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Future Days 2010 will be held today, Wednesday 10 February in the premises of Háskólabíós.

As before, great participation can be expected among students 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 the competitive parties in the race for the most qualified staff.

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.

January 27 last. A good meeting was held at Matís' headquarters at Vínlandsleið 12 in Reykjavík. It brought together many of the Nordic region's leading experts on herring and North Atlantic herring stocks.

The meeting was part of the HerMix project, which is funded by the Ag-Fisk fund. Participants in the project are from 7 places.

• Matís (Icelandic Food and Biothech R&D), Reykjavík, Iceland
• Marine Research Institute (MRI), Reykjavík, Iceland
• Faroese Fisheries Laboratory (FFL), Torshavn, Faroe Islands
• University of the Faroe Islands (UFI), Torshavn, Faroe Islands
• Institute of Marine Research (IMR), Bergen, Norway
• Sildarvinnslan hf (SVN), Neskaupstaður, Iceland
• The National Institute of Aquatic Resources (DTU-Aqua), Lyngby, Denmark

The aim of the project is to be able to differentiate herring stocks in the North Atlantic by genetic methods and to study variability in the chemical and processing properties of the product.

For further information, please contact Sigríður Hjörleifsdóttir, sigridur.hjorleifsdottir@matis.is.

Further information about the project can be found here.

In 2008 and 2009, Matís' fatty acid analyzes were performed on 51 food samples in order to update data in the ÍSGEM database on the chemical content of food. The project was carried out in collaboration with the Public Health Institute and the Food Administration.

Emphasis was placed on examining the amount of trans fatty acids in processed foods, so samples of table margarine, baked goods, deep-frying fats, food from fast food places, ice cream, biscuits, snacks and sweets were taken.

Dietary recommendations recommend that people eat as little trans fatty acids from industrial raw materials as possible. It is also recommended to limit the consumption of saturated fatty acids. In this way, the risk of heart disease can be reduced. There has been a lack of information on trans fatty acids in food on the Icelandic market, but now it has been improved to some extent.

A large study was conducted on fatty acids in all categories of food on the Icelandic market in 1995. The results now show that the proportion of trans-fatty acids for almost all foods is lower than before.

In all food categories, at least some of the samples were detected with little or no trans fatty acids, which is a big change from what has been the case. For example, there were almost no trans fatty acids in the types of biscuits examined. This shows that the food industry has found ways to produce products without trans fatty acids. However, a considerable amount of trans fatty acids was detected in some samples of margarine, baked goods, ice cream and popcorn. It is clear that manufacturers can improve these products and get rid of trans fatty acids. The results are in line with the fact that in many countries good results have been achieved in reducing trans-fatty acids in food.

The results of the fatty acid analyzes are summarized for fatty acid categories in a table on the next page.

The main results of the measurements were:
a. The proportion of trans fatty acids in the foods that had been analyzed had generally decreased since 1995, when a large study was conducted on fatty acids in Icelandic foods.

b. Biscuit samples were very low in trans fatty acids (below 0.8% in fatty acids). Samples of sweets were low in trans fatty acids (below 2% of fatty acids). In fast food samples, trans fatty acids were below 3.5% of fatty acids.

c. Samples of table margarine, baked goods, vegetable ice cream, margarine and snacks contained foods from some producers with a lot of trans fatty acids, but in samples from other producers the amount of these fatty acids was insignificant. This shows that it is feasible to produce these foods without trans fatty acids.

d. The labeling on the packaging did not in all cases pass the products being inspected. Packaging for one biscuit sample indicated that trans-fatty acids were present in the biscuit where vegetable fat was specified to be partially hardened. However, it did not turn out to be right, the biscuit was free of trans fatty acids.

In Denmark, the maximum value for trans fatty acids from industrial raw material is 2% of all fatty acids. The ratio is below this limit for 27 brands and types of aggregate samples out of a total of 42 or 64% of all brands and types of aggregate samples.

It should be noted that although trans fatty acids are eliminated from certain foods, there is still a possibility that the product contains saturated fat, perhaps in large quantities.

Although trans fatty acids are generally not labeled on food packaging, consumers can still draw certain conclusions from the ingredients. If vegetable oil is the only fatty ingredient, it can be assumed that the food does not contain trans fatty acids and that saturated fatty acids have been kept to a minimum. Particular attention should be paid to this in the ingredients descriptions for breads, cakes and biscuits. It should be borne in mind that coconut fat and palm fat are hard plant-based fats and are high in saturated fatty acids. If partially hydrogenated fats appear in the description of ingredients, trans fatty acids can be expected. Hardened fats, however, are not proof that trans fatty acids are present in the product, but a considerable amount of saturated fatty acids must be assumed.

The overall results from the above study will soon be published in the ÍSGEM database.

For further information, please contact Ólafur Reykdal, olafur.reykdal@matis.is.

Results of fatty acid analyzes of food in 2008 and 2009 (pdf file).

Kerecis ehf. engaged in research, product development and production of medical products derived from fish proteins. The company's products are for use in hospitals for the treatment of tissue injuries. The company benefits from a partnership with the Technology Development Fund, Matís and Atvinnuþróunarfélag Vestfjarði.

PRESS RELEASE The Business Innovation Fund invests in Kerecis

Ísafjörður / Reykjavík, January 4, 2010─ The medical products company Kerecis ehf. and the Business Innovation Fund (NSA) announced today the signing of an investment agreement. The agreement was signed on 30.12.2009. Under the agreement, the NSA will purchase 35% from Kerecis in the form of share capital and also provide the company with a convertible loan. The investment will be in several phases over the next 12 months and the installment payments are dependent on the progress of Kerecis' development projects.

Kerecis ehf. engaged in research, product development and production of medical products derived from fish proteins. The company's products are for use in hospitals for the treatment of tissue injuries. The company's products and technology are in the development stage and patent registration has begun to protect the company's technology. Kerecis employees and founders have many years of experience in the development of medical products and clinical development and testing work.

The global market for medical devices ("medical devices") is huge and several Icelandic parties have established themselves in this market, such as Össur hf, Mentis Cura, Nox Medical, Oxymap, Kine and the company Primex. Kerecis will focus on product development for the tissue engineering segment of the medical device market.

Comment:
Dr. Baldur Tumi Baldursson, physician, co-founder and head of Kerecis' medical division:
Kerecis' technology is based on the utilization of fish proteins for the treatment of damaged tissue. The company's preliminary studies indicate that the technology is very suitable for the treatment of human tissue damage, and with the involvement of the Innovation Fund, we will be able to launch clinical trials on our products as early as the beginning of 2010.

Finnbogi Jónsson, Managing Director, Business Innovation Fund:
It's gratifying to have the opportunity to invest in a company like Kerecis. We have great faith in the company, bringing together experienced managers and good scientists who see market opportunities for medical products based on Icelandic knowledge and Icelandic ingredients.

It is our hope that this will be the beginning of a successful collaboration with Kerecis and that the Innovation Fund's investment in the company will help to create valuable jobs, generate foreign exchange and return good returns to the fund.

About Kerecis ehf.
Kerecis ehf. (www.kerecis.is) is a development and production company in the field of medical products and bases its technology on proteins made from fish. The company works in close collaboration with healthcare professionals and works on the development of technology for the treatment of damaged tissue. The company benefits from a collaboration with the Technology Development Fund, Matís and the Westfjords Business Development Association.

About the Innovation Fund
Business Innovation Fund (www.nsa.is) is a venture capitalist who takes an active part in the development and growth of the economy by investing in promising innovative and start-up companies. The Innovation Fund is an independent investment fund owned by the Icelandic state. 

Further information:
Guðmundur F. Sigurjónsson
Chairman of the Board Kerecis ehf.
Phone 8494960
gfsigurjonsson@kerecis.com

Helga Valfell
The Business Innovation Fund
Kringlan 7, 103 Reykjavík 
phone / tel: 510 1800 fax: 510 1809   
mobile no .: 861 0108  
helga@nsa.is
www.nsa.is

On Friday 15 January, a doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iceland. Then protect Eyjólfur Reynisson biologist at Matís's doctoral dissertation "Changes in microbial communities in the process of damaging fish products. Molecular biological research as well as the development of rapid diagnostic tests on specific destructive microorganisms. "

Doctoral dissertation in biology from the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland

Starts: 15/01/2010 - 13:00

Ends: 15/01/2010 - 15:00

Event location: Askja

Further location: Room 132 (large hall)

Doctoral dissertation in biology from the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland:
Changes in microbial communities in the process of damaging fish products.
Molecular biological research together with the development of rapid diagnostic tests on specific destructive microorganisms.

Fresh view in fish microbiology.
Analysis of microbial changes in fish during storage, decontamination and curing of fish, using molecular detection and analysis methods.

On Friday 15 January, a doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iceland. Then protect Eyjólfur Reynisson biologist in his doctoral dissertation “Changes in microbial communities in the process of spoilage of fish products. Molecular biological research as well as the development of rapid diagnostic tests on specific destructive microorganisms. Paw Dalgaard, a scientist from the Technical University of Denmark and Dr. Guðni Ágúst Alfreðsson Professor at the University of Iceland. The supervisor of the project was Dr. Guðmundur Hreggviðsson, director of Matís. Dr. Sigurður Snorrason, President of the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, will chair the ceremony, which will take place in Askja and will begin at 13.

In the project, the spoilage processes of fish products were examined using molecular biological methods to examine the composition and changes in the microbial flora during storage and processing of fish products. The first part of the project focused on the development of rapid diagnostic methods for unwanted bacteria such as Salmonella and bacteria that cause food degradation (harmful bacteria). With the new methodology, the analysis time is shortened from 3 days to 5 hours. which can be useful for control and quality control in food production. The second part focused on hygiene and cleaning in fish processing, where the effectiveness of traditional cleaning procedures for the removal of microbial cover was examined. Important factors in the process were taken into account, such as the temperature of the rinsing water, the strength of the detergents and the type of surface. Microbial coverages are often formed during food production, so it is important that cleaning processes prevent them from gaining a foothold to ensure both safety and quality of production. The third part deals with questions about the composition of bacterial communities when storing fish, where examples of three fish species are taken. Cod and haddock are examples of bony fish while catfish are classified as cartilaginous fish. Various bonefish are important commercial stocks and have therefore received more attention when it comes to research into their microbiology and spoilage processes. This section demonstrates and confirms that Photobacterium phosphoreum is the bacterial species that more often than not prevails when storing cod and haddock under different conditions. Using breeding methods and molecular biological analyzes, the progress of microbial communities in catfish hunting is described and the presence of previously undetected bacterial species in significant quantities in this unique environment is demonstrated.

The doctoral dissertation is Eyjólfur Reynisson, born in 1977. He completed a BS degree from the University of Iceland in 2001 and an M.Sc. degree in biochemistry from the University of Copenhagen two years later. Since then, Eyjólfur has worked at the Fisheries Research Institute, which joined Matís ohf. - Icelandic Food Research. There he has worked for the most part on his project. Eyjólfur is married to Lilja Logadóttir and they have 3 children.

www.hi.is

Matís recently held a course in Suðureyri for the fish processing company Íslandssaga and Klofning. The course was held in 4 languages and had about 120 participants, which is about half of Suðureyri's population.

The course covered, among other things, the quality of fish, fish processing and hygiene.

We were very pleased with the course and there was talk that the information would be very useful to the staff.

The course ended in moderation for employees, as the companies Íslandssaga and Klofningur turned 10 years old on 6 December.

For further information, please contact Margeir Gissurarson, margeir.gissurarson@matis.is.

More about courses offered by Matís: www.matis.is/freadsla/namskeid/

Thursday 4 February at 18-21, MNÍ (Icelandic Food and Nutrition Association (MNÍ)) together with Matís and MAST in collaboration with the University of Iceland Continuing Education will hold courses on food labeling, among other things to increase understanding of food labeling and content.

The course is open to anyone who is interested in food labeling and is also suitable for those who use it in their work, such as in canteens, production and import companies. The aim of the course is to enable participants to interpret food labels and give them an understanding of their contents.

Food labeling is often the only information we have on hand to choose our food in an informed way. The labels must follow certain rules, which state what needs to be stated. They should be clear and not misleading to us. Content description and nutritional value information are important in order to be able to compare the ingredients, energy content and food supplements and may be a prerequisite for us to be able to put together a healthy diet.

The current rules on food labeling as they apply to consumers will be reviewed. The labeling of food packaging will be examined and how to label allergens and intolerances will be discussed. The various labels on food will be explained: the health label, the glass and fork label, the organic certification label, Fair Trade, etc. The labeling of contents, nutritional value and shelf life will be explained. Examples of tag processing will be taken and participants will work on projects. The use of the Icelandic database on the chemical content of food (ÍSGEM) and the web program hvaderimatnum.is will be shown, as well as other programs and methods for calculations.

Discussions are part of the course.

More information can be found at www.endurmenntun.is

Rapid methods have been developed to detect bacterial contamination in food. It is now possible to determine in just a few hours whether the food contains undesirable microorganisms, but this greatly increases food safety and the waiting time for the results of microbiological analyzes is reduced from 2-6 days to less than 24 hours.

The AVS project, which aims to develop rapid methods for detecting common pathogens in food and specific spoilage bacteria in fish, has been completed. The analysis time with these methods is from 2 up to 6 days shorter than the reference methods and the fastest ones take about 4 hours.

One-day certification of food safety - within 24 hours of sending samples for analysis - is very important for companies in the food industry, especially with regard to food pathogens, and will become even more important in the near future. Rapid PCR analysis enables food producers to intervene immediately, control the processing of the raw material or stop distribution if the product is found to contain undesirable micro-organisms or does not meet quality requirements. Technology therefore contributes to improved quality and the image of food, which is a very important factor in maintaining Iceland's good image for healthy agricultural and marine products.

The project developed several methods for different bacteria. Development of high-speed Salmonella analyzes in different products were performed and showed comparable analytical skills and an accredited NMKL method, e.g. the comparable sensitivity of the methods to analysis was demonstrated Salmonella in chicken pox. The real-time PCR method analyzed Salmonella furthermore with high reliability in all other raw materials tested, i.e. fishmeal, roe, shrimp, salmon and haddock.

Diagnostic tests Campylobacter of the method in chicken feces and chickens have similarly shown that the bacterium can be detected in samples containing only 10-100 bacteria per gram with full reliability after pre-breeding overnight. Comparison with accredited NMKL cultures further showed that the real time PCR method had a sensitivity comparable to or greater than the accredited NMKL method. Other methods for detecting pathogenic bacteria were also set up Listeria monocytogens and Vibrio parahaemolyticus with good results. Further information can be found in the project report.

Fortunately, foods rarely contain pathogenic micro-organisms, but there are a host of other harmless bacterial species that promote tissue breakdown and grow steadily during storage. During decomposition, various compounds are formed, which are usually accompanied by odor and the quality of the products is reduced accordingly. In all cases, storage methods are therefore about controlling the growth of these micro-organisms. Research on these bacteria in fish has shown which bacterial species are most at work there, and with knowledge of their amount in the fish during production or storage, the quality of the products can be assessed and even their shelf life can be predicted.

In this project, a rapid test was developed to measure the level of harmful bacteria separately. This test can be used to predict shelf life, to assess the condition of raw materials and products or for internal quality control in fish processing plants. The bacterial species that are most commonly targeted are spears in this context Pseudomonas types and Photobacterium phosphoreum but their damaging activity in fish has been demonstrated under different storage conditions.

The knowledge and experience gained in the project has also made it possible to set up new methods for other bacterial species at a lower cost than before, and further activities in this field are planned.

Interested parties can get further information from the project manager, Eyjólfur Reynisson, eyjolfur.reynisson@matis.is, at Matís ohf.

Project report: 24-hour analysis of undesirable micro-organisms in food.

Matís' final report on the project "Isolation, purification and research on blood pressure-lowering peptides from fish proteins" has been published. 

Cardiovascular disease is common in Iceland and has been one of the most common causes of death, and high blood pressure is one of the main risk factors. Recent research suggests that the effects of protein on health are greater than providing the necessary energy and nutrients. Digestive proteins during digestion or other degradation produce smaller substances, peptides. In addition, amino acid sequences that were inactive within the protein chain become active when the peptides are "released". These peptides have many functions as physiological factors such as the effect on blood pressure, digestion, oxidative processes and more in the body and are called bioactive substances. It is therefore possible to use peptides in health foods and even medicines.

The aim of the project was to study the activity of fish peptides and to isolate, purify and define peptides that have an antihypertensive effect. The project set up facilities and knowledge acquired so far by Matis. This includes a method for measuring the activity of substances that inhibit Angiotensin Converting enzyme (ACE), which is important in the control of blood pressure as well as peptide isolation and purification equipment. In collaboration with the University of Iceland, HPLC and Maldi-Tof equipment were used to analyze which peptides were in the active components. Among other things, peptides that have not previously been defined as ACE inhibitors were found.

The results of the project show that Icelandic fish protein could be an important source of peptides with antihypertensive properties. With the knowledge and facilities that have been acquired in the project, there are much greater opportunities to develop valuable fish products and health foods.

The project was funded by AVS research fund in the fisheries sector.
For further information, please contact Margrét Geirsdóttir, food scientist at Matís, mg@matis.is