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The Icelandic innovation company Marinox ehf. recently received significant research and development funding under the Eurostars program, of which 33 European countries are members. The Marinox and Partners project was rated the fourth best project out of 594 projects.

The fourth best Eurostars project

The project was rated the fourth best project out of 594 projects for which a grant was applied for and the competition for funding was fierce, but this was the tenth time that applications were announced. The Eurostars program aims to empower SMEs to market products, processes or services to the public. The project is managed by Marinox but there are partners Matís and Due Miljö in Norway. The Technology Development Fund supports Iceland's share in the project.

The grant is a great recognition for Marinox and the pioneering research and development work carried out there. The project involves the processing of valuable bioactive substances from Icelandic algae, which can be used as a dietary supplement or as an additive in various consumer products. Marinox is an innovative company that has slipped away Matís and in recent years has developed methods for isolating active substances from marine algae and products containing them. Marinox manufactures, among other things, UNA Skincare skin products that contain active ingredients from seaweed.

More information about the project is provided dr. Hörður G. Kristinsson at Marinox ehf. and about Eurostars Snæbjörn Kristjánsson (skr@nmi.is) Eurostars national contact at the Iceland Innovation Center.

Next October 17th moves Sigurjón Arason, Matís' chief engineer and newly appointed professor of food engineering at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland, gave a talk on the occasion of his appointment.

At the School of Health Sciences, the innovation of promoting or hiring new professors with their special introductory lecture has been introduced. The activities begin with a brief overview of the main work of the professor in question, after which he gives a talk on his work and future vision in teaching and research. At the end of the ceremony, there is an opportunity to chat and rejoice with the new professor.

The purpose of the introductory lectures is to draw attention to the new professor, his work and emphases, not least to increase connections and collaboration within the school, but also to start the professorship for glory.

The company Þoran, which now develops production of Icelandic quality whiskey from barley, won the first prize in the innovation competition between Matís and Landsbankinn for business ideas in the food and biotechnology industry based on Icelandic raw materials and ingenuity.

The first prize is ISK 1 million from Landsbankinn and important technical advice and facilities to continue working on the idea from Matís. The picture shows representatives of Landsbankinn and Matís together with Birgur Már Sigurðsson and Bergþóra Aradóttir on behalf of the winning idea Þoran - Icelandic quality whiskey.

Other ideas that stood out this time were:

• GeoSilica - Silica suspension as a dietary supplement
• Iceland - beverage and ice cream production from whey
• Barley and kelp pasta - development and production of healthy pasta

Relatives of these four business ideas now have the opportunity to present their idea to investors and continue to work on their implementation with the help of Matís experts.

The innovation competition was entitled "This is something else" and the name refers to a discussion about innovations in business life that often ends with people saying "something else should be done", or to undefined solutions that many people talk about but do not have a name for. This competition creates an opportunity to do "something else".

The members of the competition intend to be a powerful stimulus for the development of small and medium-sized companies in the field of food and biotechnology, with lasting value creation as a guiding principle.

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, says: “This time, the winners of the competition presented a uniquely fun idea for non-traditional food that has excellent marketing potential. It is gratifying that if it had not been for this competition, we certainly would not have entered into a partnership with Þoran so soon. That fact alone strengthens my belief that the decision of Landsbankinn and Matís to hold such a competition was the right one. It creates a good opportunity for us to create a platform that can become a rich part of increased value creation in the field of food production and biotechnology. "

Brynhildur Ingvarsdóttir has been hired as the new managing director of Marinox ehf., The manufacturer of the UNA skincare skin care line.

Brynhildur graduated with an MA in Media Studies from Emerson College in Boston in 2002 and a BA in History from the University of Iceland in 1995. She most recently worked as EGF's Marketing Manager at Sif Cosmetics, where she participated in the development of the company and the brands EGF and BIOEFFECT ™. Brynhildur was previously the director of the National Museum of Iceland's media department on the eve of the museum's construction and reopening on September 1, 2004. She is one of the authors of the museum's basic exhibition and directed the media department in the first years after its opening.

When Brynhildur was asked about her new job, she said that Marinox was a very interesting company with great potential in various fields. "Marinox is one of these exciting innovative companies based on solid research and the enthusiasm of the founders. Their research has shown that one type of seaweed that grows off the coast of Iceland can be used to produce highly bioactive substances with high antioxidant activity, which are not only sought after as raw materials in cosmetics, but also as valuable food additives and food additives to name a few. , "Says Brynhildur.

Marinox ehf. is a young innovative company specializing in the research, development and production of bioactive substances from marine algae and products containing such substances. The company's first product line, the UNA skincare skin care products, was launched just over a year ago. The research and development work of the product line took place in close collaboration with Matís, both in Reykjavík and in Sauðárkrókur. UNA skincare skin products contain unique bioactive substances made from Icelandic seaweed, but Marinox researchers have developed a unique method for isolating and producing active substances from this underutilized Icelandic resource - a method that ensures maximum effectiveness of the substances. The UNA skincare ™ brand is only the first of many that are in the pipeline at Marinox, as there are many opportunities to enter the market.

For further information, please contact Hörður G. Kristinsson, Board Member and Founder of Marinox (858-5063) or Brynhildur Ingvarsdóttir (860-9650).

Berglind Ósk Alfreðsdóttir, Helga Franklínsdóttir students at the University of Iceland and Sigríður Hulda Sigurðardóttir students at the Iceland Academy of the Arts received a special award from the jury in Ecotrophelia, which is a competition in environmentally friendly food innovation.

25 judges from 18 participating countries and 7 from large companies and the European Union liked the seaweed soup and gave the Icelandic participants a special prize for having the most interesting new idea. One judge was from Iceland and it was Ragnheiður Héðinsdóttir from the Confederation of Icelandic Industries.

It is safe to say that the Icelanders' results are great considering that about 120 teams took part in national competitions and 18 teams advanced to the main competition itself, which was held in Cologne, Germany.

It should be noted that in Chinese cuisine, sea urchins are mostly used in soups, but it can take several days to cook them as the preparation is complicated and time consuming. Therefore, the idea was to make a product that would be suitable for the Chinese market but would be accessible to the consumer, quick to cook and would be suitable for long haulage. The result was a cup soup with freeze-dried sea oysters that only needed to be poured over boiled water and then it would be ready for consumption, but the soup is named Hai Shen.

The collaboration between the Ecotrofood project of the Icelandic Innovation Center, Matís and the University of Iceland means that Icelandic students are participating in Ecotrophelia for the second year in a row. It is worth mentioning that the Confederation of Icelandic Industries, the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and the Innovation Center awarded prizes in the Icelandic national competition and that Product Development Center for Seafood at Matís has supported the project for the competition in Cologne.

Guðjón Þorkelsson, head of department at Matís and associate professor at the University of Iceland, has guided the students and supported them along with many of Matís' employees. In addition, the relatives of the students have faithfully supported them.

For further information Guðjón Þorkelsson with Matís, Helga Franklínsdóttir (690-5255) and Berglind Ósk Alfreðsdóttir (865-1125).

Now there is a new Nordic competition in small-scale food production which was held in Östersund in Sweden. About 600 products in various categories were entered into the competition.

Of the 40 awards given, Icelandic producers won three awards. The bronze went to Klaus Kretzer from Skaftafell for Jöklabit, a beer sausage made from mutton. Klaus also received a silver award for Hnjúkur, which is dry-smoked and smoked sheep's back muscle.

The best product in the category of smoked fish, which won the gold award, was smoked mackerel from Sólsker in Hornafjörður. All of these products have been developed in Matís food factories which once again demonstrates the importance of enabling entrepreneurs and small producers in food crafts to take their first steps in the most efficient and secure way that can, if successful, lead to more job opportunities and a wider range of products.

The competition is discussed in more detail Ny Nordisk Mat website and Eldrimner's website.

Klaus Kretzer's website.

For further information, please contact Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir,  gunna@matis.is (858-5049) and Óli Þór Hilmarsson olithor@matis.is (858-5099).

The day will this time be devoted to a discussion of dietary and nutritional advice and how it is useful in daily life.

The title of the conference will be:

Dietary and nutritional advice - new emphasis

The main aim of the conference is to explain what is behind the recommendations on diet and nutrients, how they are created and how they are used in prevention and product development in the food industry. The Nordic keyhole and its possible uses will be introduced, but it is planned to introduce it in this country.

This year, new Nordic nutrition recommendations will be presented at the conference. The audit has lasted for four years with the involvement of a number of Icelandic experts and scholars, most of whom are academic staff at the University of Iceland and active in research in the field of nutrition. Icelandic dietary and nutritional recommendations are largely based on the Nordic ones and will be reviewed as a result.

Food Day is celebrated on FAO International Food Day, which is held on 16 October each year. On the occasion of Food Day, the Food and Nutrition Association publishes a successful newsletter Food is on the side of man, which discusses International Food Day as well as various interesting issues in the field of food industry and food.

On Food Day, Fjöregg MNÍ will be handed over, which is awarded for a praiseworthy initiative in the field of food production and human consumption. Fjöreggið is a great prize, designed and built by Gleri in Bergvík and has been donated by the Confederation of Icelandic Industries from the beginning. Orri Hauksson, CEO of SI, hands over Fjöreggið.

From: 16 October 2013 12:00
To: 16 October 2013 17:00

Agenda for the MNÍ food day 2013

Registration for MNÍ Food Day 2013

For further information Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, marketing director of Matís.

The results of a study carried out over a 12-month period with the aim of examining the frequency of the pathogens are now available. Salmonella and Campylobacter in Icelandic fresh chicken products on the market. 

The premise of the study was that Iceland has now adopted most of the food rules and EU food legislation, so it is clear that the import of fresh meat products to Iceland could become a reality, but so far the government has banned such imports. Therefore, there was a need to gather data to assess the safety status of Icelandic fresh products on the market with regard to microbial contamination, and chicken manure was selected where the contamination of these pathogens is most prevalent.

Comprehensive data are available on frequencies Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry farming in Iceland and at slaughter in recent years, but there has been a lack of information on the state of affairs in the consumer market. The study took 537 samples from May 2012 to April 2013 from the country's three largest producers. 183 consumer packages of whole chickens, 177 packages of breasts and 177 packages of wings were examined. All the samples in the study turned out to be negative for both Salmonella and Campylobacter. It is therefore clear that the situation in these countries is very good and as good or better than what is happening in other countries.

The report of the study can be found here.

The study was a collaborative project between Matís and Matvælastofnun (MAST).

For further information Eyjólfur Reynisson at Matís.

Can Iceland play a role in both food security and our own food security? But what about other countries? Can the country play a role elsewhere than in Iceland?

Below you can see a video where Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, explains the difference between food safety and food safety.