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The workshop will be held in the celebration hall of the University of Iceland 1-2. October

The Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland, in collaboration with Matís and the Marine Research Institute, is holding a workshop on the utilization of food and mesopelagic species in the Celebration Hall of the University of Iceland from 1-2. October. The workshop is intended to review the state of knowledge on redfish, halibut and Mediterranean fish for future use.

The main emphasis will be on the challenges that come with the possible utilization of redfish, halibut and Mediterranean fish and how to meet those challenges.

Representatives from the scientific community and industry will attend together with representatives of research funds and it will be presented how the funds can be involved in solving these challenges in collaboration with them.

Sales of products directly from the farm are growing. This is accompanied by an increase in tourists, a change in consumption patterns and the willingness of farmers to respond to increased consumer demands for local food. For this reason, it is proposed that rules be adapted so that farmers will be able to slaughter, process and sell products directly from consumers to their own livestock.

Enabling farmers to slaughter, process and sell directly to consumers will contribute to increased innovation in the country's rural areas and maintain important skills for Icelanders' food security. Therefore, Matís proposes to give up again and place opportunities for value creation in the hands of farmers.

Domestic slaughter is permitted on legal farms, as products from such slaughter are only intended for use on the farm itself. Any distribution or sale is prohibited. It is well known that these rules are circumvented. Taking into account arrangements in Germany and in other countries, rules should be adapted, e.g. home slaughter, where the distribution and sale of products takes place is possible. Such a slaughterhouse could be called abattoir.

We all want to eat safe and wholesome food without worry

and risk assessment is a prerequisite for this. In addition, it ensures risk assessment

manufacturers the flexibility needed to pursue sustainable innovation.

In micro-slaughterhouses, sheep farmers can use their potential for increased value creation and a viable operating environment, for the benefit of themselves and the nation as a whole. It is important to remember, however, that all such changes can not take place without implementation risk assessment, provided that food safety must always be maintained. 

Matís' proposal in its entirety regarding rules on micro-slaughterhouses (pdf file).

The Science and Technology Policy Council invites everyone to take part in shaping Iceland's science policy |  The Science and Technology Policy Council holds open consultations with Icelandic society on the definition of the most pressing societal challenges facing Iceland.

Everyone is invited to take part in the consultation by answering a few questions on the website www.samfelagslegaraskoranir.is.

The Science and Technology Policy Council also invites all interested parties to visit their booth Rannís Science Week 2018 which will be held in Laugardalshöllin on Friday 28 September 2018, at 16: 30-22: 00, complete the survey and talk to representatives of the local Science and Technology Policy Council. 

See more: www.visindavaka.is.

The last farmers' market in Hofsós will take place next. Sunday, September 30, but in total there have been four markets this summer. The market takes place in Pakkhúsið from 12-15.

About the Hofsós farmers' market

The aim is to make the area's primary production accessible to locals and at the same time to promote tourists' access to the cultural history and traditions of the area, of which food culture and crafts are an important part. The market focuses on traditional Skagafjörður products. The market is a venue where unpackaged trade in local products takes place, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly and sustainable methods, all in line with the UN's global goals for the sustainability of communities as well as the emphasis on Slow Food.

There will be a variety of delicacies offered directly from the farm; Lamb meat of newly slaughtered, beef, goat meat, smoked meat, minced meat, vegetables, summer flowers, cut roses, sigin fish, dried fish, shark, corn hen eggs, duck eggs, chicken eggs, honey, ointments, creams and more. 

In addition, visitors will get a taste of how the blockchain can ensure secure information from farmers to consumers. 

The project is a pilot project on behalf of Matís, in collaboration with farmers and producers in Skagafjörður and the National Museum of Iceland, but the Warehouse belongs to the National Museum's Museum.

Further information about Bændamarkaður Hofsós and opening hours is available on the market's Facebook page ( Hofsós Farmers' Market ) and on Matís' Facebook page ( MatisIceland ).

Welcome!

There is a need for careful work in the development of the economy. Although Icelanders have succeeded in making great value from the renewable resources of the sea, some of them better than others, this is no guarantee for Icelanders to excel in this field permanently. There were clear signs of this last year. It is therefore important to increase progress with research and development in connection with the fisheries sector rather than pulling ashore.

Icelanders caught more from the sea in 2017, despite a long strike by fishermen, than they did in 2016. In 2017, the volume of exported seafood amounted to 52% of the total landed catch, the year before the corresponding proportion was 54%. 2016 was probably the best year for the Icelandic fisheries sector in terms of value creation in exports for each kg landed. In 2016, 1.3 XDR export value was obtained for each kg landed. In 2017, seafood exports returned 1.13 XDR per kg of landed catch, a decrease of 13%. A similar development could be seen in 17% reduction catch value in Icelandic krónur between 2016 and 2017. We caught about a quarter more pelagic species in 2017 than in 2016, but the catch value of pelagic species was lower in Icelandic krónur in 2017 than 2016. Cod catch was 5% lower in 2017 than 2016, cod catch value decreased by 16% between years.

Export value, utilization and total catch

Last fall was pointed out the fact that since 2010, volatility has been more characteristic of value creation in the fisheries sector in Iceland than an increase that could be seen in a more decisive way since its establishment. AVS Fisheries Research Fund, 2003, and Technology Development Fund Science and Technology Policy Council, 2004, until 2010 as can be seen in the picture above. The support of these key funds for innovation projects has contributed to the development of the value chain of Icelandic seafood, and new methods and solutions based on knowledge have been introduced into the day-to-day operations of fisheries companies. Market conditions and catch composition also have a major impact on value formation in fishing and processing of seafood.

Companies that fish, process, transport and sell fish products as well as companies that service the above companies, among other things through equipment development, have in collaboration with Matís worked with the support of the AVS Fund, the Fisheries Project Fund and / or the Technology Development Fund on projects that have contributed to added value.

FAO Fish Price Index and export value kg in catch in XDR

Compared with the Food Price Index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (e. FAO Fish Price Index) there are indications of a difference between the development of value creation in the Icelandic fisheries sector and the development of fish prices according to Art. FAO and for further clarification, a line is also drawn below which shows the development of the export value of the Faroese fisheries based on landed catch.

Landings and export value in XDR per kg of landings

If we look at the volume of catch and the export value in SDR (XDR), it is clear that large catch is not a check for high value for each kg landed. It can also be seen that since the aim is to increase the value of seafood by utilizing research and development with the establishment of the AVS Fisheries Research Fund in 2003 and the Technology Development Fund in 2004, rather than striving to increase the amount of seafood, more export value per kg which is extracted from the sea.

In 2011, the highest budget allocation was granted by the ACP budget. In the same year, cuts began in funding for food research at constant prices from the state budget. In the current year's budget, AVS's budget is less than 44% of the highest, in 2011. The budget proposal for next year (2019) proposes 12% cuts in food research funding (basis of the Ministry of Industry and Innovation's service agreement with Matís), a 9% reduction in contributions from the Treasury to AVS, a fisheries research fund and a 55% reduction in the total expenses of the Fisheries Project Fund. Í news on the Fiskifréttir website said about the reduction in the income of the Fisheries Project Fund that the Marine Research Institute planned a 340 million ISK reduction in its revenue estimate. The budget proposal provides for a 323 million ISK reduction in the expenses of the Fisheries Project Fund. In the submitted budget proposal, cuts in funding for food research (Matís) 12% are announced. Matís' income from AVS grants for research projects has amounted to about 27% from contributions to food research. Matís' income from grants from the Fisheries Project Fund has amounted to 12% from its contribution to food research.
It is therefore not guaranteed that we can expect a similar number of innovations in connection with the Icelandic fishing industry in the near future, which will no doubt affect the promotion of the Icelandic Ocean Cluster.

Utilization of cod 2017

In 2017, Icelanders used about 72% of cod catch for the production of products that were exported or consumed here at home, according to Statistics. Icelanders' utilization of cod in 2017 was in line with utilization in 2013, but somewhat lower than in the year 2015 when the comparable ratio was about 77%.

Catch and value of cod 1981 and 2017

For fun, a picture can be shown that showed what value Icelanders created by fishing and processing cod in 1981 and then again last year. In 2017, the Icelandic cod catch generated an export value of around 565 million in XDR, significantly more value than in 1981, although the cod catch in 2017 was about 55% of the cod catch in 1981. Each kg caught in 1981 returned about 0.54 XDR in export value than in 2017. returned each earned kg, based on statistics 2.23 XDR in export values. It is hoped that Icelanders will be able to create even more value from fisheries that thrive in the waters around the country in the future.

In this context, it may be mentioned that tomorrow, Wednesday 26 September 2018, the Fisheries Day will take place in Harpa, between 08:00 and 10:00, in collaboration with Deloitte, the Association of Fisheries Companies and the Confederation of Icelandic Employers.

Praiseworthy bacterial cells that fall from the atmosphere participate as the first settlers in communities that form on the earth's surface. Environments that contain low bacterial densities, such as the volcanic areas in Iceland, are mainly exposed to airborne bacteria. Atmosphere is the main route of distribution of bacteria but about 1016 bacteria enter the atmosphere from the earth's surface every second. 

The success of the distribution depends on: (i) the ability of bacteria to survive and multiply in transport in the atmosphere, and (ii) their ability to compete with existing bacterial communities for inputs.

The diversity of microorganisms in the atmosphere over Iceland has not yet been studied. In addition, it is not known whether the physiological and metabolic status of bacteria in distribution affects their ability to study land in a new environment.

The goals of research that is currently underway at Matís, and is funded by Rannís, is firstly to define the diversity and origins of microbial communities in the atmosphere and to study the relationship of diversity with volcanic areas. Second, the physiological and metabolic status of airborne bacteria will be examined, affecting their ability to land in specific volcanic areas.

The results of the research will contribute to a better understanding of the laws that affect the pattern of microbial distribution and increase our understanding of their distribution on Earth.

Matís is currently working on a project funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund. The project is called Súrþang and refers to the possibilities that exist in the treatment of seaweed with lactic acid bacteria and other fermentation microorganisms.

The aim of the project is to develop and standardize the action method of seaweed based on the treatment of lactic acid bacteria and other fermentation microorganisms. The lactic acid bacteria break down polysaccharides in the seaweed, making it more digestible and usable as a feed supplement rich in oligosaccharides and polyphenols with a variety of bioactivity and prebiotic properties.

Different seaweed has now been acidified with different bacteria under different conditions. The seaweed has also been analyzed for chemical and microbial content. All this has been done so far on a small scale and the results have been interesting. Next on the agenda is to look at more types of seaweed and perform experiments on a larger scale.

Finally, it should be noted that products from this project will be taken on in another project within EIT Food. 

Örsláturhús is discussed in Bændablaðið today in an interview with Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, division manager at Matís. The idea of a slaughterhouse has come up more and more often in recent times, but it is a new possibility for farmers to serve their customers directly with home-slaughtered products.

 In the interview, Hrönn points out that domestic slaughter is allowed by law, when a farmer slaughters at home on a farm and for his own use. On the other hand, the sale and distribution of home-slaughtered products is prohibited, ie. sales and distribution of products outside the farm. Hrönn points out that sales of home-slaughtered products are quite common behind the scenes and it is really a small matter to get home-slaughtered meat.

"The reason for banning the sale of home-slaughtered products is that the animals are slaughtered […] without any supervision and in a facility that in most cases is not approved for food production," says Hrönn. "After that, one can ask oneself whether the products are not as much of a threat to the locals on the farm where the slaughter took place and to others, should something happen." 

Hrönn points out that the situation of sheep farmers today is difficult and that it does not look like it will change much in the near future. "At Matís, we believe that innovation is the key to the development of agriculture, recruitment in the industry and the strengthening of settlements. Our idea at Matís is that farmers will be enabled to innovate at home and that instead of having to buy the services involved in killing the animals, we suggest that it be made possible by regulation to set up a kind of slaughterhouse. This would enable farmers to slaughter at home, process products from the raw material and sell them directly from the farm. "The interview is published in Bændablaðið today.

Work on the project "Marine processing of cod liver oil" was recently completed. The project was funded by AVS and carried out by Matís under the guidance of Marvin Inga Einarsson. The aim of the project was to investigate the economics of processing liver into high-quality cod liver oil directly after processing on board and to compare the benefits of such processing with the landing of whole liver.

The results of the project indicated that it is not profitable to work only cod climbing on board trawlers, but it is more profitable to land it fresh. However, profits can be significantly increased by processing all cod, saithe and haddock livers together, and profits can be even higher if all the salmon is processed, including the liver.

It turned out to be more profitable to process fish oil on board freezer trawlers compared to icefish trawlers, considering that icefish trawlers will generate income if they start producing fish oil on board. It is income from the liver that would otherwise be landed. This does not apply to freezer trawlers, but they generally do not use liver.

Marvin says the results show that the production of slag oil on board freezer trawlers can be a cost-effective option, especially when looking at older trawlers that do not have room for flour processing. The equipment in question covers about 9 square meters and storage tanks under a light of approx. 15 cubic meters.