An appropriate thermal insulation of fresh fish packaging can substantially reduce negative effects of poor temperature management in chill chains. The aim of the current study is to experimentally and numerically investigate the performance of two types of EPS (expanded polystyrene) boxes in protecting superchilled fresh fish products subject to temperature fluctuations, simulating conditions during transport. One EPS box type is a new improved version designed by utilizing numerical heat transfer modeling for minimizing the maximum product temperature during thermal load. This box weighed 11% less than the older box type. The performance of the boxes was evaluated by means of temperature monitoring and sensory evaluation. The thermal insulation of the new boxes was significantly better compared to the old boxes. According to sensory evaluation, storage in the new boxes resulted in approximately 2 days longer storage life. A satisfactory agreement between numerical results and experimental results was obtained.
Author: admin
Krónan and Matís are collaborating to help Icelanders reduce their excessive consumption of sweets at so-called candy bars.
The companies have jointly had a poster made that has been erected in several Króna stores. The poster contains information on the moderate amount of Saturday sweets and the amount is based on average values for the daily energy needs of several age groups. The average values from the chemical analyzes can be found in the Icelandic database on the chemical content of food (ÍSGEM).
As most people know, Icelanders eat too much added sugar. This is not least due to the high consumption of sweets from so-called candy bars in stores, which are mostly picked up on Saturdays. Although it is not necessary to consume sweets, it is possible to make a sweet day "fit" into a healthy lifestyle as long as a certain moderation is observed when it comes to the amount consumed. Most people eat too much candy on Saturdays and the instructions found on the poster are presented to help consumers choose a moderate amount.
A healthy lifestyle with a varied diet and moderate exercise is the basis of mental and physical well-being. Matís has a role to play in the nation's public health and also manages ÍSGEM.
The króna has advocated for Icelanders to choose a healthy lifestyle and, for example, they cultivate fruit bars in the króna store. In addition, the ISK often offers healthy and good food to encourage consumers to choose healthier products.
The collaboration is an experiment that is being launched in several Króna stores. It is the reactions of Króna's customers and other consumers that will determine whether instructions will be installed in more stores. It will be possible to compare the total weight of sweets that have been sold before the posters were installed and then the total weight after the posters were installed. In this way, it will be possible to see if the poster matters when it comes to the quantity sold in each store every Saturday.
The poster can be seen here.
For further information Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, marketing director of Matís and Berglind Ósk Ólafsdóttir, marketing director of Kaupás.
The addition of an online post-column hydride generation (HG) step to the commonly used high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) setup for arsenic speciation proved to significantly improve the detection limits for the determination of inorganic arsenic (iAs) as arsenate in seafood samples, where the limit of detection and limit of quantification were found to be 0.0004 and 0.0014 mg kg−1, respectively with HG. HG as an additional step further added to the selectivity of the determination of the iAs species and increased the detection and quantification of low levels of iAs (<0.002 mg kg−1) in samples with complicated matrices.
This article describes the results of a study that tested the responses to 14 seafood concepts among young adults and families with young children in Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. This study was aimed at gaining insight into the evaluation of new seafood product concepts by individuals with low seafood consumption. Based on consumer-reported values and previous concept-testing, 14 seafood product concepts were tested by 296 consumers in a web-based experiment. Consumers' preferences depended on the size of fish, the presence of information, and the fish species offered. Young adult consumers evaluated the product concepts differently than parents of young children. Three consumer clusters, based on attitudinal variables, were identified explaining the differences in the evaluation of the product concepts. The outcome of this study will be used to develop a product for realistic in-home testing.
In vitro anti-plasmodial activity-guided fractionation of a diethyl ether extract of the liverwort species Marchantia polymorpha, collected in Iceland, led to isolation of the bisbibenzyl ether, marchantin A. The structure of marchantin A (1) was confirmed by NMR and HREIMS. Marchantin A inhibited proliferation of the Plasmodium falciparum strains, NF54 (IC50 = 3.41 μM) and K1 (IC50 = 2.02 μM) and showed activity against others protozoan species Trypanosoma brucei rhodesian, T. cruzi and Leishmania donovani with IC50 values 2.09, 14.90 and 1.59 μM, respectively. Marchantin A was tested against three recombinant enzymes (PfFabI, PfFabG and PfFabZ) of the PfFAS-II pathway of P. falciparum for malaria prophylactic potential and showed moderate inhibitory activity against PfFabZ (IC50 = 18.18 μM). In addition, the cytotoxic effect of marchantin A was evaluated. This is the first report describing the inhibitory effects of the liverwort metabolite marchantin A against these parasites in vitro.
Macrocyclic bisbibenzyls are a class of characteristic compounds, exclusively produced by liverworts. They are attracting increasing attention due to their wide range of biological activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties as well as cytotoxicity. Marchantin A is a cyclic bisbibenzyl that has previously been isolated from Marchantia polymorpha and other liverwort species and has been shown to exert cytotoxic effects. In the present study we found that the Icelandic M. polymorpha species produces marchantin A and through an in vitro cell growth inhibition assay, marchantin A was shown to induce a reduction in cell viability of breast cancer cell lines A256 (IC50= 5.5 µM), MCF7 (IC50= 11.5 µM), and T47D (IC50= 15.3 µM). The effect was considerably increased in all cell lines in a synergistic manner when the Aurora-A kinase inhibitor MLN8237 was added simultaneously. Fluorescence microscopy confirmed the antimicrotubular effect of marchantin A, and cell cycle analysis indicated enhanced cell division failure when combining this mitotic-spindle inhibitor with the checkpoint modulator.
Aims
To study the succession of cultivated and uncultivated microbes during the traditional curing process of skate.
Methods and Results
The microbial diversity was evaluated by sequencing 16Sr RNA clone libraries and cultivation in variety of media from skate samples taken periodically during a 9-day curing process. A pH shift was observed (pH 6 · 64–9 · 27) with increasing trimethylamine (2 · 6 up to 75 · 6 mg N per 100 g) and total volatile nitrogen (TVN) (from 58 · 5 to 705 · 8 mg N per 100 g) but with relatively slow bacterial growth. Uncured skate was dominated by Oceanisphaera and Pseudoalteromonas genera but was substituted after curing by Photobacterium and Aliivibrio in the flesh and Pseudomonas on the skin. Almost 50% of the clone library is derived from putative undiscovered species. Cultivation and enrichment strategies resulted in isolation of putatively new species belonging to the genera Idiomarina, Rheinheimera, Oceanisphaera, Providencia and Pseudomonas. The most abundant genera able to hydrolyze urea to ammonia were Oceanisphaera, Psychrobacter, Pseudoalteromonas and isolates within the Pseudomonas genus.
Conclusions
The curing process of skate is controlled and achieved by a dynamic bacterial community where the key players belong to Oceanisphaera, Pseudoalteromonas, Photobacterium, Aliivibrio and Pseudomonas.
Significance and Impact of the Study
For the first time, the bacterial population developments in the curing process of skate are presented and demonstrate a reservoir of many yet undiscovered bacterial species.
A process for the effective extraction and fractionation of phlorotannins from Fucus vesiculosus with high antioxidant potentials was investigated. The antioxidant activity of F. vesiculosus extract / fractions was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, reducing power, and ferrous ion-chelating assays. Among the crude extract and different polarity fractions, the phlorotannin-enriched ethyl acetate fraction possessed the highest DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power. This fraction was further fractionated by Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography or ultrafiltration. The antioxidant properties were evaluated by both the above chemical antioxidant tests and a mononuclear cell-based bioassay. Sephadex subfractions LH-2 and LH-3 with high total phlorotannin content exhibited strong DPPH quenching activity, comparable to those of ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene and significantly higher than that of α-tocopherol. Polyphenols in F. vesiculosus were found to consist mainly of high molecular weight phlorotannin polymers. There were no clear relationships between the degree of polymerization, molecular size, and antioxidant activity. All the subfractions separated by Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography and ultrafiltration showed a high ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species generated by mononuclear cells. Further characterization of the phlorotannin compounds was performed on six Sephadex subfractions. Several phlorotannin oligomers were tentatively identified on the basis of HPLC – ESI-MSn analyzes.
Fishermen's Day 2012 has begun, but the day was initially established to strengthen solidarity among fishermen, both to rejoice and to remember dead fishermen. The aim of the day is also to introduce the nation to the significance of the profession's work for the benefit of society.
Food production is one of the most important industries in Iceland. The role of the fishing industry and fish processing is the most important. The same basic principle applies in all sectors of food production, that is, the quality of the products depends on the quality of the raw material from which they are processed. Fishermen and others involved in the fishing industry know how important good fish handling is.
The first steps are especially important when ensuring the maximum quality of fish catches. This ensures that consumers get the best possible product and at the same time it is usually ensured that the value added is the greatest.
Cooling - why?
Cooling slows down the activity of pests, prolongs the time the fish is dying and thus reduces the release in the fish flesh, increases blood flow from the capillaries after bleeding and makes the flesh whiter. Last but not least, cooling reduces shrinkage.
Matís has worked with fishermen for a long time to promote the right maneuvers when handling valuables from the sea and is well acquainted with the high-quality work methods that are widely practiced in that area. Therefore, it is to no one's advantage, least of all the fishermen, when pictures of catches in unacceptable conditions are drawn, as was done in Íslandsbanki's congratulations to the fishermen in the media yesterday.
Fishermen: Let's join hands and ensure maximum value creation with good handling of catch.
For more information Sveinn Margeirsson and Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís.
Related material: www.kaeligatt.is, The importance of good handling of fish (booklet), The importance of good handling of fish (single leaf) etc. brochures and leaflets.
Contact
Ólafur H. Friðjónsson
Research Group Leader
olafur@matis.is
Cartilage saccharides and bioactive compounds from sea cucumbers
In recent years, Matís, in collaboration with the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Iceland, IceProtein ehf and Reykofninn ehf, has conducted research on cartilage sugars (chondroitin sulphate) from shark cartilage and sea urchins from Icelandic smelters (Cucumaria frondosa). Studies around the world have shown a wide range of bioactivity of cartilage sugars, in vitro and in vivo, and such sugars are used as a dietary supplement, usually with glucosamine to treat osteoarthritis. Studies have also shown that cutting cartilage sugars into smaller units (oligosaccharides) can potentially increase their bioactivity in vitro. The research of Matís and partners, which was supported by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund and the Technology Development Fund, showed that cartilage sugars can be produced from shark cartilage and coarsely refined cartilage sugars from simple edema. It is also possible to produce oligosaccharides from shark cartilage with specific biocatalysts, which were prepared in the research project. The cartilage sugars show considerable bioactivity in vitro and cartilage sugars from Icelandic sea otters are particularly interesting as they show antioxidant activity, immune-regulating activity and hypoglycemic activity. The molecular structure of cartilage sugar from sea urchins is complex compared to shark cartilage sugars as they contain side chains composed of different types of sugars. The production of refined cartilage sugars from sea edema is therefore a complex process and it is anticipated that such sugars will be expensive on the market. Matís and IceProtein in collaboration with Reykofninn are now preparing further production of coarsely refined cartilage sugars from seaweed in sales and promotional activities.
In recent years, Matís ohf, The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland, IceProtein and Reykofninn ehf have collaborated in a research project on cartilage saccharides (chondroitin sulfate) isolated from shark and sea cucumbers from waters around Iceland (Cucumaria frondosa). The project results indicate that processing of the chondroitin sulfate from shark cartilage is a simple procedure and production of disaccharides with recombinant biocatalyst, evolved in the project, may be profitable. The chondroitin sulfate shows considerable bioactivity. Fractions of chondroitin sulfate purified from sea cucumbers, are especially interesting as they display immunomodulating activity and anti ‐ diabetic properties. However, the structure of the sea cucumber chondroitin sulfate is complex as they contain side chains composed of fucoside residues. Hence, the production and purification of chondroitin sulfate from Icelandic sea cucumbers will be a complicated procedure. Nevertheless, the results indicate that production of crude chondroitin sulfate from sea cucumber can be viable procedure.
Report closed until 01.07.2015