the standard ÍST 85, cf. provisions of law no. 150/2020, on equal status and equal rights of the sexes.