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Matís, the Marine Research Institute and Náttúrustofa Vesturlands convene a meeting on food algae to discuss the opportunities and possibilities that can be utilized in Iceland.

The aim of the symposium is to arouse interest and get ideas for actions / projects that promote progress in the utilization of food algae in this country. The seminar is open to everyone, whether it is companies that are processing or interested in food algae, buyers of food algae or an interested public.

Is there a untapped opportunity for value creation in food algae in Iceland? There is an increasing interest in Iceland in the utilization of food algae, but worldwide, trade and their utilization is high and ever-increasing. Algae can be used directly for cooking and from them can also be processed various products that are used in the food industry, agriculture, industry, cosmetics industry, medicine, for the production of bioactive substances and much more. Many species of algae grow off the coast of Iceland and some of them grow to a considerable extent, but their utilization has been limited. With increased knowledge of the processing of substances and food from algae, opportunities are created for small and medium-sized companies that either obtain algae or process products from them. It is important to explore the possibilities for the development of this industry in Iceland with the aim of increasing the diversity of the economy and increasing value creation.

An advertisement can be found here.

Further information: www.matis.is, www.hafro.is and www.nsv.is
Meeting place: Hotel Stykkishólmur
Time: Saturday, February 26, 2011, at 13-16Admission free.

Agenda:
Algae utilization in Iceland; usable species. Karl Gunnarsson, Marine Research Institute
Market for food algae. Auðun Freyr Ingvarsson, Green in Blue
Algae as food. Þóra Valsdóttir, Matís
Healthy, bioactive substances in food algae. Rósa Jónsdóttir / Hörður Kristinsson, Matís
Discussion

Presentations from Íslenskri bláskel, Íslenskri hollusta, Þörungaverksmiðjan, Íslenska Kalkþörungafélagið, Hafkalki, Seaweed Iceland and Gullstein as well as Rúnar Marvinsson, chef at Langaholt, shows how to use algae in cooking.

Chairman of the meeting Róbert A. Stefánsson, Náttúrustofa Vesturlands

Please announce your participation at the e-mail address palmi@nsv.is.

The idea for the episodes came from Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís and Brynhildur Pálsdóttir.

The show "Fagur fiskur" won an award at the Edda Festival 2011 as the Culture or Lifestyle Show of the Year. Matís produced the episodes together with Sagafilm. The idea for the episodes ignited Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir food scientist at Matís and Brynhildur Pálsdóttir product designer. They got Sagafilm, Svein Kjartansson chef, Áslaug Snorradóttir photographer and Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir director in a team to make the idea a reality.

The production of the episodes was supported by AVS research fund in the fisheries sector.

You can access recipes, information and watch the episodes on the website www.fagurfiskur.is, you can also check out the show's Facebook page.

More about Edduna 2011 here.

Matvælastofnun will hold an educational meeting on genetically modified food on Tuesday 22 February at 15:00 - 16:00. The meeting will discuss a new regulation on the labeling and traceability of genetically modified food and feed.

It will be discussed which foods and feeds are covered by the regulation, which are the most common GM crops and examples of GM foods will be taken from them.

It will be possible to follow the meeting live and a recording of the meeting can be found on the MAST website under PUBLICATION - EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS.

Lecturer:
Helga M. Pálsdóttir, specialist at the Food Administration

The educational meeting will be held in the district office of the institute in Reykjavík at Stórhöfði 23. The entrance to the MAST building is on the north side (Grafarvogsmegin).

Everyone welcome!

Matís' reports in recent years on the results of measurements of the amount of toxic pollutants in Icelandic seafood products show that it is not to be mistaken that our Icelandic seafood is far below the limit values that apply to these substances.

In recent days, there has been a discussion about toxins in seafood, especially in farmed salmon, and there was a news item on the RÚV news service about this substance recently.

The results of research show that the edible part of fish caught in Icelandic waters contains very small amounts of organic pollutants such as dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and pesticides (insecticides and plant toxins), compared to the limits approved by European countries. Oil and flour made from blue whiting, however, must be close to or exceed the permissible limits for certain substances.

Samples of Icelandic farmed fish have also been taken for analysis of pollutants (see report here). Matís has also been monitoring the content of pollutants in Icelandic seafood for years and publishes an annual report on the results of that monitoring on its website (latest here). In 2010, a booklet was also published in English called "Valuable facts about Icelandic seafood". It contains a summary of monitoring data from 2003-2008 on the main pollutants monitored and the results for 10 species of seafood compared to the maximum values of the European Union (EU) for these substances (this brochure can be accessed by sending an e-mail to matis@matis.is).

It is also worth mentioning that in Norway these issues are closely monitored in seafood and aquaculture products, cf. the following URL: www.nifes.no/

All the above sources and information indicate that the dioxin and PCBs' content is far below the limits set for healthy transatlantic seafood or aquaculture in the Nordic countries.

A graphical presentation of the results of the monitoring project can be accessed on Matís' website via the link "Icelandic seafood - clean and unpolluted“.

Information on reports on this topic can be found at www.matis.is/utgafa/matis/skyrslur/, the latest here.

For further information Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir and Jón Árnason

In recent months, work has been carried out on the refurbishment of facilities and the acquisition and installation of equipment in Matarsmiðjan's premises in Flúðir. An operating license is also being applied for from the Health Inspectorate of the South.

Operations will then begin in March. The idea with Matvælasmiðjan is to help people with ideas for food production with professional help and facilities. It also learns about the basics of food safety, including setting up internal controls and applying for production licenses for its products to licensors. In this way, it is possible to test ideas for production and market a product without spending a lot of money. The workshop is intended for the processing and production of all kinds of food as well as training for small food producers. There will be facilities and equipment:

• for drying food
• for the production of nasal
• for canning and canning (jam making, food pickling, etc.)
• wet facilities for handling raw materials (meat, vegetables, etc.)
• small experimental kitchen (Boiled products)
• cooler and freezer
• for packing
• for education and seminars

Contact will be made with those who have already shown interest in working on their ideas at Matarsmiðjan in Flúðir to discuss and plan the projects. Everyone who is interested in introducing and taking advantage of the advice and facilities at Flúðir is encouraged to contact Matarsmiðjan Vilberg Tryggvason's employee at 8585133 or send him an e-mail to vilberg.tryggvason@matis.is

Matarsmiðjan á Flúðir is in collaboration with the municipalities in the uplands of Árnessýsla, Matís ohf., Háskólafélag Suðurlands and Atvinnuþróunarfélag Suðurlands.

For further information Guðjón Þorkelsson at Matís.

Future days were incredibly successful and the number of people who attended this year is the largest in the history of this festival.

Well over 2000 are believed to have attended the show at Háskólabíó and there was a lot of traffic around Matís booth as it is extremely well located. A large number of students were interested in knowing more about Matís, and as a result, applications for summer jobs and future jobs have flowed directly into Matís' human resources manager.

Attached are some photos from the Future Days 2011.

Future days 2011 will be held next. Wednesday, February 9 in the premises of Háskólabíós.

As before, high participation among students can be expected this year. Framadagar is therefore an ideal platform for companies to reach the future workforce of the nation by introducing themselves and their activities and thus gain a certain advantage over competitors in the race for the most qualified staff.

As usual, Matís will have a large booth and will present his activities throughout the day. Framadaga brochure 2011 can be found on the Framadaga website, www.framadagar.is, but there are some fun commercials from Matís.

Further information can be found at www.framadagar.is and with Jón Haukur Arnarson, jon.h.arnarson@matis.is or Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, steinar.b.adalbjornsson@matis.is.

The idea for the episodes came from Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís and Brynhildur Pálsdóttir.

The episodes "Fagur fiskur" are nominated for an award at Eddun. Matís produced the episodes together with Sagafilm. The idea for the episodes ignited Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir food scientist at Matís and Brynhildur Pálsdóttir, product designer. They got Sagafilm, Sveinn Kjartansson chef, Áslaug Snorradóttir photographer, Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir director in a team to make the idea a reality.

The production of the episodes was supported by AVS research fund in the fisheries sector.

You can access recipes, information and watch the episodes on the website www.fagurfiskur.is, you can also check out the show's Facebook page.

More about Edduna and 2011 nominations here.

Matís publishes a booklet on DNA research on marine animals.

Matís has developed over 30 methods for genetic analysis of animals. There is a lot of development work behind each analytical method, where an attempt is made to combine as many genetic markers as possible into one disappearance (multiplex). This saves both time and costs when multiple samples are analyzed. In some cases, there is no genetic marker for the species. In those cases, it is necessary to start developing new genetic markers. At Matís, new genetic markers have been developed for many species of marine animals (cod, herring, lobster, mussels and salmon) and in other species, known genetic markers have been changed to make the work more efficient. Several of these methods have been described in peer-reviewed scientific articles.

In population analysis studies, variability in the genotypes of animals from different areas is examined, cf. the example of the cod above. The international community (eg the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea; ICES) calls for information on strains in genetic diversity. Successful decisions have already been made based on genetic data, as the example of the redfish below shows (see the section Genetics proves its value).

In fisheries management, it is very important to know whether there are variable stocks or stock units of a certain type when allocating fishing licenses. In this area, genetic analysis can be a key tool. It is very important for Icelanders to be able to define the stocks that belong to Iceland and can therefore be classified as a resource for Icelanders. If Iceland joins the European Union, this is even more important than ever. It should therefore be a priority in Icelandic marine research to define the genetic resource that belongs to the country. It is also in accordance with international conventions that Iceland has signed to guarantee the conservation of its genetic resources.

The brochure can be found here.

Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir, Director of Safety, Environment and Genetics, provides further information. Additional information can also be found here.