Author: admin

Icelandic agriculture is at a crossroads. The position is to some extent such that it is to recoil or jump. The opportunities are there with technological innovations, climate change, increased number of tourists and more. but the dangers are also around the corner. 

A big party will now be held for all those who want to take part in Icelandic agriculture in the future in some way. Come, take part in Landsýn 2018 in Salurinn in Kópavogur, on Friday 23 February. There are really interesting lectures, good food and fun people to chat with, as can be seen in the program.

Agriculture is dying!
Join us at LANDSÝN 2018

Registration

The title of Nordic Sensory Workshop 2018, which will be held in Reykjavík on 3 and 4 May, this time is "Making Sense", where our senses and their interaction in connection with product development and food production will be discussed.

The emphasis will be on scientific results and their usefulness. Examples of where, when, how and why we should use sensory evaluation in product development, production and marketing will be examined. Professionals and scientists who work with sensory assessment, quality issues and consumer issues in the field of food get the opportunity to meet and compare their books.

More information can be found on the event's website, which can be accessed via the "More" link below.

More about "Making sense"

A very interesting conference is currently taking place in Brussels. Its English name is Making Marine and Maritime Research Count and it refers, among other things, to the fact that we need to transfer the results of our research at sea to different disciplines and stakeholders in order for the research to have a real impact. Matís' CEO, Sveinn Margeirsson, was invited to sit on the conference panel of the conference, and Matís is thus honored.

Information about this interesting conference can be found on the website COLUMBUS project.

Hằng Nguyễn Thị will give a lecture at Matís, room 312, Vínlandsleið 12, on Friday 26 January at 11 am. Its project is called: The effect of packaging methods and storage temperature on the quality of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) fillets in cold stores.

The English name is: "Effects of packaging methods and storage temperature on the quality of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) fillets during frozen storage"

The aim of this project was to study the quality and stability of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) fillets that were packaged in different ways and then stored in different conditions. On the one hand, the fillets were stored in open plastic bags, on the other hand in evacuated plastic bags. The fillets were then stored in a cold store for up to 5 months at -18 ° C and -25 ° C, respectively. Every month throughout the storage period, measurements were made of boiling efficiency, water content, nitrogen concentration in the total volatile nitrogenous base (TVB-N), phospholipids (PL), free fatty acid (FFA) formation and oxidation (PV and TBARS) to assess the effect of storage. on the quality of the cobia fillets.

The amount of phospholipids decreased significantly and the concentration of FFA increased during the storage period, which shows that enzyme activity was considerable in all experimental groups. There were significant changes in PV and TBARS values during storage. The choice of storage temperature and the length of storage had a significant effect on lipid degradation. The lipids were more stable at the lower storage temperature (-25 °). Furthermore, the results showed that the packing of cobia fillets in vacuum-packed packaging significantly reduced the oxidation or development of fillets compared to the air-packed fillets. Interestingly, cobia fillets in vacuum-packed containers stored at -18 ° C had a somewhat better quality compared to fillets in conventional packages stored at a lower temperature of -25 ° C.

Project for a master's degree in food science worked at Matís.

Supervisors: Sigurjón Arason (HÍ / Matís), María Guðjónsdóttir (HÍ), Magnea Karlsdóttir (Matís), Tumi Tómasson (UNU-FTP). Nha Trang University (NTU) in Vietnam.

Examiner: Kristín Anna Þórarinsdóttir (Marel).

Contact

Sigurjón Arason

Chief Engineer

sigurjon.arason@matis.is

The main result of an experiment carried out this summer in collaboration between Matís, the University of Iceland, Eurofins and Tempru is that it is not necessary to pack fresh fish fillets in plastic bags before packing in foam boxes, which are stored and transported in refrigerated and supercooled conditions. You can learn more about this in Matís report no. 07-17, saved on Matís website.

The aim of the experiment was to investigate the possible flow of styrene from foam plastic boxes to fresh cod and redfish fillets, which are stored at typical temperatures during sea transport of fresh fillets from Iceland to Europe or America. US buyers want fish fillets to be packed in plastic bags before packing in a foam box due to possible styrene contamination from foam to fish. Therefore, in this project, styrene was measured in fish, which had been stored without plastic bags in foam boxes, and the amount of styrene was compared with the standards of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A total of 12 foam boxes containing cod or redfish fillets were stored for 4, 7 or 13 days at either -1 ° C or 2 ° C, which corresponds to the optimal and highest probable temperature in fresh fillet shipping. One 10-50 g sample was taken from the lower part of the bottom fish fillet in each box and had thus been in direct contact with foam plastic and therefore placed in a glass bottle. Subsequently, the 12 samples were sent for analysis to Eurofins, an international laboratory in Germany. The results show that the amount of styrene, as well as other undesirable substances such as benzene and toluene, was below 0.01 mg / kg fish in all twelve fish samples. The FDA guideline (maximum) is 90 mg of styrene per kg of fish per person per day, which is equivalent to The result of this experiment is that the consumer has to consume 9000 kg of fish daily to meet the FDA standard, which is a very unrealistic amount.

The main conclusion of this experiment is that it is not necessary to pack fresh fish fillets in plastic bags for packing in foam boxes, which are stored and transported in refrigerated and supercooled conditions. Further information is provided by dr. Björn Margeirsson, research director of Sæplast and Tempra and lecturer at the University of Iceland (bjornm@hi.is) and Sigurjón Arason, Matís' chief engineer and professor at the University of Iceland (sigurjar@hi.is).

It's out Matís report summarizing the results of monitoring unwanted substances in edible parts of seafood in 2017. The monitoring began in 2003 with the help of the then Ministry of Fisheries, the current Ministry of Industry and Innovation, and Matís was responsible for collecting data and publishing reports on this systematic 2003 monitoring. 2012.

The first measurements from 2013 - but only cover the edible part, not the feed part

In recent years, there has been a lack of funds to continue work on this monitoring project, and therefore this important data collection was suspended as well as the publication of results in the period 2013-2016. The project started again in March 2017, but due to a lack of funds, it now only covers the monitoring of undesirable substances in edible parts of seafood from the resource intended for human consumption, and not fishmeal and fish oil for feed. For the same reason, no chemical analyzes were performed on PAH, PBDE and PFC substances this time.

The aim of the project is to demonstrate the position of Icelandic seafood in terms of safety and health and to use the data in the risk assessment of food to ensure the interests of consumers and public health. The project builds a knowledge base on the amount of undesirable substances in economically important species and marine products, it is defined as a long-term project where monitoring and review is constantly necessary.

In general, the results obtained in 2017 were in line with previous results from 2003 to 2012. The results showed that Icelandic seafood contains an insignificant amount of persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins, PCBs and pesticides.

Icelandic seafood is far below the EU maximum values

EU maximum levels for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) in food and feed were lowered on 1 January 2012 (EU Regulation No. 1259/2011) and maximum levels were set for "non-dioxin-like" PCBs (NDL-PCBs) for the first time ). The new maximum values are used in this report to assess how Icelandic seafood meets EU requirements. The results for 2017 show that despite the change in maximum levels for dioxins, DL-PCBs and NDL-PCBs, all samples of marine products for human consumption are below the EU maximum levels for persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. The concentration of so-called ICES6-PCBs was found to be low in the edible part of fish, compared to the new maximum EU values. The results also showed that the concentration of heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in Icelandic seafood was always below the EU maximum values.

On the importance of monitoring

High-quality and well-defined scientific data on undesirable substances in Icelandic seafood is a key factor in demonstrating the status of Icelandic seafood, e.g. safety and health. The export of Icelandic food depends on being able to demonstrate their safety, taking into account laws, regulations and market requirements. Scientific data from independent researchers is also important in market presentations of seafood for potential buyers and strengthens all marketing work for Icelandic seafood. The data are also used for risk assessment of food and to influence the setting of maximum levels for contaminants in food.

Additional material: Guðmundur Fertram Sigurjónsson on how Kerecis' marketing authorization in the United States is subject to regular Hafró and Matís measurements around the country. Morgunblaðið 18 January, p. 98 (subscription to Morgunblaðið is required to read this article).

At the beginning of each year since 2011, Matís has delighted its customers, partners and other stakeholders by sending out, at 09:30, 2 January, an annual report on the company's operations in the past year in electronic form.

This year, Matís sent out several accounts of the company's operations in 2017 including a summary of how the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, ie. The global goals are related to Matís' operations. 

World Goals 17 (e. Sustainable Development Goals; SDG 17) are ambitious, but ambition is exactly one of the four values of Matís. Each Global Goal also has a number of sub-goals that better explain the milestone towards 2030. In total, the milestones are 169. The Global Goals do not differentiate between developing and developed countries, unlike the Millennium Development Goals from 2000 to 2015, as the fate of the entire world is under. 

Matís is not just Ma… something. Food research is a key factor in the development and value creation of the food industry; Matís' operations are therefore complex and extensive. In short, the world's goals are all around Matís' policy and operations.