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On 30 August, a conference on pelagic fish was held at Gardemoen in Norway. The title of the conference was "Opportunities and opportunities in the pelagic fish industry. Looking to the future“.

SINTEF in Norway organized the conference in collaboration with Matís, the Technical University of Denmark and Chalmers University in Sweden. The topic of the lectures dealt with the handling of the catch on board, the production of products and by-products, as well as the quality and impact of pelagic fish on public health. Among the speakers from Iceland were Ásbjörn Jónsson and Sigurjón Arason from Matís together with Sindri Sigurðsson, quality manager of Síldarvinnslan.

The conference was well attended and was a great success. There was a lot of speculation about the position and future prospects in the pelagic fish industry and the possibilities that exist for increased production of products for consumers.

For further information, please contact Ásbjörn Jónsson, asbjorn.jonsson@matis.is.

Research is being carried out to increase knowledge of the properties of fat and its stability with regard to the condition of fish during fishing.

Fat composition in cod meat (Gadus morhua) according to season and fishing areas

In lean fish such as cod, fat development was not considered a problem. However, cod muscle contains a lot of unsaturated fatty acids which are easy to crave during storage. These changes have a negative effect on the taste and appearance of products. Research is being carried out to increase knowledge of the properties of fat and its stability with regard to the condition of fish during fishing. The condition of the fish is determined by various factors, such as the season, fishing area, size and age of the fish. Improved knowledge of raw materials and their stability during processing and storage will facilitate production management in fish processing, where the shelf life and quality of products are taken into account. 

The research is funded by the Fisheries Project Fund, which will run until the end of 2011.

Participants in the project are Oddi hf, KG Fiskverkun ehf, Þorbjörn, Skinney-Þinganes hf and Matís ohf. Project manager is Kristín A. Þórarinsdóttir, Matís ohf. 

Project title: Fat composition in cod meat (Gadus morhua) according to season and fishing areas

For further information, please contact Kristín A. Þórarinsdóttir, tel: 422-5081, e-mail: kristin.a.thorarinsdottir@matis.is.

A new project has now begun at Matís, which intends to investigate the effects of different salting methods and additives in order to reduce the negative effects of death stiffness on brine uptake. 

There is a big difference between the processing properties of farmed cod and wild cod. The growth of farmed cod is faster and the conditions in the environment are different. Slaughtering and handling of wild fish are also controlled. Previous research has shown that it is best to process farmed cod before death, but this has created problems in the production of lightly salted products. The physiological processes that occur during death stiffness counteract weight gain, partly because the muscle contracts. In the spring of 2010, AVS approved (www.avs.is), to support projects to investigate the effects of different salting methods and additives in order to reduce the negative effects of mortality on brine uptake. Experiments will be launched in the autumn, but the project is expected to be completed in June 2011.

Participants in the project are Hraðfrystihúsið - Gunnvör hf and Matís ohf. Kristján G. Jóakimsson is the project manager and Kristín A. Þórarinsdóttir, kristin.a.thorarinsdottir@matis.is, directs the work carried out by Matís in the project. 

Project title: Lightly salted products from farmed cod

On Monday 6 September, a doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, University of Iceland. Food scientist Þrándur Helgason is defending his doctoral dissertation "Micro ferries for bioactive substances"

Doctoral dissertation in food science from the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland

Micro-ferries for bioactive substances
On Monday 6 September, a doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, University of Iceland. The food scientist Þrándur Helgason is defending his doctoral dissertation "Formation of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Delivery Systems for Bioactive Ingredients". John Coupland Professor at Pennsylvania State University and dr. Ragnar Jóhannsson division manager at Matís ohf. Supervisors and the doctoral committee were dr. Kristberg Kristbergsson, professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, University of Iceland, dr. Jochen Weiss, professor at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany and dr. D. Julian McClements, Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.

Dr. Inga Þórsdóttir, professor and dean of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, will chair the ceremony, which will take place in the Celebration Hall of the University of Iceland in the Main Building and will begin at 13:00.

Abstract from the study
An increase in food-related diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and hypertension has led to a huge increase in interest in developing foods that contain bioactive substances that can help control these diseases. Studies have shown that such diseases can be significantly reduced by making certain bioactive substances part of the daily diet. The problem is that many of these bioactive substances are very unstable and do not tolerate the usual processing and storage of food. This is especially true for substances such as omega-3 fatty acids, b-carotene and lycopene that are broken down and not utilized. Problems with stability mean that much less of these substances are used than is desirable in common foods. The purpose of this project was to develop special micro-ferries as carriers for health-enhancing bioactive substances that can be added to foods to ensure their stability and effective absorption during digestion. The micro-ferns were made from substances common in foods such as certain fats, phospholipids and emulsifiers that were specially designed to increase stability and improve the uptake of bioactive substances. In the project, the stability of substances and their activity were assessed.

About the doctoral dissertation
Þrándur Helgason was born in 1980 and completed a BS degree in food science at the University of Iceland in 2004. He defended his master's thesis in food science at the University of Iceland in 2006 and was subsequently hired as a doctoral student at the University of Iceland in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts. part of the experimental work. In 2009 he moved to Stuttgart, Germany, where research was continued. Þrándur is the son of the couple Helgi Jóhannesson and Elín Sigurbjörg Jónsdóttir. Thrond's wife is Hanna Salminen.

For further information, contact Þrándur Helgason, e-mail thrandur@hi.is, phone 00491606034768 or Kristberg Kristbergsson, professor, email kk@hi.is, phone 525-4052.

See also the website of the University of Iceland:

See also the website of the University of Iceland: www.hi.is/

The first fisheries conference will be held 6-7. September 2010 at the Grand Hotel in Reykjavík. The conference has the web www.sjavarutvegsradstefnan.is where you can download the program and other information.

Sjávarútvegsráðstefnan ehf.
At the beginning of the year, Sjávarútvegsráðstefnan ehf. established but the role of the company is to hold an annual fisheries conference and its purpose is to:

• promote professional and informative coverage of the fisheries sector
• be a forum for communication between all those involved in the fisheries sector in Iceland

The first fisheries conference will be held 6-7. September 2010 at the Grand Hotel in Reykjavík. The conference has the web www.sjavarutvegsradstefnan.is where you can download the program and other information.

The idea
The idea of the fisheries conference is to create a communication platform for all those involved in the fisheries sector in Iceland. This group includes those involved in fishing, aquaculture, primary processing, advanced processing, sales and marketing, services and research and development, as well as public bodies, teachers and students, the media and other enthusiasts. Today, there are various conferences and meetings within the fishing industry, but then usually related to individual associations, organizations or materials. The association is not an interest group of individual groups and does not work for advocacy.

The Fisheries Conference is for everyone!
The aim of the fisheries conference is to bring together in one place a cross-section of the industry to work for progress and progress. The Fisheries Conference is a forum where people meet, strengthen relationships and co-operate in the industry. The conference discusses important issues in the field of fisheries and it is hoped that it will be a source of ideas and encouragement for good works that conference guests have as a vegan at the end of it.

Content of the conference
Every year new material is introduced and the first conference will focus on the following themes: markets and product development, opportunities for value creation, the Iceland brand, eco-labeling and tourism and the fisheries sector. The conference will feature almost 30 presentations on various issues in the fisheries sector.

Tomorrow, Friday 27 August, Matís employee and master's student at the University of Iceland, Ásta Heiðrún E. Pétursdóttir, will give a lecture on arsenic in fishmeal.

The lecture is entitled: Determination of toxic and non-toxic arsenic species in fish meal.

The lecture will take place in room 158 in the VR-II building on Friday 27 August at 12.30.

Abstract
There is a lot of arsenic in the ecosystem in organic compounds as well as in inorganic form and more than 50 natural chemical forms of arsenic have been found. Seafood naturally contains a high concentration of the total arsenic. The majority of arsenic in seafood, on the other hand, is bound in an organic form, so-called arsenobetanide, which is considered safe. Other forms of arsenic in marine products are generally present in lower concentrations, including inorganic arsenic (arsenite and arsenate) which are toxic. This dissertation includes results and statistical processing of measurements of total concentration in over 100 samples of Icelandic fishmeal. Among other things, it was examined whether there was a seasonal difference in the total concentration of arsenic. Emphasis was then placed on the analysis of toxic inorganic arsenic and different methods were tested and evaluated. The previously published alkali-alcohol extraction method, for the detection of inorganic arsenic, was adapted and the samples were measured by HPLC equipment connected to ICP-MS. Arsenobetanide was found to be the predominant form of arsenic in all cases. Inorganic arsenic was found to be less than four percent of the total concentration in twelve different fishmeal samples. The alkali-alcohol extraction method gave a convincing upper limit on the concentration of inorganic arsenic. The need for further development of chemical analysis methods in this field is urgent.

For further information contact Ásta, asta.h.petursdottir@matis.is.

Since early this morning, some of the key executives of the Whole Foods Market retail chain have been visiting Matís and getting acquainted with the company's busy operations.

Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com/) is a large US retail chain that began operations in the state of Texas in 1980. The retail chain has operations in over 270 stores in the United States and in England and is best known for selling food that has been as little involved in production as possible. For example, the retail chain's selection of organically grown foods is among the best known in the world. The company has also placed great emphasis on knowing where food comes from and has been particularly interested in the origin labeling and traceability of food. Whole Foods Market's visit to Matís was, among other things, precisely for the purpose of getting to know better traceability and origin labeling of food, but Matís has been at the forefront of research in this area.

The visitors were also very interested in Matís' database on contaminants in Icelandic seafood (see here) and how clean our seafood is.

Attached are two photos from the visit; here and here.

Can also be found here a fun video from Whole Foods Market about Icelandic sheep farming.