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In a press release from Kerecis ehf. and Matís ohf. sl. On Friday, the companies announced the signing of a framework agreement for research into fish proteins for the treatment of various medical tissue problems in humans.

The research agreement between the companies is for one year but contains an extension clause. Matís is expected to carry out all of Kerecis' protein research at the company's new biotechnology center in Sauðárkrókur and at its research facility in Reykjavík. Matís has extensive experience and expertise related to the production of products from fish proteins and has first-class research and development facilities for such research.

The full press release can be found here.

The Board of the Technology Development Fund decided at its meeting, on Tuesday 25 November 2008, with whom to enter into agreements on support from the fund.

In short, Matís collaborates with 4 of the 18 individuals / companies with which the Technology Development Fund intends to enter into agreements.

They are:

Project title	Project manager at Matís	Partner company / institution
Long live the first model	Rannveig Björnsdóttir	Akvaplan-niva in Iceland
Simulation of cooling processes	Björn Margeirsson	Promens Tempra ehf.
Staining of char	Jón Árnason	Fóðurverksmiðjan Laxá hf.
Offensive new target	Róbert Hafsteinsson	3X Technology ehf.

A complete list of those with whom the Technology Development Fund decided to enter into an agreement can be found here.

Matís congratulates the above companies on the course.

Information on various versions of Matís, including reports, posters, scientific articles, etc. can be found here.

In recent months, interest in the eco-labeling of seafood has greatly increased, as the various environmental perspectives have become more and more important at all levels of the seafood value chain.

However, people do not always seem to realize what is behind these signals, that is, what their role is, how they work, whether they work, whether the signals available are comparable, and so on. Here we will try to shed light on these speculations and present the signs that affect us Icelanders the most.

A very interesting article has been published by Matís on eco-labeling in the fisheries sector. The article can be found here.

It is clear that parents have the most encouraging and formative influence on young people's fish consumption, and those who have become accustomed to eating fish as children continue to do so later in life. It turned out that education and knowledge clearly increased fish consumption among young people.

Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís graduated with an MS degree in food science from the University of Iceland in October 2008. Her main task was to gather information about young people's fish consumption and their attitudes towards fish and the project was carried out within the AVS project: Young people's attitudes and fish consumption: Improved image seafood.

The purpose was to find ways that could contribute to a better image of seafood among young people and increase their consumption of these products in accordance with nutritional recommendations and thus possibly affect themselves and the next generation

The main results of the project were that young people between the ages of 17 and 26 ate fish as a main course 1.3 times a week, which is under the Public Health Institute's recommendations that fish should be eaten twice a week or more. Parents have the most encouraging and formative influence on young people's fish consumption. Eating fish as a child greatly affects young people's attitudes towards fish consumption later on. It can also be seen from the results that the part of these people who left home ate the least fish.

Insecurity regarding the handling of fish such as cooking it is a discouraging factor in fish consumption. Interventions that included increased access to fish through school canteens, open educational lectures and web promotion resulted in better knowledge of the fish and fish oil consumption increased by almost half and more for girls than boys. Those who did not have fish before the intervention liked it better after the intervention.

With regard to this development in declining fish consumption, it is important to counteract it as soon as possible by increasing knowledge of the importance of fish consumption for health reasons as well as teaching young people how to cook fish. The family is a strong influence on fish consumption, so it is important that parents also take an active part in educating and introducing the fish to their children. If fish products are to be marketed for this age group or their fish consumption increased, it should be borne in mind that it is important for young people that the fish meal takes into account their requirements. The results showed that the young people have different tastes and opinions and can be divided into several different groups both according to their taste for fish dishes and attitudes to health and hygiene.

The study as a whole showed that fish consumption is below standards and knowledge of fish is not good. Efforts are needed to get young people to eat more fish and educate them about the importance of fish for health. The study also showed that education benefits young people and had a greater effect on those who were less for fish. Icelanders have lived in the fishing industry for centuries and knowledge of fishing and fish processing is among the best in the world. Knowledge of fish consumption and what determines fish consumption should be a key factor in the marketing of seafood.

If Icelanders' consumption of their main production is declining, it can damage the image of exported seafood from Iceland. Looking to the future, it is clear that concerted action, based on in-depth consumer research, targeted education on both health and cooking of seafood, as well as an increased supply of diverse fish dishes, can be important factors in reversing consumption trends in recent years and contributing to increased fish consumption. and improved public health of the nation. With this study, a large database has been established, which is a prerequisite for continuing to study the attitudes and fish consumption of Icelanders.

You can access Gunnþórunn's dissertation here: Attitudes and fish consumption of young people

Matís opened a biotechnology center in Sauðárkrókur recently. Tuesday, November 18th. Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, opened the workshop in the presence of a large crowd.

With the establishment of the biotechnology center, research facilities will be created with associated processing facilities where scientists and pioneers in biotechnology can develop their products and processing processes in collaboration with Matís. It should come as no surprise that Matís is opening this workshop in Skagafjörður, as Skagfjörður's food box is well known, where it grows and thrives under the auspices of a vibrant and diverse food industry. The biotechnology center is open to all Icelanders, and individuals and companies can have facilities there for a shorter period of time to produce products. The workshop will be a kind of hatchery for new start-up companies in biotechnology and very important in shortening the process from idea to market.

The photos show when Einar K. Guðfinnsson and Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís, formally open the biotechnology center together with Guðmundur Guðlaugsson, mayor of Skagafjörður, Arnljótur Bjarki Bergsson, project manager at Matís and Patricia Hamaguchi from Matís.

Trust the pillars - mobilize human resources

Last Friday, November 14, a mass meeting was held among companies and people in the high-tech and start-up sector at Hilton Reykjavík Nordica.

The meeting was called "Now" is the opportunity because now is the time to start the systematic development of high-tech and start-up companies through active cooperation and solidarity between the government, management and employees to strengthen the foundations of innovation and mobilize human resources. The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen offensive spirit and self-confidence.

At the meeting, the companies presented their operations, brought good news about the results of development and marketing work and presented offers that included, among other things, that they can add people, provided that certain working conditions and pillars for innovation are in place.

Matís' presentation can be found here and here Matís' offer can be found.

Representatives of several companies spoke in addition to Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Guðlaug Þór Þórðarson and Össur Skarphéðinsson. Valgeir Guðjónsson, musician, created music on site together with DJ Margeir and Björk Guðmundsdóttir, musician, gave an encouraging speech. The meeting was chaired by Þórólfur Árnason, CEO of Skýrr and Svafi Grönfeldt, Rector of RU.

The meeting was hosted by the Confederation of Icelandic Industries, the Association of Biotechnology Companies, the Association of Start-up Companies, the Association of Information Companies and Reykjavík University.

Agenda

16.00 Helgi Magnússon, Chairman of SI opens the meeting and the chairmen take over

16.10 Short contributions from representatives of companies and the government

Stiki - Svana Helen Björnsdóttir, Managing Director

Össur - Egill Jónsson, Managing Director of Production

Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister of Education

Skýrr- Sigrún Ámundadóttir, Director of Software Solutions

Klak - Eyþór Ívar Jónsson, Managing Director

Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister of Health

Valgeir Guðjónsson creates music with the participation of meeting guests       

Marel - Sigsteinn Grétarsson, CEO of Marel in Iceland

CCP - Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, Managing Director

Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister of Industry

Marorka - Jón Ágúst Þorsteinsson, CEO

Betware - Stefán Hrafnkelsson, Managing Director

Stjörnuoddi - Jóhanna Ástvaldsdóttir, CFO

SagaMedica - Perla Björk Egilsdóttir, specialist

Björk Guðmundsdóttir, musician

Song by Valgeir Guðjónsson and DJ Margeir performed 

17.00 Mannblendi

At a conference on business and innovation on the shores of Vatnajökull last weekend, the Cluster Harvest Festival was held at Smyrlabjörg on Friday night, hosted by the State of Vatnajökull and the East Skaftafellssýsla Tourism Association.

Recognitions were given on the one hand from the State of Vatnajökull and FASK, Vitinn - another guiding light, and on the other hand from the Icelandic Tourist Board.

The choice was made by the former Hotel Höfn, which has been a major pillar in the tourism industry in the area.
The lighthouse - another beacon is provided to companies or individuals who in one way or another have been a beacon to other parties in the industry.

The Icelandic Tourist Board also awarded recognition for Professional Development in Tourism and Research, the award was presented by Pétur Rafnsson on behalf of the Icelandic Tourist Board, but the award went to Nýheimar. Ari Þorsteinsson accepted the award on behalf of Nýheimar.

The award was given to all parties within Nýheimar who, on the one hand, through purposeful co-operation between themselves and on the other hand through strong and growing co-operation with companies in tourism, food and culture, as well as enthusiastic and energetic individuals and entrepreneurs, provided new strong foundations for tourism. in the State of Vatnajökull. This has further strengthened the strong tourism industry that has been built up in recent decades and is known nationally for its cohesion, courage and daring.

At the same time, systematic work has been done to build bridges to neighbors, both in the east and west as well as across the country. This applies equally to co-operation on a social level as well as on behalf of individual companies or individuals. With this, we have continued to develop the journey that the pioneers of previous years set out on a long time ago with Árni Stefánsson, hotel manager at Hótel Höfn, at the forefront.

Members of Nýheimar are: (listed in alphabetical order)
Búnaðarsamband Suðurlands
The upper secondary school in East Skaftafellssýsla
Bird Observatory in Southeast Iceland
University Center in Hornafjörður
Hornafjörður Cultural Center
Matís
The Iceland Innovation Center, formerly the East Iceland Entrepreneurship Center
State of Vatnajökull
East Iceland Knowledge Network
Naturally
In addition to these, many companies and projects have had facilities there for a longer or shorter period of time.

The use of an enzyme saves a lot of time in cleaning the liver before canning, but the enzyme dissolves the membrane on the surface of the liver and thereby releases the snakes that have prepared themselves under it. Until now, this grooming has had to be done by hand, which is very time consuming.

Matís has in collaboration with the canning factory Ice-w ehf. and Martak ehf. worked on the design and development of equipment in the processing process for enzyme treatment of liver for canning, as well as equipment for brine pickling. The aim of the project, supported by the ACP Fund, is to increase the profitability of the production of canned liver by reducing production costs and increasing the quality of products, as well as increasing the automation of production.

Enzyme treatment of the liver saves both time and manpower by cleansing the membrane and worms of the liver surface. However, it is never possible to avoid any trimming of the liver as a vein to the liver and bile-stained liver must be removed before enzyme treatment.

The design of the equipment has been completed and experiments have been made during the production process. Roughly speaking, the processing process is structured so that the liver goes to a dressing table for pre-trimming. The liver is then fed into a conveyor belt and then into a vessel with enzyme solution and the solution is circulated from a side vessel. The liver is then fed to a saline brine and from there to a dispenser that dispenses the liver into cans. Then take over the traditional canning.

The results of experiments have shown that it is possible to increase the capacity to a significant extent, in addition to which utilization increased by 20%. In 2007, about 900 tonnes of canned liver were produced in Iceland, or 9 million cans, and the value of these exports was almost ISK 320 million. This new enzyme processing method can increase this value by 20-30%.

Further information can be obtained from Ásbjörn Jónsson, project manager at Matís.

Opportunity for research and innovation was the title of the autumn conference of Rannís, which was held on 11 November at 9:00 at the Grand Hotel. The Minister of Education, Science and Culture convened the session.

The keynote speakers were Bernhard Pálsson, Kári Stefánsson, Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, Guðmundur Hálfdanarson, Edda Lilja Sveinsdóttir and Eggert Claessen.

Here can be seen the agenda of the session.

Lecture Sjafnar Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís.

Matís is developing a new gene set based on repeated cod microsatellites from cod.

The aim of the project was to develop a new gene set based on repeated DNA microsatellites from cod. 10 genetic marker kits were to be prepared for use in breeding cod farming and also 20 genetic marker kits for the analysis of the origin of wild cod.

In addition, these diagnostic kits are useful for genotyping for traceability and species and origin analysis of eggs and larvae in the sea and for market doubts. The results of this study were recently published in Molecular Ecology Resources and can be seen in the article here.