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Professor Wolfgang Hillen will give a lecture at Matís, Vínlandsleið 12, Reykjavík on Thursday 3 June at 10.00 - 11.00. The lecture is entitled: Tetracycline Dependent Gene Regulation in Bacteria and Mammals: From Mechanisms to Applications. 

Professor Wolgang Hillen is the Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
More about the topic of the lecture

Tetracycline Dependent Gene Regulation in Bacteria and Mammals: From Mechanisms to Applications
Tetracycline dependent gene regulation originates from resistance genes against this antibiotic in bacteria. The resistance mechanism has provided evolutionary pressure to establish a gene regulation system with low background expression combined with sensitive and efficient induction. The relevant prokaryotic components have been modified to function in nearly all organisms, including transgenic mice and human cell lines. A special strategy will be described for the construction of a suicide device for gene therapy by inducing apoptosis in human cell lines at will using regulated t-Bid expression. The basal expression is reduced below the induction threshold by a combined repressor / activator regulation construct, which leads to over 99% cell death upon induction. Furthermore, a screen for the nuclear localization of proteins will be described that does not need microscopy but instead makes use of a purely genetic procedure in which expression of a reporter gene indicates nuclear localization. The potential for screening novel therapeutics will be discussed.

For further information, please contact Franklín Georgsson, franklin.georgsson@matis.is.

The Italian Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Slow Food Association and Matís, organizes a seminar on the value of local food for culture, tourism and society. Matís' employees, Þóra Valsdóttir and Guðjón Þorkelsson, give a very interesting talk: "The special position of Icelandic food. Origin, quality, products. "

Wednesday. June 2, 2010
The store's house, 14th floor at 15.-17.00 

Slow Food Reykjavik, Eygló Björk Ólafsdóttir: 
Slow Food's project to protect and promote original, local foods.
Matís, Þóra Valsdóttir and Guðjón Þorkelsson:
The special position of Icelandic food. Origin, quality, products.

Edda Hotels, Friðrik V. Karlsson:
The old sky in the new kitchen

EG Fiskverkun, Flateyri, Guðrún Pálsdóttir:
Westfjords dried fish - history and specialties  

The Slow Food movement was born in Italy in 1989 and has played a major role in the preservation, revival and utilization of local foods around the world. The association's ideology is that the food is good, clean and fair - what value can be created in Iceland by following this policy? The ways within European co-operation and Slow Food to recognize food based on origin, quality and traditional processing methods will be highlighted. 

For further information, contact Þóra Valsdóttir, thora.valsdottir@matis.is, and Guðjón Þorkelsson, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is.

Registration with Kristin@chamber.is

Declaration of intent for Matarsmiðjan á Flúðir (MSF), Hrunamannahreppur signed in Flúðir yesterday.

An agreement on the establishment and operation of Matarsmiðjan in Flúðir was signed yesterday in Flúðir. Atvinnuþróunarfélag Suðurlands, Háskólafélag Suðurlands, Hrunamannahreppur, Bláskógarbyggð, Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur, Grímsnes- og Grafningshreppur, horticulturists, Matís and Háskóli Íslands have worked on the preparation of Matarsmiðjan.

In recent months, preparations have been made for the establishment of a food factory in the uplands of Árnessýsla, which will be a center for product development and processing of vegetables and to strengthen vocational and university education in the area through teaching and research.

In Flúðir, partners will rent premises and set up the necessary facilities for Matarsmiðjan's operations. The intention is to offer entrepreneurs and small producers expert assistance to develop products without spending a lot of money on facilities, equipment and operating licenses while products are being marketed.

The main goal of the project is to build a development center for small-scale food production, ie to establish small-scale production, product development and research of horticultural products in the area and thus create new and interesting opportunities in Flúðir and the surrounding area, but also to create an important platform for entrepreneurs and small producers complete their products for marketing.

Suðurlands' growth agreement supported Matís in the preparation of the food factory. This spring, the partners submitted a new application to the Growth Agreement of the South for the development of Matarsmiðjan.

A special association will be established for the operation of the food factory in Flúðir. The partners will work together to ensure the progress of the project so that the facilities can be used for development work, teaching, courses and experimental activities.

In the near future, an employee will be hired full time for the workshop. Matís invests heavily in its operations outside the capital area and in collaboration with companies and stakeholders throughout the country, but the company operates offices in six locations outside Reykjavík.

For further information, please contact Guðjón Þorkelsson, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is, and Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís, sjofn.sigurgisladottir@matis.is.

Hrunamannahreppur, Íslensk matorka ehf. and Matís ohf. signed yesterday, Thursday 27 May, a declaration of intent for the development of an energy-intensive food industry in Flúðir, which includes hot water farming of white food fish.

The development will be carried out in collaboration with the National Energy Authority, where the agency will provide guidance and advice.

Utilization of geothermal energy and electricity is very important for the economy in Hrunamannahreppur. Warm water farming is based on the utilization of warm water and electricity, in addition to which special attention is paid to sustainability and environmentally friendly production methods. Such a development in the energy-intensive food industry fits well with the utilization plans for energy and geothermal energy, other food industries and food-related tourist services in the municipality.

It is estimated that about two dozen new jobs will be created by the warm water fire itself, in addition to which a number of derivative jobs will follow.

Íslensk matorka ehf specializes in energy-intensive food industry for export. The company's goal is to utilize Icelandic energy in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way, create a basis for new export and employment opportunities and promote innovation and development.

For further information, please contact Stefanía Katrín Karlsdóttir, stefaniakk@simnet.is, and by phone 862-6519.

An open seminar on the Campy-on-Ice project and the fight against Campylobacter will be held on Thursday 27 May at 9-13 at Matís' headquarters at Vínlandsleið 12 in Reykjavík.
The seminar will discuss the measures taken in the wake of the Campylobacter epidemic in people in 1999 and the results achieved with these measures.

When the sale of fresh chicken was allowed in Iceland in 1996, the consumption of chicken meat increased significantly. Three years later, there was an explosion in the number of Campylobacter cases in humans. Extensive measures were taken to counter this trend.

The most important action was and still is to freeze all chickens infected with Campylobacter before slaughter. Samples are taken from all groups of chickens a few days before slaughter. If they are infected, the chickens are frozen, but freezing reduces the number of bacteria, so people are less likely to become infected through consumption.

The "Campy-On-Ice" study, which began about 10 years ago, was an extensive collaborative project between Canada, the United States and Iceland, and the Food Administration, Matís, Keldur, the Directorate of Health and the Department of Pathology at Landspítali were representatives of the country in this study. The research was multifaceted and the results varied. The seminar will review the main findings, which were used in infection control and improved the effectiveness of defending infection in birds and humans.

Following the "Campy-On-Ice" project, another project called the "Fly netting Project" was created, which began in 2008. It involves covering the ventilation chimney of poultry houses with fly nets, but flies are known carriers. This seminar will also review this research and present the results, which have already attracted attention abroad.

The symposium concludes with a luncheon hosted by chicken producers in honor of Ruff Lowman for his invaluable contribution to the project. The seminar will be held in Icelandic and English and the program will be as follows:

    09:00 - 09:10 Sentence
    09:10 - 09:25 History of campylobacter in Iceland for 10 years - Sigurborg Daðadóttir
    09:25 - 09:40 Campylobacter infections and epidemiology in humans
                                       - Hjördís Harðardóttir and Guðrún Sigmundsdóttir
    09:40 - 10:00 "Campy-On-Ice" practical use for poultry producers - Jarle Reiersen
    10:00 - 10:15 Coffee break
    10:15 - 12:00 "Campy-On-Ice" Canada - "Fly netting" - Ruff Lowman
    12:00 - 13:00 Party in honor of Ruff Lowman

The seminar will be held in Matís' new premises at Vínlandsleið 12, 113 Reykjavík on the 3rd floor on Thursday 27 May and starts at 9:00.

For further information, contact Hjalti Andrason at Matvælastofnun, hjalti.andrason@mast.is.

The project "Air-dried lamb" is now complete at Matís. The main goal of the project was to develop products from air-dried lamb in collaboration with farmers. 

The project also aimed to increase farmers' skills in processing and processing lamb into air-dried products. A co-operation group of 5 farmers was formed who were interested and have facilities for home processing of such products. The project was generally very successful. Farmers were able to adopt the production methods necessary for dry processing and cut new production processes and products, each different from what is on the market today. The results therefore strengthen the farm in question for the development of new products from its own raw materials and thus their working basis.

Dry processed meat is a product with a very long shelf life as the salt is in addition to the low water content. In short, the process of action of dry-processed meat is based on adequate salt consumption, temperature control and a controlled humidity environment that reduces the water activity of the meat. This will lead to a gradual drying of the meat and the risk of growth of food poisoning bacteria will be negligible. The interplay of temperature and humidity during the drying period has a decisive effect on the properties and safety of the dried meat. Conditions in different regions have therefore historically had a major impact on the raw material and created different products with regional uniqueness.   

The future of the traditional Icelandic air-dried product, ham, depends on various factors, including the development of processing methods, consumer preferences and food safety. Air-dried ham intended for raw consumption is becoming popular again, in a lighter version than it was according to older traditions. Raw processed meat that is not boiled for consumption and wet meat that needs to be boiled before consumption are often confused. It is therefore very important that those who go into such production have sufficient knowledge of how to handle it to ensure the quality and safety of the product.

Air-dried lamb should have the same status as air-dried ham in southern Europe. The aim of the project was to increase the supply of air-dried lamb in Iceland, both in connection with food tourism, the Nordic cuisine and the culture of the country. The authors of the report hope that the project will be an incentive for its partners to continue their work well done, as well as for others to continue experimenting with this classic method of action that can produce both special and exceptionally tasty products.

The project was funded by the Productivity Fund and the Professional Council for Sheep Breeding / BÍ Board.

The final report of the project can be found here.

Further information about the project is provided by Þóra Valsdóttir, thora.valsdottir@matis.is