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Voices that consumers have accurate information about food are becoming more and more intense. Whether it is information on content, traceability or nutritional value, there are a large number of people, especially in Western societies, who consider themselves useful for such information.

But what is the value of the various information on food?

Technology is advancing in terms of data storage. The companies GS1 and Matís have collaborated on, among other things, food traceability, but within GS1 there is extensive knowledge, for example, of the possible uses of bar labels. Many people want to say that the bar codes can be used much better than they are today, and GS1 is working on just that. For example, in the near future it may be possible to scan barcodes to obtain information not only about the name or price of a product but also about the origin of the product, the process the product has gone through in production and transport, facilities and the minimum wage of production workers. of the product, how much the production and transport of the product polluted (eg carbon footprint), ingredients, allergens and intolerances or nutritional value?

If we specifically mention the origin and traceability of food, many Icelandic consumers have found it important to know where the food comes from or the raw materials used to produce it. Many also consider it important to be able to trace back all the steps of manufacturing, transporting and marketing a product, and some say that it is not possible to make an informed decision about purchasing a product until information on origin as well as traceability is available. The demand for this is becoming more and more intense, not least because of the consumer's demand that food is in every way safe for consumption and does not harm us.

The opportunities are great when it comes to food labeling and education about them

Several companies that Matís has worked well with are pioneering in bringing information about food to consumers. FooDoIt (for food do it) is one such. The employees of that company have used the Matís databases on the chemical content of food (ÍSGEM) to design a user-friendly program that can be used to retrieve information about almost any ingredient in food. Such information can be useful to many people, such as people with diabetes, people with intolerance or allergy to certain ingredients, people who want to cut sugar consumption with a nail (eg the low-carbohydrate diet) or those who want handy information about the energy content of foods that consumed. An experiment with such items was recently set up in Matís' canteen at Vínlandsleið 12 and employees received information about various things related to lunch that day. In the future, another experiment will be carried out where employees, if they wish, can use information from FooDoIt's programs and compare it with their needs and behavior patterns that day. In this way, for example, an honest attempt can be made to keep food consumption within the limits currently set by the body's energy metabolism or to supplement it if necessary; all specially designed for each one.

There are many more interesting things to look at, and smartphones and smartwatches come into play in many things that are being examined and tested.

Krónan has now, for the first time in Icelandic stores, set up a fun small program where you can scan all their products to get information about prices. The program also allows consumers to add products to their shopping list and find out what offers are going on, for example.

Recently, Matís came up with a suitable smartphone app for sailors. The purpose of this program is to give fishermen the opportunity to realize how much ice is needed to use the cooling of the raw material from the beginning, but this is a prerequisite for quality to remain completely at the consumer's table. Proper cooling at the beginning not only ensures quality and freshness, but also helps ensure that the food is safe to consume when placed on the plate. Information about ísAPP Matís can be found here.

It's fun to think about future possibilities in food information. For example, will it be possible in the near future to push a shopping cart through a so-called gate in supermarkets in this country where all products are scanned at once? With such a system, where there is a microchip in the product packaging, it would not be necessary to scan one product at a time, but all the products would be scanned in almost a fraction of a second when the shopping cart is pushed through this gate. It would then be possible to pay for the products with the smartphone, but smartphone payments have already become quite common in this country. Such a system could save significant time on grocery shopping trips and also allow stores to reduce the risk of theft.

Shopping carts with artificial intelligence

Whole Foods Market in the United States has experimented with special shopping carts where a scanner provides information about the product that is placed in the cart. This is of great benefit to consumers, as the purpose is to provide information on the various aspects of products, such as prices or intolerances and allergens, and how these products are suitable for the consumer who shops for food. In addition, you do not have to wait in line for an employee to scan the food, but go straight to the payment gateway to pay, for example, with a smartphone or transfer from the buyer's account. Videos about this experiment can be found here.

So in the future, consumers can connect to their refrigerators with a smartphone through a special app that provides information about the "status" of the refrigerator and what is needed to buy in the store?

The opportunities are endless and it's easy to let your imagination run wild!

In modern society, the demands are ever greater when it comes to food information. Icelandic food production is in many respects comparable to food production in other countries. However, there are opportunities to do even better and there are great opportunities in having information that consumers do not even know today that they could benefit from and enjoy. It can therefore be said that both food producers and consumers, and perhaps the health authorities, could benefit from an even greater flow of information from all stages of food production.

For more information Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson and Sigríður Sigurðardóttir at Matís.

It is fundamental that we as consumers can trust that the food we eat does not harm us or threaten our health.

"In order to ensure food safety, it is therefore necessary that monitoring and research on food raw materials and production is active and in line with the rapid development and innovation that has taken place in the food industry," says Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, director of chemical research and risk assessment at Matís.

There are various factors that can affect the health of food, but in addition to pathogenic pathogens that can be passed on to people who consume food, foods can also contain substances that can affect our health in the long run. These include persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins and PCBs. These substances are fat-soluble and can be passed on to people with food and threaten our health slowly and sharply.

"Long-term research into the effects of harmful and polluting substances in food is extremely important for our public health and well-being. Equipment and expertise must be adequate to meet the growing demands of consumers and public food safety regulators. Food legislation in Iceland is largely the same as in other parts of Europe, and in order to be able to demonstrate competitive and comparable food and environmental research, strong co-operation is needed between the institutions and parties involved in this area. These include laboratories, food producers, universities and the government, "says Helga.

Matís works diligently to promote improved food security in Iceland and the company's diverse activities involve a wide range of food safety and product health aspects. A major part of the operation is microbial and chemical measurements, where thousands of samples are processed annually from various parties in the food industry and official regulators. This involves microbiological and chemical research on samples from food, drinking water and the sea, but in addition to processing samples from food producers, Matís also provides monitoring and security services for the government. The part of the activity that deals with the safety and monitoring of undesirable substances in food is, among other things, measurements of pesticide residues in food and persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs. Measurements of pesticide residues aim to screen for various auxiliaries used in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables such as insecticides, herbicides and drug licenses.

"We have accredited measurements for public regulatory bodies in this country, which means that our measurements have received a certain quality certification. The government and other regulatory bodies can then contact us with measurements where certain quality standards must be followed. Matís has also been nominated as the Icelandic reference laboratory for microbial research on shellfish and for measurements of Salmonella in food. We have shown that our measurements for these research areas comply with European standards and we are responsible for ensuring that approved methods are available and that we can guide other laboratories with such measurements, "says Helga.

"Our goal is to be a leader in food and environmental research. The results of our research have yielded important information about consumer products and the environment in Iceland, which is useful not only domestically but also abroad, "says Helga, adding that an important project is now underway in the development of food safety, which is expected to be completed in end of 2014. This is a project that aims to enable the competent Icelandic authorities, the Food Administration and the municipal health inspectorate to better enforce regulations on food safety and consumer protection that have already been implemented through the EEA Agreement.

"The key goal of this project is to further increase food safety in Iceland by, among other things, creating better research facilities and the ability to perform chemical analyzes of the most common dangers in food and develop new measurement methods and procedures for competent food control. The project is therefore necessary for Iceland to be able to meet the increased obligations that we have undertaken with the adoption of food legislation, "says Helga.

For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.

The national campaign "Fish Day", which aims to increase Icelanders' fish consumption, shows an episode where chef Sveinn Kjartansson teaches teenagers how to cook fish quickly and easily.

In the shows, the teenagers will make salmon in tacos, haddock in pita bread and blue-long burgers. There will also be a review of fish handling, bone cleaning, skin peeling to name a few.

The first episode is on the program tonight on RÚV and it starts at 20:05. More about the episodes on the RÚV website.

click on the Fisheries Day website or The campaign's Facebook page.

For more information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir and Ingunn Jónsdóttir at Matís.

Matís' annual report for the operating year 2013 has now been published. Food and food security is the main theme of the report this time. The publication can be accessed in electronic form below in the news, but the printed version will be available next week.

Definitions:

• Food safety deals with how safe foods are for consumption and whether they cause harm to the health of consumers
• Food security deals with access to food and the supply of healthy and safe food

Consumers need to be able to rely on food safety. Matís' two key areas are dedicated to research and services in the field of food safety. These include accredited micro-organisms and chemical measurements, which are an ever-increasing demand in food control and trade. It also conducts research in the fields of microbiology, chemistry and genetics, as well as monitoring and security services.

Food security of the future, i.e. good public access to safe and wholesome food will only be ensured through innovation and improved use of resources. In recent years, there has been a great and positive development in food production in Iceland, and Matís has been at the forefront, with research and innovation support for the business community.

"With the field of education and food production, we make Matís' operations and role more prominent and better connect the business community, education, research and development of food," says Guðjón Þorkelsson, division manager.

Grants both Matís and the food companies

Guðjón says that through collaboration with educational institutions and vocational training, Matís is following up on the emphasis on research and innovation in the field of food for the benefit of the economy, public health and food safety.

"Another main reason for the collaboration is efficiency in the form of shared use of staff and facilities. The other reason, and the one that is very important to Matís and the food companies, is to get students to work on practical research projects and thus gain training to become the companies' future employees. Matís is a very large research company on an Icelandic scale and here is a great deal of expertise and experience that needs to be utilized in teaching, guidance and vocational training in food processing. We are also lucky to have received first-class facilities in many places in the country that are also used for the same purpose, "says Guðjón.

The teaching component has already become extensive

Despite the fact that teaching, vocational training and guidance of students in research studies have so far not been in a fixed and organized form as a field within Matís, Guðjón says the scope of these aspects is very large.

"Matís employees teach about 25 courses in undergraduate and graduate studies and supervise most of them. Numerous students in master's and doctoral studies at Icelandic universities have worked on their research projects at Matís and almost always in collaboration with the business community. We are in good cooperation and have joint employees with the University of Iceland and the University of Akureyri. The collaboration with the University of Iceland is mostly at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, but also extensively at the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences and the School of Social Sciences. Matís works extensively with the School of Business and Science at the University of Akureyri, mainly in aquaculture and fisheries sciences. Due to previous work and research, I have a strong desire to revive and strengthen the collaboration with the Agricultural University of Iceland. Hólar University and Matís are in a joint building at Verin in Sauðárkrókur and work together on many projects.

All of these parties have worked on a project to establish an international master's program in food science in connection with the food industry in the country. This study has been led by Matís and the University of Iceland and 12 students started the study in the autumn of 2012 and there has been an even further increase since then, "says Guðjón, but most of the teaching is at Matís in Reykjavík but teaching also takes place in Akureyri. In connection with the study, two Matís specialists, Hörður G. Kristinsson and Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, were appointed visiting professors at the University of Iceland.

"I have full faith that the international master's program will strengthen and become very prominent in the coming years. Cooperation on other sectors will also be strengthened. Our task must also be to link vocational training, technical studies and other university studies related to food to the economy. We also need to work on strengthening vocational training / vocational rehabilitation related to food with an emphasis on small-scale food production and collaboration with Beint frá býli, "says Guðjón.

For further information Guðjón at Matís.

At a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 9 December 2013, the contribution of the United Nations University School of Fisheries (UNU-FTP) to the development of fisheries in developing countries was specifically recognized. 

The UN General Assembly recognizes the importance of the work of the UN University School of Fisheries in Iceland

At a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 9 December 2013, a regular resolution on sustainable fishing (the General Assembly's Fisheries Resolution) was adopted. The resolution, which is the fruit of negotiations between countries at the United Nations, this time specifically recognized the contribution of the United Nations University School of Fisheries in Iceland to the development of fisheries in developing countries.

The resolution states that the General Assembly values the school's extensive 15 years of work in building knowledge, skills and skills in developing countries, with a total of 280 students from 47 countries graduating from the school. In addition, the school has run 36 shorter courses in 12 countries.

About the collaboration between UNU-FTP and Matís

Among the collaborative projects in which Matís participates is the Fisheries School of the United Nations University, and in addition to Matís, the school is run by the Marine Research Institute, the University of Iceland, the University of Akureyri and the University of Hólar. Students 'projects at the school are all done with the needs of the students' home countries in mind. For example, projects have traditionally focused on the creation of quality index scales for mackerel, on the effect of sorbates and chitosan on the shelf life of mackerel, on teaching materials for the development of a HACCP system in the North Korean fishing industry and on the installation of traceability systems in China.

The collaboration between the United Nations University School of Fisheries and Matís has increased steadily in recent years. In addition to undergraduate studies, which all students at the school receive from Matís, the company conducts six-week special studies and each year some of the school's students work on final projects at Matís. In addition, a number of students regularly pursue doctoral and master's studies at the company on a regular basis, so it can be said with truth that Matís is part of the school.

home page Fisheries School of the United Nations University in Iceland.

The above news is taken in part website of the Ministry of Industry.