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Seminar on the market differentiation of catfish from the North Atlantic. The results of research on the market differentiation of catfish from the North Atlantic will be presented at a seminar at Matís on 4 December.

The results come from the WhiteFishMaLL project, which is funded by the Nordic Innovation Center and is being worked on by parties from Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Canada. The aim of the project is to ensure further differentiation of catfish from the North Atlantic from cheaper whitefish species, which are now flowing into our main market areas, in particular the UK market.

Work on the project began at the beginning of the year and market research has been conducted in the UK among fish consumers, in addition to which interviews and meetings have been held with parties working in this sector in processing, sales and marketing. The attitudes of focus groups made up of typical fish consumers in the UK have been explored towards North Atlantic catfish products and how their experience in shopping, cooking and consumption can be improved.

Subsequently, an opinion poll was conducted among 1,500 consumers in the UK, where they were asked about a number of aspects related to fish and how accessibility, experience and increased education can be improved to better meet consumer needs. The following focus areas have developed over time and form the basis for market differentiation:

• Transparency of information and traceability in relation to the value chain of fish.
• Personalized approach to the marketing of stores in connection with products.
• Product sustainability information based on factual and reliable data.
• Emphasis on comfort and wholesome products.
• A methodological solution for how retailers can meet the needs of consumers.

At the seminar, the intention is to evaluate the emphasis elements that have been formed in the project of highlighting the uniqueness of products, and the intention is to develop this further over the next two years. It is therefore important that representatives from the business community take an active part in the seminar and review the results with those involved in the project.

The seminar will be held in English and is open to everyone, but it is necessary to register on the project's website (www.whitefishmall.com), note limited seating available. The seminar will take place at Matís, Vínlandsleið on Tuesday 4 December.

For further information, contact Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís, jonast.r.vidarsson@matis.is, 858-5107.

Matís will hold a course on risk analysis in the field of food and nutrition on 16, 19 and 20 November, but risk analysis is a well-defined method for understanding and assessing risk due to food consumption and how it can be reduced. There is a lot of interest in this area and now the course is full.

During the course, foreign experts from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Germany will give interesting lectures on the main aspects of risk analysis in connection with food consumption, ie risk assessment, risk management and risk presentation. There will also be a review of recent practical examples of food hazards based on real-world cases in the experts' home countries.

These lectures are part of teaching in the course Food Safety, which is taught for the first time this autumn semester in a master's program in food sciences, but this postgraduate program is the fruit of a collaboration between the University of Iceland, three other state universities and Matís. The experts from BfR we have recruited are: Dr. Anja Buschulte veterinarian and expert in the field of food safety and Prof. Matthias Greiner specializes in food risk assessment.

This is a unique course on risk analysis in the field of food and nutrition that is suitable for those who want to strengthen and deepen their knowledge of how to use risk analysis in this field.

The course will be held in English and more information about the program can be found here:

 Further information is provided by Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.

Food seminar in Breiðablikur in Snæfellsnes on Friday 16 November. at 14: 30-18: 00

Tourism is one of the industries that is considered to be Iceland's growth spur. Despite strong growth in the sector over the past decade, this has not resulted in increased economic growth in rural areas. One way to strengthen the tourism industry and its extra-economic impact in the country's rural areas is to strengthen ties and increase cooperation between tourism and local food production.

The aim of the seminar is to:

• Draw attention to the possibilities inherent in home food processing and sales directly from the farm.
• Highlight the development process - from idea to homework.
• Encourage dialogue and co-operation between local food producers and tourism operators.

Agenda:
Moderator: Halla Steinólfsdóttir, Ytri-Fagradal

14:30 Seminar set. Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, SSV
14:40 Development of food-related tourism - the experiences of entrepreneurs

     Arnheiður Hjörleifsdóttir, Bjarteyjarsandur 
     Þorgrímur E. Guðbjartsson, Erpsstaðir.

15:30 Coffee break
15:45 Development of a rural market store & food cluster in the State of Vatnajökull. Rósa Björk Halldórsdóttir, West Iceland Marketing Agency
16:00 Cooperation between food producers, tourism and the support system in the district. Þóra Valsdóttir, Matís
16:15 Food labels and regional foods. Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, SSV
16:25 Vendor's view of handmade and home-made products. Eirný Sigurðardóttir, Búrið
16:45 What's straight from the farm? Hlédís Sveinsdóttir, Straight from the farm
16:55 Home industry kitchen - ideology, implementation and utilization. Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, SSV
17:10 Summary and discussion. Halla Steinólfsdóttir, Ytri-Fagradalur

All interested are welcome - Admission free

For further information, please contact Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, representative of "Sveitaverkefni"  maggy@ssv.is.

The fisheries conference ended this afternoon. A lot of interesting things came out and there were only four Matís employees with presentations, but in addition Sveinn Margeirsson, Matís' CEO, chaired the meeting and Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir sits on the board of the Fisheries Conference.

Sarah Helyar gave a lecture on genetic research and its use in aquaculture and Sigurjón Arason gave a talk on what is technically feasible when it comes to the utilization of additional raw materials on board fishing vessels. Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir gave a lecture that attracted deserved attention, but her talk was about the opportunities in processing extra raw materials. Finally, on this first day, there was a presentation from Matís about the opportunities that lie in the processing of pelagic fish, but Guðmundur Stefánsson gave that lecture in the absence of Vígfús Þ. Ásbjörnsson, Matís' station manager at Höfn in Hornafjörður.

Matís also had a booth where barley seaweed paste was introduced, UNA Skincare skincare (unaskincare.com) and Gunna á Rif who owns and operates Reykhöll Gunna also presented wonderful smoked saithe which she has developed in close collaboration with Matís.

Gunna in Rif has worked with Icelandic seafood for many years. She is a professional in its handling and Icelandic seafood has been and is one of her hobbies. The aim of the applicants is to strengthen the foundations of her company, Reykhallar Gunna, with an increased product range and improve the company's market appearance. By doing so, applicants believe that it is possible to increase the activities of the company, which will be used closer to its environment with increased jobs in the area and no less strengthen the collaboration of entrepreneurs like Gunna with companies in the area.

The project is the development of a new product on the Icelandic market, sweet-smoked fish, based on a centuries-old recipe of the North American Indians. The goal is to develop a new product from Icelandic raw materials with an emphasis on its origin from Snæfellsnes. The philosophy of the project is to create a finished product through collaboration between a processing company and a raw material producer. This is increasing the value of raw materials in the area and at the same time creating food souvenirs for tourists in the area and a new product for the Icelandic consumer market. In order for this to happen, the applicants believe that the brand and marketing of Reykhalla Gunna also need to be improved.

The project is encouraging an entrepreneur like Gunna to achieve further and enable her company to create a place among companies in the area. The vision for the future is to complete more seafood and even agricultural products under the Reykhalla Gunna brand. With this collaboration, the foundation is being laid for closer collaboration between the companies in the future regarding product development and finishing. For a raw material producer such as Sjávariðjan, it can be invaluable to be close to a strong processing company, as is the intention that Reykhöll Gunna can become.

The product of the project is a new product made from raw materials in the area that will deliver added value and new knowledge. The project will create a production process for a new product; sweet smoked fish. Such a product is known abroad and has created a permanent place for itself. Certain aspects of this production are not well known in this country to deliver a competitive product, but with the project that knowledge is created. The product of the project is therefore a new production process, new knowledge, new products and a stronger brand for the finished product from Snæfellsnes.

With this collaborative project, we are supporting innovation and product development for an entrepreneur who wants to strengthen the product range, increase the value of the product and its competitiveness. The project is to increase activity and create more jobs in the near future at Gunna Hall Gunna in Rif.

Matís' involvement in the project will contribute to the transfer of knowledge of processing processes and the handling of the raw material. At the same time, Sjávariðjan's involvement in the project will strengthen co-operation with Reykhöll Gunna, but the intention is for Sjávariðjan to be involved in raw material handling before smoking and to put its hand to the plow with facilities for drying. Thus, the project will contribute to increased business development in Snæfellsbær. The co-operation of the companies in the project will strengthen Reykhalla Gunna's knowledge, increase the supply of products, strengthen product development and acquire new knowledge in the field of smoking that will increase the value of raw materials in the area.

The entire agenda of the Fisheries Conference can be found here.

Pollution of heavy metals and other toxins in the sea around the country is generally well below international standards, as stated in Matís' new report on changes in the marine environment around the country (report 28-12).

The concentration of cadmium in Icelandic mussels, however, is higher than is generally the case in mussels from the waters of Europe and America, and the reason is due to the natural cadmium background from the strata.

Since 1989, an annual monitoring project of pollutants in the marine environment of Iceland has been underway. The project is funded by the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and Matís ohf. The Environment Agency is the administrator of the project.

The aim of the monitoring project is to identify changes that may occur in the concentration of trace elements in the marine environment around the country during a certain period and between different ocean and coastal areas. Various pollutants in the ocean can enter marine organisms or organisms that feed on seafood. In many cases, this pollution is man-made and there is growing concern about this development. Pollutants are transported by air and sea currents from mainland Europe and America as well as pollution from Iceland. It is therefore important to monitor the amount of pollutants in Iceland, both in the environment and in the organisms that live in the country. It is also important to be able to compare the state of the marine life around Iceland with the situation in other countries, not least because of the importance of marine products to the nation. Among other things, the research is of great importance for the sale of Icelandic seafood in both domestic and foreign markets, where it can be demonstrated with scientific data that Icelandic fish is caught in an unpolluted environment.

In Matís' report (report 28-12 on Matís' website) the results of measurements of pollutants for the years 2010 and 2011. The trace elements lead, cadmium, mercury, copper and zinc, arsenic and selenium, the persistent organic pollutants HCH, HCB, PCB, chloride, are published. trans-nonachlor, toxaphen, DDT and PBDE. The report states that the concentration of heavy metals such as mercury is very low. However, the concentration of cadmium has sometimes been higher in the marine environment in Iceland than in more southerly areas. However, the amount of cadmium is low in the organisms studied, for example in the range of 0.1-1 mg / kg in mussels. The high concentration of cadmium in Iceland is regional and is considered to have natural causes as there is no evidence of man-made cadmium pollution. The results show changes in the pattern of chlorine organic matter in mussels collected near Hvalstöðin in Hvalfjörður in September 2010 which are comparable to results from the same place since 2009. There were no visible changes in the concentration of these substances at the mussel collection point at Hvammsvík in Hvalfjörður or at any another collection site around the country that was studied in 2010. It is important to monitor these changes in the pattern of the concentration of chloro-organic substances in mussels in the monitoring project in the coming years to see if they are still present. A detailed statistical analysis of the data is in progress, i.e. it will be possible to estimate with scientific methods the increase or decrease of pollutants in the marine environment in this country.

For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.

TASTE is a project organized by a group of European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the food and seaweed industry with the aim of finding solutions on how to reduce the use of salt in food production through the use of seaweed.

The main goal of the project is to develop flavors from three types of brown algae (Ascophyllum nodosum, Saccharina latissima and Fucus vesiculosus) with the aim of replacing sodium in foods but many foods contain high levels of salt.

The development of new methods and technologies to reduce salt consumption is an important issue for the food industry. Many nations are struggling with excessive salt consumption, even though the situation has improved in recent decades. The World Health Organization (WHO) issues recommendations that total salt consumption is less than Article 5. per day but this corresponds to Art. of sodium. It can therefore be said that the food industry is facing a major challenge to reduce the amount of salt used in production.

Efforts have been made to replace salt with a mixture of minerals, natural salts and more. Consumable marine algae contain substances that may be useful. They usually contain large amounts of flavorings, minerals as well as salt, but to a lesser extent.

For further information Rósa Jónsdóttir, director of Matís, but you can also find information about the project here (in English).

A conference on food production will be held on 6 November. Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, sits on a panel with the Minister of Industry and Innovation

Stakeholders and companies in food production have joined forces and convened a conference on Matvælalandið Ísland at Hótel Saga on Tuesday, November 6thnext. The question will be asked how to increase value creation and utilize the food resources that the country has. In the opinion of the conference organizers, there are many opportunities in increased production and sales of Icelandic food and related services.

How do we produce more and better food?
The keynote speaker of the day will be Daði Már Kristófersson, a resource economist, who will discuss how the nation can produce more and better food. After Daði Már, there will be very short lectures that discuss the subject from different perspectives. Pétur Hafsteinn Pálsson, CEO of Vísir, will talk about increased value creation in the fisheries sector and Finnbogi Magnússon, an agricultural engineer, will examine the possibilities of agriculture. Gunnlaugur Karlsson, CEO of the Horticultural Sales Association, will talk about marketing and brand management in agriculture and Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir from Matís will talk about growth in small-scale food production.

How to feed a million tourists?
After a coffee break, the focus will be on tourism and food exports. Guðný Steinsdóttir, MS's marketing manager, will take the plunge and talk about the marketing of skyr and talk about Iceland as a brand. Jón Baldur Þorbjörnsson at Ísafold Travel talks about food culture and tourism and the chef Friðgeir Ingi Eiríksson tries to answer how to satisfy millions of tourists in the future. Finally, Guðný Steinsdóttir, Marketing Manager at Íslandsstofa, discusses Icelandic food culture internationally.

Minister of Industry and Innovation in discussion
After the presentation, there will be a panel discussion consisting of Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, Minister of Industry and Innovation, Erna Hauksdóttir, CEO of SAF, Jón Ásbergsson, CEO of Íslandsstofa, Pétur Hafsteinn Pálsson, CEO of Vísir, Sindri Sigurgeirsson, farmer in Bakkakot, and Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís. The moderator of the conference is Svana Helen Björnsdóttir, chairman of the Confederation of Icelandic Industries.

The organizers of the conference come from different backgrounds but have in common that they have a lot to do with food and food production. The group includes the Farmers' Association of Iceland, Íslandsstofa, Matís, the Association of Tourism, the Association of Fish Processing Plants, the Association of Industry and the Food Development Forum.

Everyone welcome and admission free
The conference on Matvælalandið Ísland is open to everyone and admission is free. It starts at 12.30 on Tuesday 6 November and is held in Katla's conference hall at Hótel Saga on the 2nd floor. The conference is scheduled to end at 16.00.

Participants are kindly requested to register on the website of the Confederation of Icelandic Industries, www.si.is.

Further information about the event can be obtained from Tjörvi Bjarnason, Director of Publications and Publicity at BÍ, tel. 862-3412 or e-mail tjorvi@bondi.is.

New Nordic food, or New Nordic cuisine as it is often called, is constantly launching new collaborative projects and entering a new arena with the aim of combining experience in the culinary and creative industries.

On the 4th-6th nk november nk. The policy will be set in Reykjavík, where the international conference "You Are In Control" (YAIC) will discuss the project "Meeting of designers and farmers", which is one of many items on the conference agenda that include food and creative cooking.

The YAIC is an annual conference that explores developments in the creative industries of music, arts, design, media, games, literature, artistic expression and film. This is the first time that the conference will be held with a touch of cuisine.

The Designers 'and Farmers' Meeting is a collaborative project between product designers from the Iceland Academy of the Arts and farmers who have jointly developed unique foods based on traditional Icelandic products. In addition to this collaboration, Matís assisted designers and farmers with the technical aspects of food development and production that followed.

During the first three years of the partnership, the group developed four completely new foods. These products are from four farmers from different parts of the country and have been developed and assembled by designers and are now all presented at the buffet at the conference. YAIC and the Designers 'and Farmers' Meeting, together with a creative initiative from Harpa's chefs, give participants the opportunity to enjoy a unique dining experience.

A meeting of designers and farmers will be presented at the conference, on Monday 5 November at 12:00. Following this, the relatives of New Nordic Food and the project will show their work. Minister of Culture Katrín Jakobsdóttir will attend the conference, along with other public guests.

The buffet will include rye bread roll cake, which is a new interpretation of roll cake, but will also offer rhubarb caramel and skyr confectionery. This will be served with Icelandic berries and fruit drinks as well as the house salad, which is grown in Harpan's garden. Bjarni Gunnar Kristjánsson, Harpa's head chef, says that the idea came from his own garden, where he grows his own herbs and salad for the summer. "We wanted to experiment with guests and give them the opportunity to choose their own salad."

"This will definitely be the first step towards future collaboration with new international and creative people. I think we have made the right decision, the unique country Iceland for a new creative Nordic food experience ", says Elisabet Skylare, project manager at Food and Creative Industries and New Nordic Food.

"It is new and exciting to see food as a value along with a number of other creative disciplines such as music, media, art, literature, films, artistic expression, design and games. We feel that this initiative has shown new ways of working together. The food tradition enhances the guest experience, but there are also stakeholders from different backgrounds in the creative industry ", says Anna Hildur, Nomex, Nordic Music Export and chairman of YAIC.

Further information:
You Are In Control
www.youareincontrol.is

Designers 'and farmers' dates
www.designersandfarmers.com

This event is possible due to a collaboration between YAIC, Designers 'and Farmers' Meeting, Harpa, Music and Conference Center, Creative Arts Center, Íslandsstofa and New Nordic Food (www.nynordiskmad.org).

Contacts:
New Nordic Food, Elisabet Skylare, (+45) 2620 7579
You Are In Control, Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir, 854 5763