Author: admin

Matís recently received an invitation to visit the premises of the European Union delegation and present Matís' projects that have received funding from the EU, with a special emphasis on the project BioProtect, which recently received funding from the Horizon Europe program.

The EU ambassador, Lucie Samcová-Hall Allen, and the staff of the delegation welcomed the group made up of Matís' project managers and department heads together with Julian Burgos, a marine ecologist at the Norwegian Marine Research Institute who is the scientific leader of the BioProtect project.

During the visit, there was an opportunity to discuss the diverse research and innovation projects that have been funded by the European Union and that Matís has worked on over the years. Lucie also told about the delegation's main projects and the development of their work in Iceland in recent years.

However, the main focus of the visit was the presentation of the research project BioProtect, which officially started yesterday, on May 1, 2024. Sophie Jensen, project manager at Matís leads the project and Julian Burgos is its scientific leader, and they presented their plans for the work of the next four years.

The project is about developing methodologies and technical solutions to facilitate decision-making about resource utilization or the protection of ocean areas. Emphasis is placed on good cooperation with economic partners, which are, for example, shipping companies and fisheries associations, local authorities and especially fishing communities, national and international governments, nature conservation organizations, researchers, policy makers and experts.

The biological diversity of the sea will be monitored so that it will be possible to account for its status and predict possible changes. There will also be extensive mapping of the use and impact of humans on individual sea areas and species in the sea. An action plan for the prioritization of conservation and restoration measures will also be prepared, as well as an assessment of the ecological, social and economic effects of these conservation measures in five ocean areas, ie by Iceland, Norway, Ireland, Portugal and the Azores.

We thank you very much for the wonderful welcome and hope for continued good relations with the EU delegation in Iceland.

You are invited to participate in a research project on local food systems carried out within the European project Cities2030. Cities2030 is funded by the European Union's Horizon2020 programme. It has 41 participants who share a similar vision of how to improve food systems. The survey is developed by the Cities2030 project and coordinated by Ca' Foscari University in Venice (more information can be found at: www.cities2030.eu).

Purpose

The survey aims to identify obstacles and weaknesses of local food systems using a city-region food system approach. As part of this research, we are collecting the opinions of people in many European countries and their experiences with local food systems. The data will be used by the Cities2030 project to develop future recommendations through in-depth research.

Participation

The survey is electronic and completely anonymous. Your participation in the survey is voluntary and should take about 10 minutes to complete. You can refuse to participate in the survey or withdraw from it at any time (without penalty). Answering each question is a requirement.

Click here to join.

Matís' annual report for 2023 is now available on the website.

Matís's research has always played a key role in the development of Icelandic food production and biotechnology, and it has formed an important bridge between science and industry that connects research and innovation to the needs of the industry.

Matís's research also serves to meet both opportunities and challenges, both in the present and in the future. Especially when considering increased sustainability, value creation and food security. If we want to continue producing food for our own consumption and participate in promoting food production internationally, we need to maintain the relationship between research and industry that Matís has built. These relationships are therefore not only important for current production, but they lay the foundation for how we will produce and consume food in the future.

The annual report can be accessed here.

Matís' fish farming team visited Stolt Sea Farm in April and we thank you for the warm welcome. The majority of Icelanders are probably not well informed about this cool company located at the far end of Reykjanes.

It is an international company, with headquarters in Spain, which produces sand isomer (turbot) and Senegal sole, but last year the company's production was about 6,900 tons of sand isomer and 1,700 tons of Senegal sole. Stolt is proud to have production in 16 locations worldwide, but here in Iceland only Senegal flour is produced and last year's production was around 250 tons. The flounder is a warm-water fish, and the company uses cooling water from HS Orku's power plant, which is located next to the fish farm, to keep the fish at an ideal temperature of around 23°C.

Stolt plans to increase production in the coming years. That increase will probably not take place in this country, but the company has been expanding its infrastructure in Spain and Portugal in recent seasons. As you can see in the graph below, the company has a goal of tripling its production in the next 10 years.

As for the production of Senegal flour, Stolt aims to increase its production from 1,700 tons to 4,700 tons by 2028, as can be seen in the picture below.

Solt Sea Farm is a progressive company that invested 10.7% of its income in Research and Development, which is a ratio that we at Matís appreciate. Matís wishes this cool company good luck in the coming years and expects that the cooperation between the companies will grow and prosper.

The Microbiology team in Reykjavík has been using MALDI-TOF technology (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry) for years to research and analyse a vast number of microbial strains.

Recently our Swedac accreditation has expanded to allow the accredited use of the MALDI-TOF biotyper to confirm Campylobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Clostridium perfringens. Previously, the laboratory had received a similar accreditation for Listeria monocytogenes species analyses. The MALDI-TOF technology allows the laboratory to greatly speed up the type identification of the previously mentioned microorganisms and is therefore a significant step forward in the speed of type identification of living bacteria. The aim is to expand the laboratory's accreditation to use this rapid technology for the identification of even more pathogenic bacteria.

Further information:

Basic Principles of Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

In the latest epidemiologist's newsletter states that the frequency of infections caused by Listeria is increasing rapidly in Europe. There are signs of the same trend in Iceland, where five cases were diagnosed in the first three months of the year. Listeria can cause serious infections in vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women, infants and the elderly. An important element in the fight against Listeria in food is the so-called whole genome sequencing of bacteria (WGS - whole genome sequencing). This method has been gaining ground over the past decade, and Matís was a pioneer in its implementation in this country. This method has been applied to Matís for the past 10 years, first for research purposes and later to trace the origin of infections caused by foodborne diseases.

Matís has carried out infection tracing in several serious cases of Listeria infections in collaboration with Landspítalann, MAST and Sóttvarnarlæð. Matís also runs a reference laboratory in pathogenicity E. coli and Salmonella, which can enter people through food and cause serious infections. Matís performed whole genome sequencing in connection with caused by group infection E. coli STEC in 2019.

Matís' laboratory for microbiological measurements is a so-called reference laboratory (NRL) in Listeria. The operation of reference laboratories includes advice and guidance on measurement methods, participation in the development and verification of measurement methods, sharing of knowledge and information from foreign reference laboratories to laboratories in Iceland, scientific and technical assistance to competent authorities and maintenance of accreditation.

Matís runs a powerful laboratory in microbiology where microbes can be analyzed in all types of food and environmental samples. Matís also offers advice to food manufacturers on how best to prevent microbial contamination during food processing.

What do curds, sourdough mothers, bokashi barrels and dry toilets have in common? What effect do environmental issues have on our intestines?

In order to answer these questions, we need to develop a new perspective across research fields and integrate different research methods. The microbial world that surrounds us, inside and out, both houses and nourishes us. Although mostly hidden from human eyes, it holds the key to humanity's future in a dynamic world.

On Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April 12, a conference will be held in the National Museum of Iceland, where microbes and culture will be discussed with a diverse interdisciplinary approach.

Lecturers come from different fields of knowledge, such as microbiology, food science, ethnology, anthropology, nutrition, sociology, health sciences, design and performing arts; but have in common to emphasize the importance of the coexistence of people and microorganisms for the environment, health, social relations and culture.

Among the speakers are Agnes Þóra Árnadóttir and Snorri Páll Ólason, doctoral students at Matís, who will talk about their projects. Agnes will talk about the effect of mothers' diet on the intestinal flora of their young children, and Snorri about the microbial flora in a shark's gut.

The conference is open to everyone and admission is free. You can attend individual seminars.

The program of the conference.

Last February, Margrét Geirsdóttir, project manager at Matís, received an exciting invitation from KIMST (Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion) and KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science) to discuss full utilization at a conference in Seoul, Korea.  

At the moment, better utilization of by-products in fish processing is on Koreans' minds, and there has been great interest in getting to know what has been done well elsewhere in the world. Margréti was invited to give a talk about various projects she has worked on at Matís that have turned to full utilization, especially on fish. Alexandra Leeper from Sjávarklasanum was also invited to the same trip and she told about what is happening in Iceland in this regard today and what has been done over the years to get to the place Iceland is at.   

The conference was entitled 2024 International Zero Waste Fisheries Forum and was attended by about 200 people, many from Korean industry, universities and research institutes came to learn and compare their books. 

During the trip, the Icelandic guests also got to visit an elegant fish market, but what caught their attention the most was that there it was possible to buy and enjoy their favorite skate, which was served with chili sauce and was considered the greatest delicacy.