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Do you want to take part in expanding the path of local food in the tourism industry?

Symposium in Hvolnar Hvolsvöllur
April 24, 2012, 1: 00-4: 00 p.m.

Tourism is one of the industries that has been seen as a growth driver in the countryside. Despite strong growth in the sector over the last decade, this has not resulted in increased economic growth in rural areas. This indicates a large economic leak when it comes to the consumption of tourists in local areas. One way to increase the economic impact of tourism in rural areas and reduce leakage is to build links with local food production.

• What is sustainability? What can I do and how?
• Opportunities in tourism related to food.
• Measures to increase sustainability in tourism in the South?

Agenda
13:00 Seminar set.
Tinna Björk Arnardóttir, NMÍ

13:10 Food and sustainable tourism. Opportunity, collaboration.
Guðjón Þorkelsson, Matís  

13:40 Sustainability, the situation in Iceland.
Stefán Gíslason, Environice

14:10 Coffee break

14:30 Sustainable community in Sólheimar in Grímsnes, food and tourism
Erlendur Pálsson, Sólheimar

15:00 Katluafurðir - Experiences from the region

15:30 Summary and discussion
Tinna Björk Arnardóttir, NMÍ

Admission free
Moderator Tinna Björk Arnardóttir, Innovation Center
More information at TinnaBjork@nmi.is

Matís' two employees were in Tanzania for a few days recently to guide them on how to set up a solar oven to dry fish. An interesting story about this appeared in Stöðvar 2's news, but Hugrún Halldórsdóttir, a journalist, was curious about this interesting project.

The news from Station 2 can be found here and here.

More about the project
Fishing and processing advice in Tanzania
In the autumn of 2011, Matís signed a contract with the Tanzanian government for a project on Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. The project is funded by a loan from the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) based in Helsinki. The project was put out to tender in the Nordic countries and Matís won the tender.

Lake Tanganyika is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, almost 19,000 square kilometers in size. The lake is also the second deepest freshwater in the world, 1500 meters where it is deepest. Four countries border the lake, i.e. Tanzania, Congo, Burundi and Zambia. Tanzanians fish in Tanganyika, but both fishing and processing are primitive. Matís' project is, among other things, to assist in the development of methods to make better use of the fish and make it more valuable.

Matís has agreed with the Icelandic companies Ráðgarður Skipráðgjöf ehf. and Verkfræðistofa Jóhann Indriðason ehf. (VJI) for part of the project. Ráðgarður will provide advice and oversee the construction of a specialized vessel to be used for research on Tanganyika and fish stocks in the lake, while the VJI engineering office will manage procurement for the project. In addition, Matís has entered into an agreement with the company Goch in Tanzania, which will handle the socio-economic part of the project and communication with fishing communities on Lake Tanganyika.

"This project is a great challenge for us because the conditions there are all very primitive and different from what we know. We thus need to find ways to develop fish processing based on what is available, but we can not afford to have electricity, oil or other energy sources as elsewhere. A big part of the project is then about training and teaching the locals how to handle the fish and we will send people from us who will choose a few villages by the lake and guide the residents. It can therefore be said that part of the project will be carried out here at home and at later stages we will then work according to our plans on site. This will be a very exciting project that we expect to culminate in 2012, "says Oddur Már Gunnarsson, division manager at Matís, who is also the project manager of the Tanzania project. Together with him, Margeir Gissurarson, project manager at the Matís project, manages.

Further information: Oddur Már Gunnarsson

The company Primex won the Iceland Innovation Award 2012 right now. Matís sincerely congratulates the employees of Primex on the award. There has been a very good collaboration between Primex and Matis and one of the company's employees is located in Matís' premises at Vínlandsleið in Grafarholt.

Matís has now worked with Primex on a number of projects for a long time. One of these projects is to develop a method to extend the shelf life of fresh seafood with chitosan, which has both antimicrobial and antioxidant effects. The benefits are increased shelf life, improved quality and safety. This innovation will lead to an increase in the value of seafood and at the same time be useful for other foods.

More about the award ceremony (from Rannís website, www.rannis.is)
At Nýsköpunarþing, the management of innovation was made a topic of discussion and four members of the business community were invited to share their experiences and projects in this field. More than 200 people attended the congress, which was held at the Grand Hotel Reykjavík.

Primex, founded in 1997 and located in Siglufjörður, produces chitin and chitosan from shrimp shells. Chitosan is a valuable and sought-after material, especially in foreign markets, and the company has gained a good market position in the United States, Asia and Europe, in addition to which the company recently entered the market in Russia. The properties of chitosan are used in the production of food supplements, wound care products and cosmetics as well as being used in wine production and food. In food production, the material is used as a natural fiber and preservative, and this new use has opened up more opportunities for the company. Primex has received ISO 22000 standard certification which ensures safety in food production.

What used to be waste is now raw material
The original idea for the company was how to increase the utilization of marine products by utilizing waste as a raw material and at the same time respecting environmental considerations. Shrimp shells are very environmentally polluting, but they have been thrown into the sea for years. After learning about the possibilities and opportunities of the material chitosan and getting acquainted with production methods and markets, the companies Rammi in Siglufjörður and Síldarvinnsla ríkisins decided to establish a company around the idea and build a factory in Siglufjörður. The company Kítín, later Primex, was formed, which began production of the chitin and chitosan in 1999. An agreement was made with the American company Vanson in 2004 for the purchase of knowledge to build a factory and for a patent for the LipoSan Ultra brand. Vanson was then the largest producer of chitosan in the United States but moved all its production to Siglufjörður. With this, markets opened up in the United States for Primex, but mainly for chitosan in food supplements and cosmetics.  

Production of own consumer products
LipoSan is a fat binder with natural fibers that chitosan contains and has the unique property of absorbing fat. The product is intended for those who need to control their body weight and improve digestion. Studies have also shown the substance's ability to lower cholesterol. LipoSan products are available in all major pharmacies in the country, as well as health food stores. ChitoClear, on the other hand, is a wound spray and gel for animals and the substance is very healing and reduces pain and itching in and around wounds. In addition, it works against bacterial and fungal growth. ChitoClear has been sold in Iceland and Germany. ChitoClear has mainly been marketed for animals but the material is also good for humans. Since 2001, Primex has been selling chitosan to companies in Europe and the United States that manufacture products to stop bleeding and heal wounds. In 2004, the company was recognized for chitosan patches as one of the top ten military inventions, which have been used, among other things, on the battlefield in Iraq, where they saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers.

The future is based on the export of chitosan
In future, Primex's production will be based on the export of chitosan as a raw material for other manufacturers. At the same time, the possibility of diversifying the production of own consumer products, such as cosmetics and healing ointments, is being examined. The possibility of producing protein from waste from shell processing to aquaculture feed production is also being examined, but the shrimp shells that Primex uses come from Rammar hf.'s shrimp factories. in Siglufjörður and Dögun in Sauðárkrókur. Icelandic chitosan is a high-quality material and there is a lot of development work and research on the activity of the material behind the production. The quality has enabled the company to enter a more valuable market. The company now employs fifteen specially trained employees who have put the company on the map in demanding markets abroad.

Innovation Award Iceland 2012
The Iceland Innovation Prize is awarded by Rannís, Íslandsstofa, Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands and Nýsköpunarsjóður atvinnulífsins, to companies that are considered to have excelled in the development of new products or services based on research and scientific work and have achieved market success. The purpose of the award is to draw attention to the important connections that exist between research and the acquisition of knowledge and increased value creation in the business sector. The prize is a statue of the fertility god Frey by sculptor Hallstein Sigurðsson.

When choosing a prize winner, consideration is given to whether it is a new start-up company, whether it is based on innovative technology and ideas and is demanding of knowledge. It also assesses the value added of products and whether the company has been successful in the market. It is assessed whether the company is likely to hold its own and whether the management of innovation is exemplary. Finally, it is assessed whether the company is an incentive for others to follow the same path.

Work has recently begun on a new European project, TDS Exposure, in which Matís participates. The aim of the project is to coordinate research on the total consumption of undesirable contaminants in food.

The project is important for risk assessment and all those who monitor the effects of the contaminants on health. The name of the European project in English is Total Diet Study Exposure and its short name is TDS-Exposure, but the project has been given the Icelandic name Research on the total consumption of contaminants from food.

The project aims to improve and standardize monitoring of how exposed we are to unwanted contaminants in food as we eat it. The work on the project is based on a method known in English as Total Diet Studies (TDS). The method assesses the amount of unwanted contaminants people receive from finished and cooked foods and therefore gives a solid picture of the problem from the perspective of the consumer and regulators.

The part of the research in which Matís participates includes the development and implementation of a quality framework for parties that conduct research on the total consumption of contaminants, but also the analysis of data on contaminants. Matís will also take part in an experiment to carry out a harmonized study of total consumption of at least one foreign substance in Iceland, and these results will be compared with comparable studies carried out in the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and Portugal. Matís also manages a work package that is to disseminate information regarding the results of the project to stakeholders.

Active control of undesirable substances in food and risk assessment are key elements in ensuring safe foods that are free of harmful substances such as fungicides, heavy metals and pesticides. The results of research on the total consumption of contaminants enable regulators to obtain an actual assessment of which contaminants and which foods are most important in assessing the total consumption of undesirable substances in food. But they also provide information so that a risk assessment can be made for the consumption of these substances and assess their impact on human health over a long period of time. A number of different methods have been used in Europe, but in some countries research into the total consumption of contaminants has not yet been conducted.

Researchers from 19 different European countries are taking part in the project, which will test and harmonize the methods used in Europe for food sampling, measurement of food contaminants and data quality assessment, and subsequently define best research practices. This information will be invaluable for regulators and risk assessors and for organizations such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.

Recently, two master's students in energy biotechnology at the University of Akureyri worked for Matís in sequencing thermophilic bacterial strains.

The bacterial strains in question are from hot springs in Iceland and are interesting because they produce hydrogen, ethanol and methane among other end products.

The students' master's project is research on microorganisms from hot springs in Iceland that produce products that can be used as energy sources. The main emphasis is on looking for bacterial strains that produce desirable substances from cheap raw materials that are produced in Iceland or are easy and profitable to cultivate domestically for production. These students are named Hrönn Brynjarsdóttir and Jan Eric Jessen and it will be interesting to see the progress of their project. Their supervisor is Jóhann Örlygsson.

Matís has extensive knowledge of thermophilic microorganisms and one of the projects in which Matís is a key participant is to develop methods in biotechnology for the production of ethanol from wood and plant mass, ie to utilize biomass that can be used. as fuel.

Timber on the fuel tank
One of the growing aspects of Matís' operations is biotechnology and how that technology can be used to develop new production methods and thus strengthen new knowledge. One of the Nordic projects that Matís is currently working on is the development of biotechnology for the production of ethanol from wood and plant biomass. This could be said that timber is converted for use on the fuel tank, ie. that biomass will be used for fuel production, but a significant amount of it will be generated in the Nordic countries.

The project is run by Matís from Iceland, Statoil ASA, Wayland AB and SINTEF from Norway, INNVENTIA AB from Sweden, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the Technical Research Center of Finland (VIT). The project received outstanding funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers through the Nordic Energy Fund.

The project is very diverse and involves, among other things, developing methods for pre-treating the biomass so that it can be used by fermentation organisms for ethanol production. Also to develop efficient enzyme technology to break down biomass into fermentable sugars and genetically modify yeast so that they can break down polysaccharides. Matís will develop and improve thermophilic ethanol-forming fermentation bacteria using genetic engineering, but bacteria that have been isolated from hot springs can often break down cellulose efficiently. However, these bacteria produce additives such as acetic and lactic acid.

The goal is that with stronger thermophilic bacteria it will be possible to increase ethanol production, reduce or completely stop the production of additives and break down cellulose. The ultimate goal is to create a production system that combines the breakdown of cellulose and the fermentation of ethanol in one biological unit / system.

For further information Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson at Matís.

Four years ago, an innovation project was launched at the Iceland Academy of the Arts entitled The Designers 'and Farmers' Meeting, and Matís is an important link in this project.

The project brought together one of the country's oldest professions, farmers, and the youngest, product designers. The result is now on display for the first time in its entirety in Sparkdesign Space by Klapparstígur. Þórunn Kristjánsdóttir, a journalist at Fréttatími, recalls this adventure, but this coverage was published in Fréttatími on March 30, 2012.

The coverage can be found here.

The Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland will present a new international master's program in food science on Thursday 12 April. at 10-12 in room HT-300 at Háskólatorg.

The University of Iceland in collaboration with the University of Akureyri, the Agricultural University, Hólar University and Matís, has established a master's program in food sciences where the emphasis is different from what has been known before.

The presentation of the study will now take place on Thursday 12 April at Háskólatorg - see here.
New master's degree in food science

Master's program in food science in collaboration with the University of Iceland, other state universities and Matís, with the involvement of companies in the food and biotechnology industry.

There will be three study programs in the program, during which students will complete a master's degree in food science with an emphasis on production management, quality management or biotechnology.

• Production management line: emphasis on processing, product development and value added
• Quality management line: emphasis on microbial measurements and research and implementation and implementation of quality control
• Biotechnology line: emphasis on biochemical processing, research and innovation

The intention is to connect the study program to the business community directly, both with guest lecturers from the business community and with practical student projects that will be carried out in collaboration with powerful food companies. At the same time, to better connect the studies to the business world
but previously known in this field, international co-operation will be strengthened, in addition to which management and operational emphases have been added to the study.

It is a practical course suitable for those who have completed undergraduate studies in food science or other science subjects such as chemistry, biology and engineering and are interested in playing a leading role in the food and biotechnology industry in management, innovation or research.

Further information can be found here and also by contacting Guðjón Þorkelsson head of department at Matís and associate professor at the University of Iceland and Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, marketing director of Matís.

Study website: www.framtidarnam.is.