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Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, toasted himself with a soda drink and enjoyed mountain confectionery, which was offered at the beginning of the Matís conference, Food and the Future, today. The conference seeks to answer questions such as why vegetables are healthy, whether cod farming has a future in Iceland, why people do not want stressed farmed fish and whether people even know where their food comes from.

Vigor and entrepreneurship

Among other things, the Minister said in his speech at the conference that it was very
It is gratifying to have witnessed the vigor and joy of activity that has characterized Matís' operations from day one. "Not that it came as a surprise in any way. Less than that. It was known that a large number of people with superior knowledge in their field had gathered there, so of course there were high hopes for the result. Those expectations have not failed. "One project after another has also yielded interesting results that often attract attention," said the Minister.

A strong backbone of domestic food production

The Minister also stated that it was very important for Iceland to have a strong company in the field of food research, which would be able to meet the increased demands for safety and wholesomeness and at the same time be in a leading role in supporting and promoting innovation in food production in Iceland.

"It was our hope with the establishment of the company that it could become a strong hinterland of domestic food production and guarantee the access of our products to the world's most valuable food markets. Matís also works purposefully to build strong activities across the country while collaborating with national and foreign universities and research institutes. So a lot has happened in the ten months that Matís has been working, and it bodes well for the future."

Domestic vegetables are usually fresher and of higher quality than imported ones. The nutritional value is similar, but there are fewer pesticides in the domestic one, says Ólafur Reykdal, project manager at Matís, in an interview with 24 hours. "It's very short from pasture to stomach," says Ólafur

"It is very short from pasture to stomach. There are short distances from producer to consumer that offer domestic vegetables of higher quality and freshness than vegetables that are transported over long distances, "says Ólafur and points out that short distances have more advantages. "Shorter transport simply means less pollution. Domestic production therefore leads to less pollution and this is something that more people are starting to think about. "

Less about pesticides

Conditions for growing vegetables are different in Iceland than in many other countries. Ólafur points out that the climate here is cool and geothermal energy can be used, but it is difficult to counteract this
lighting conditions that need to be responded to with a lot of electric lighting.

"The cool climate also means that there are fewer insects and other things that need to be used as pesticides. Icelandic vegetables generally come out better than imported vegetables in terms of these pesticides, "says Ólafur in a conversation with 24 hours.

Food and the future, Matís' autumn conference, will take place at the Grand Hotel on November 15, 2007. The conference, which runs from 12:30 to 16:30, will seek to answer questions such as why vegetables are healthy, whether cod farming should be future for themselves in Iceland, why people do not want stressed farmed fish and whether people even know where their food comes from.

Thyme drinks and chocolate mountains

At the conference, it will also be possible to get to know food design, which is a growing part of the product design department of the Iceland Academy of the Arts. Guests have the opportunity to taste thyme drinks and enjoy the chocolate mountains. Tasting new farmed species They can also get acquainted with aquaculture species that are becoming increasingly popular abroad. These include tilapia and barramunda, for example. They will also have the opportunity to taste tilapia, which is becoming one of the most popular fish consumed in many parts of the world.

More about the program here.

The chairman of the meeting is Stefán Pálsson.

Matís has found a previously unknown thermal bacterium, which seems to be bound to Iceland. The species was found in a high proportion in hot springs in the Torfajökull area and has now been successfully cultivated.

Matís has found a previously unknown thermal bacterium, which seems to be bound to Iceland. The species was found in a high proportion in hot springs in the Torfajökull area and has now been successfully cultivated.

Various studies have been carried out on thermal bacteria by Prokaria, Matís' biotechnology department. Modern methods allow scientists to detect species composition without culturing the bacteria. A previously unknown Thermus species, which appears to be confined to Iceland, was found using such methods. The species was found in a high proportion in hot springs in the Torfajökull area, but had previously been found in hot springs in the Hengill area.

Subsequently, interest arose in trying to isolate and cultivate this special Icelandic Thermus brand. Grants were received from the Research Fund and the National Energy Authority, and samples were taken from hot springs in the Torfajökull area in late summer and it was confirmed that Thermus islandicus was found there. Cultivation experiments on different foods, at different temperatures, acidity and oxygen concentrations have now finally yielded results in a viable strain which is now being studied further. Snædís Huld Björnsdóttir, an employee of Matís, has worked on this project, while Sólveig Pétursdóttir is the project manager.

Various Thermus species have produced valuable DNA enzymes that are used in research around the world. These include the enzyme DNA polymerase, which is used to amplify DNA to obtain multiple copies of a particular gene or fragment and a DNA ligase from the Thermus virus that glues DNA fragments. It is therefore not unlikely that the new species contains interesting enzymes.

Many believe that electronic markings will replace traditional bar codes in the coming years. Matís has recently years participated in a development project that aims to label fish tanks electronically. Such markings will increase the possibility of exploiting traceability and, among other things, enable companies to send electronic information to buyers about where the product is caught, where it has been processed and which way it has gone to market.

Demands from producers and consumers for an increased flow of information and better labeling of food are constantly increasing. It can be said that the development of electronic labeling for fish tanks is part of that development. For example, it is believed that electronic labeling will even make it possible for the refrigerator of the future to receive information and disseminate it to consumers, whether it is information about the last day of sale of food, the content of allergens or what side dishes apply to Icelandic cod. . It is also hoped that the refrigerators of the future will be able to communicate wirelessly with food manufacturers' databases, which will, for example, be able to warn consumers in the event of foodborne infections that may be related to the food in the refrigerator.

Experimental production of the refrigerators of the future has already begun, for example at Innovation Lab in Denmark. The company says that the refrigerators will be on general sale in 5-10 years.

The development of electronic labeling for fish tanks, which is funded by the AVS fund, is carried out in collaboration with FISK Seafood, Sæplast and Maritech. The results of the project are expected in the coming weeks.

This week, Swedac and the Icelandic Patent Office carried out a quality audit of Matís' research methods, and such audits were carried out annually at IFL and the Environment Agency's Laboratory for many years.

The audit took place on 15.10. 2007 at Matís laboratory at Skúlagata 4 and on 18.10. In 2007, a similar audit was carried out at Matís' branch in Neskaupstaður. The Matís branch in Akureyri, on the other hand, carried out a quality audit in April this year.

According to Margrét Geirsdóttir, Matís 'quality manager, the audit went well and Matís' laboratory now has 27 accredited microbial methods and 7 chemical methods on its list. These are various microbiological studies on food, water, feed, environmental samples, medicinal products and substances, as well as specialized chemical measurements on food, water and environmental samples and measurements of pesticides in vegetables and fruit.

Accreditation is a recognition that a company has the best practices and has the technical ability to ensure that the measurements made there meet all international requirements in relation to the quality environment, work rules and strict quality control. The accreditation is based on the ISO 17025 standard on laboratory activities, but the provision on accreditation was introduced in an Icelandic regulation in 1994.

There are The Patent Office and Swedac, the Swedish Accreditation Agency, which grants the Matís accreditation. With an annual visit, the accreditation body examines whether the quality system and the measurement methods used in chemical and microbial research meet the obligations required for accreditation and described in the ISO 17025 standard.

In addition, the Matís laboratory is accredited by the New York State Department of Health for microbial measurements in bottled water.

List of Matís' accredited research methods (pdf file)

The picture shows three Swedac representatives along with some employees at Matís' Food Safety Department on Skúlagata.

Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands) has increased the number of employees at its office in Ísafjörður. Jón Atli Magnússon has started working at the establishment, but he will handle projects in the field of processing and aquaculture technology.

He is the third employee at Matís in Ísafjörður, preceded by Þorleifur Ágústsson and Jón. G. Schram.

Jón Atli will graduate as a mechanical engineer (B.Sc.) from the University of Iceland later this month. He has a variety of other education and work experience from the business world. He has a mechanical engineering license from VMA (3rd level) and worked for several years as an engineer at Hraðfrystihúsið-Gunnvör in Hnífsdalur, but recently. For two years, Jón worked as the development manager of 3X Technology (formerly 3X Stál). Last but not least, Jón founded 5 sheep sheep farms when he was 15 years old, which he ran during his studies.

Jón's wife is Ilmur Dögg Níelsdóttir, a nurse, and they have a son, Jóhann Ása.