Category: News

The Spring in the Air 2014 project is an initiative of Matís ohf in collaboration with the municipalities of Vesturbyggð and Tálknafjarðarhreppur. The project is intended to encourage interested residents in the municipalities to implement their ideas in the field of food production and biotechnology.

The project will run for one year and is expected to deliver at least three fully developed ideas by the end of the project.

The purpose of the Spring in the Air 2014 project is to increase the possibility of increased processing of raw materials and thus increase the value added of the raw materials available in the southern Westfjords. There is great potential in the valuable raw materials that are created in the area, both at sea and on land. There are many opportunities to process the raw material into a valuable product or to develop new products from what is obtained during the processing of the raw material. There is a great deal of knowledge and experience regarding fishing and processing of catfish, but in addition, aquaculture is a powerful and growing profession in the southern Westfjords. In Arnarfjörður, lime algae is processed by the Icelandic Lime Algae Association in Bíldudalur, where most of the products are exported abroad, but some are processed in Iceland for human consumption. Agriculture has been hit hard in the area, but both sheep farming and milk production are driven by beauty on at least a few lands in the county. Therefore, there are many possibilities for improved utilization and processing of products from the area and it is possible to significantly improve the profitability of operations with increased value creation at home. Companies and municipalities in Barðastrandarsýsla are very aware of environmentally friendly and good treatment of nature and the ecosystem and many of the companies have organic certification or other types of recognized environmental certifications in their production which significantly strengthens their position in competition. Such certification is to the advantage of the region as a whole in the marketing of products and services, as the public's environmental awareness is constantly increasing.

The aim of the Spring in the Air 2014 project is to support ideas that entrepreneurs in the area have and help them implement the ideas. Such assistance with ideas lays a strong foundation for start-up projects that can then grow and prosper in the hands of local people and thus contribute to strengthening the economy and society as a whole in the southern Westfjords. The ideas that will be supported by Matís will have in common that it will be possible to see tangible results during the project period and at least three fully formed ideas, products or business plans will be created during the twelve months that the initiative will run. It is expected that the results of the Spring in the Air 2014 project will be formally announced in the autumn of 2014 and the products of those who have participated in the development will be presented on that occasion.

The project has already been presented at open meetings held in four places, Patreksfjörður, Tálknafjörður, Bíldudalur and Barðaströnd, in mid-December and the reception from the locals was excellent. A further elaboration of the ideas that have emerged and a decision on the projects that will be part of the Spring in the Air 2014 initiative will be made. Those who have shown interest in participating will define their ideas better in the coming weeks in collaboration with Matís staff and prepare a work plan. . Work on product development and implementation of each idea is expected to begin in early February, when agreements have been made with partners and participants.

The project Spring in the Air 2014 is funded by the Research and Innovation Fund of Vestur-Barðastrandarsýsla and Matís, in addition to which the projects of entrepreneurs will be carried out in collaboration with the municipalities of Vesturbyggð and Tálknafjarðarhreppur as far as possible.

Further information about the project Spring in the Air 2014 is provided by Lilja Magnúsdóttir, an employee of Matís in Patreksfjörður (858-5085, liljam@matis.is).

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, and Vilhjálmur Egilsson, Rector of Bifröst University, signed an agreement today to the effect that Matís will teach and develop courses in food management, a new course that will be offered at Bifröst University from next autumn.

Courses that Matís will supervise are directly related to the content, treatment and production of food and cover about a quarter of studies in business administration. Under the supervision of the program, Matís organizes and handles teaching in many of the courses that are directly related to food management. The courses are, for example, in nutrition, food microbiology, food processing, food legislation and quality issues.

Bifröst University intends to meet the demands of the business community throughout the country, which is increasingly interested in increasing innovation and development in the field of food production and operations by offering studies in food management from the autumn of 2014. Emphasis is placed on the entire value chain from primary production to sale to the final consumer. The study is 180 ECTS and ends with a BS degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on food management and it will be possible to pursue it in distance learning and on-site study or a combination of the two.  

Matís is the largest research institute in the country that conducts research and innovation in the field of food and biotechnology for the benefit of the economy, public health and food and food security. Matís plays an extensive role in services in the field of research, education and innovation. Emphasis has been placed on meeting the needs of food producers and entrepreneurs, in collaboration with the education system, including in the form of practical projects with student participation and teaching of certain courses in food science and industrial engineering at the University of Iceland, University of Akureyri, Agricultural University of Iceland and United Nations Fisheries University. Matís can thus offer teachers, connections to the business community and facilities for theoretical and practical teaching. Bifröst University is now joining Matís' group of partners.

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, and Vilhjálmur Egilsson, Rector of Bifröst University, signed an agreement today to the effect that Matís will teach and develop courses in food management, a new course that will be offered at Bifröst University from next autumn. In the picture is also Guðjón Þorkelsson, stage manager at Matís.

Further information is provided by Guðjón Þorkelsson.

A good reputation involves great value and opportunities for further value creation. In order to be able to further increase value creation in the value chain of Icelandic food, it is essential that the safety of production can be demonstrated, taking into account laws, regulations and market requirements. 

Following various incidents (food scandals / outbreaks) recently. This year, the importance of food safety in food marketing has increased even more and is today a key factor in securing export earnings. There are various examples of negative media coverage and the internet having in a short time destroyed the positive image of food production that has taken decades to build. Short response times are key to food security threats.

In order to be able to defend Icelandic business interests in this context, it is necessary that the country has the necessary expertise and facilities for research in this country. It is also crucial that there is accessible data on the status of Icelandic food with regard to safety, health and traceability. Without this, there is a significant chance that measures will be ineffective, export interests will be harmed and the public and our customers abroad will lose confidence that the government and companies will be able to ensure the safety of Icelandic food production.

But what does this mean for us Icelanders? For example, for our largest export industry; the Icelandic fishing industry? Aren't things fine with us? Fortunately, problems that can be directly linked to the Icelandic fishing industry have been rare in recent years. If you look at the story, however, there are many examples. Emphasis on quality management, catch cooling and good research and monitoring work, which has, for example, shown that the amount of heavy metals in seafood off the coast of Iceland is negligible in most cases is one of the factors that has built up a good reputation of Icelandic seafood. But if we look to the future - and indeed to the present - it is clear that we need to be vigilant about reputational risk.

In recent years, drainage issues have been somewhat discussed in the media, and one such issue received extensive coverage in the recent New Year's acquisition of state television. Today, a small part of the sewage is treated, but some effort has been made to provide sewage further from land, so that coastal areas are free of sewage pollution. It is fairly certain that the environment around the sewage outlet is more or less polluted by faecal bacteria and not least Noroviruses, which are considered to be a very common cause of intestinal infections and among other things are responsible for about 20 million infections each year in the United States alone.

Most health control areas in the country have regular monitoring of pollution due to sewage pollution in the sea, where samples are taken regularly about 10-100m from land and measured for the faecal bacteria E.coli and Enterococcus. The results of these measurements do not indicate that these microorganisms are a problem off the coast of Iceland, as is the case in various important areas for aquaculture, such as the Mekong River in Vietnam.

On the other hand, no results are available for noroviruses in sewage or fishing grounds. Recent studies on shellfish in Europe have shown dangerous contamination by norovirus, despite the fact that monitoring by competent authorities has not shown contamination by faecal bacteria. Due to the prevalence of norovirus infections and the resistance of noroviruses to harsh environments, this should not really come as a surprise. As a result, it can probably be expected that a more detailed limit will be set for the classification of shellfish fishing areas, as both E.coli and norovirus pollution will be taken into account.

Despite this, noroviruses have in fact been a relatively limited risk for most Icelandic seafood products - so far. When the utilization of slog is increasing, as has been the case lately. years - we need to pay special attention to the risks posed by noroviruses. This is especially true in cases where heat treatment of the slag is limited, as will always be the case if one intends to develop products with bioactivity, for example in use in cosmetic and or medical products. In my opinion, it is very important here that people work especially hard and use the best knowledge for development and production.  

There would be a great risk that the reputation of Icelandic seafood would suffer a serious blow if a group infection caused by norovirus were traced to Icelandic seafood products. This could be a bigger crisis than we have known before.

Global crises have changed - and will continue to change - the world's food security environment. The bean sprout case cost 53 lives and over 3900 became infected in connection with the consumption of… ..yes on what? At first it was thought that Spanish vegetable producers had the main responsibility, but in the end the case was traced to bean sprouts that entered the European market from Egypt. One of those who stood to say the least in the line of fire in the bean sprout case was a professor, dr. dr. Andreas Henzel, President of BfR, one of the world's most respected organizations in the field of food risk assessment. Sami Andreas Henzel is now leading a large group of German experts who will assist Matís and MAST in the Safe Food project, which will include the installation and accreditation of new equipment that will enable us to measure algae toxins in shellfish and fulfill those obligations. which Iceland has acceded to under the EEA Agreement.

The most well-known crisis in food production last year is probably the "Big Horse Meat Issue", which shook the European food market to say the least this winter. Magnús Bjarnason at Icelandic Group mentioned the horsemeat issue in a special speech at the last LÍÚ general meeting. autumn, no wonder. The issue has really changed Europe's food markets. As most people know, the issue of horsemeat was basically that unscrupulous food producers had replaced beef with a much cheaper raw material - horsemeat - and thus actually engaged in product fraud. Apparently, consumer anger was high - which was partly reflected in the fact that they turned from beef - or horse consumption - to seafood. Death has always been another's bread.

Genetics and the use of genetic methods to identify the differences between beef and horsemeat proved to be the key to the emergence of fraud, but fraud in the beef value chain was undeniably aimed at targeting other value chains in food production. This was followed by various discoveries, such as rats instead of lamb in China - and one fish species instead of another in many parts of the world.

And then we're really into counterfeiting - they are not necessarily dangerous to human health - like the noroviruses, but counterfeiting carries a great deal of reputational risk, not least now in the age of rapid media coverage and the dissemination of information on the internet. It is also important to keep in mind the changes that food markets are currently undergoing, both in terms of market areas and production, where emerging market countries play a key role.

There is nothing new about people not being completely honest when it comes to identifying fish species. But after the horsemeat scandal, the risks involved need to be made clear. Matís proved to be a difficult task to finance the purchase of equipment that enables us to fulfill Iceland's obligations under the EEA Agreement, and this did not succeed until the current Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture took up the matter, as he was well aware of the Icelandic food industry's export interests. On the other hand, various food producers are better equipped than public limited companies in Iceland. Mike Mitchell, of Youngs Seafood, told the World Seafood Congress this fall that the company had used genetic engineering to analyze whether suppliers were selling them other fish species than they were giving up. My mind tells me that Youngs is not the only one who has done that.

Such investments by food producers are not a coincidence. In this context, Tilapiu has often been cited as an example of cheap whitefish that can in fact take on almost any role when it comes to the production of seafood. Tilapíun has thus been compared to Meryl Streep, who is undeniably a very versatile actress who can handle various roles. The big difference, however, is that when Meryl Streep plays in a movie, she appears on the list of actors. This has not always been the case with Tilapiu, or other cheaper fish species that have found their way under recipes under "pseudonyms".  

Such "pseudonyms" are dishonest practices and counterfeits towards buyers. Counterfeits that create an unequal competitive environment for honest producers and promote consumer disbelief. I would therefore like to repeat my words that it is very important that the Icelandic fisheries sector is able to show buyers that production here is in accordance with laws, regulations and market requirements. In this way, we will build a foundation for further value creation in the fisheries knowledge industry.

Recently, the most beautiful Icelandic word was chosen. I do not intend to elaborate on the results of the election here, but I would like to quote the words of Friðleif Friðleifsson at Iceland Seafood, who said at the last LÍÚ general meeting. autumn something to the effect that the word DELIVERY SECURITY was one of the most beautiful words in the Icelandic language in his opinion. I agree with Friðleifur in many ways, but I would like to point out another good Icelandic word that is very important for value creation in the Icelandic fisheries sector. It's become PROBLEMS.

In Hávamál Snorri Edda says that celebrities never die, if people have a good word for themselves. Hopefully that is right, because Icelandic foods have a good reputation and reputation to protect. However, we need to keep in mind that the internet, along with various other things, has changed the dissemination of information in a dramatic way lately. years, i.e. it is not certain that Snorri is quite right, although many good tips can certainly be found in Hávamál.

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís.

Voices that consumers have accurate information about food are becoming more and more intense. Whether it is information on content, traceability or nutritional value, there are a large number of people, especially in Western societies, who consider themselves useful for such information.

But what is the value of the various information on food?

Technology is advancing in terms of data storage. The companies GS1 and Matís have collaborated on, among other things, food traceability, but within GS1 there is extensive knowledge, for example, of the possible uses of bar labels. Many people want to say that the bar codes can be used much better than they are today, and GS1 is working on just that. For example, in the near future it may be possible to scan barcodes to obtain information not only about the name or price of a product but also about the origin of the product, the process the product has gone through in production and transport, facilities and the minimum wage of production workers. of the product, how much the production and transport of the product polluted (eg carbon footprint), ingredients, allergens and intolerances or nutritional value?

If we specifically mention the origin and traceability of food, many Icelandic consumers have found it important to know where the food comes from or the raw materials used to produce it. Many also consider it important to be able to trace back all the steps of manufacturing, transporting and marketing a product, and some say that it is not possible to make an informed decision about purchasing a product until information on origin as well as traceability is available. The demand for this is becoming more and more intense, not least because of the consumer's demand that food is in every way safe for consumption and does not harm us.

The opportunities are great when it comes to food labeling and education about them

Several companies that Matís has worked well with are pioneering in bringing information about food to consumers. FooDoIt (for food do it) is one such. The employees of that company have used the Matís databases on the chemical content of food (ÍSGEM) to design a user-friendly program that can be used to retrieve information about almost any ingredient in food. Such information can be useful to many people, such as people with diabetes, people with intolerance or allergy to certain ingredients, people who want to cut sugar consumption with a nail (eg the low-carbohydrate diet) or those who want handy information about the energy content of foods that consumed. An experiment with such items was recently set up in Matís' canteen at Vínlandsleið 12 and employees received information about various things related to lunch that day. In the future, another experiment will be carried out where employees, if they wish, can use information from FooDoIt's programs and compare it with their needs and behavior patterns that day. In this way, for example, an honest attempt can be made to keep food consumption within the limits currently set by the body's energy metabolism or to supplement it if necessary; all specially designed for each one.

There are many more interesting things to look at, and smartphones and smartwatches come into play in many things that are being examined and tested.

Krónan has now, for the first time in Icelandic stores, set up a fun small program where you can scan all their products to get information about prices. The program also allows consumers to add products to their shopping list and find out what offers are going on, for example.

Recently, Matís came up with a suitable smartphone app for sailors. The purpose of this program is to give fishermen the opportunity to realize how much ice is needed to use the cooling of the raw material from the beginning, but this is a prerequisite for quality to remain completely at the consumer's table. Proper cooling at the beginning not only ensures quality and freshness, but also helps ensure that the food is safe to consume when placed on the plate. Information about ísAPP Matís can be found here.

It's fun to think about future possibilities in food information. For example, will it be possible in the near future to push a shopping cart through a so-called gate in supermarkets in this country where all products are scanned at once? With such a system, where there is a microchip in the product packaging, it would not be necessary to scan one product at a time, but all the products would be scanned in almost a fraction of a second when the shopping cart is pushed through this gate. It would then be possible to pay for the products with the smartphone, but smartphone payments have already become quite common in this country. Such a system could save significant time on grocery shopping trips and also allow stores to reduce the risk of theft.

Shopping carts with artificial intelligence

Whole Foods Market in the United States has experimented with special shopping carts where a scanner provides information about the product that is placed in the cart. This is of great benefit to consumers, as the purpose is to provide information on the various aspects of products, such as prices or intolerances and allergens, and how these products are suitable for the consumer who shops for food. In addition, you do not have to wait in line for an employee to scan the food, but go straight to the payment gateway to pay, for example, with a smartphone or transfer from the buyer's account. Videos about this experiment can be found here.

So in the future, consumers can connect to their refrigerators with a smartphone through a special app that provides information about the "status" of the refrigerator and what is needed to buy in the store?

The opportunities are endless and it's easy to let your imagination run wild!

In modern society, the demands are ever greater when it comes to food information. Icelandic food production is in many respects comparable to food production in other countries. However, there are opportunities to do even better and there are great opportunities in having information that consumers do not even know today that they could benefit from and enjoy. It can therefore be said that both food producers and consumers, and perhaps the health authorities, could benefit from an even greater flow of information from all stages of food production.

For more information Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson and Sigríður Sigurðardóttir at Matís.

It is fundamental that we as consumers can trust that the food we eat does not harm us or threaten our health.

"In order to ensure food safety, it is therefore necessary that monitoring and research on food raw materials and production is active and in line with the rapid development and innovation that has taken place in the food industry," says Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, director of chemical research and risk assessment at Matís.

There are various factors that can affect the health of food, but in addition to pathogenic pathogens that can be passed on to people who consume food, foods can also contain substances that can affect our health in the long run. These include persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins and PCBs. These substances are fat-soluble and can be passed on to people with food and threaten our health slowly and sharply.

"Long-term research into the effects of harmful and polluting substances in food is extremely important for our public health and well-being. Equipment and expertise must be adequate to meet the growing demands of consumers and public food safety regulators. Food legislation in Iceland is largely the same as in other parts of Europe, and in order to be able to demonstrate competitive and comparable food and environmental research, strong co-operation is needed between the institutions and parties involved in this area. These include laboratories, food producers, universities and the government, "says Helga.

Matís works diligently to promote improved food security in Iceland and the company's diverse activities involve a wide range of food safety and product health aspects. A major part of the operation is microbial and chemical measurements, where thousands of samples are processed annually from various parties in the food industry and official regulators. This involves microbiological and chemical research on samples from food, drinking water and the sea, but in addition to processing samples from food producers, Matís also provides monitoring and security services for the government. The part of the activity that deals with the safety and monitoring of undesirable substances in food is, among other things, measurements of pesticide residues in food and persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs. Measurements of pesticide residues aim to screen for various auxiliaries used in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables such as insecticides, herbicides and drug licenses.

"We have accredited measurements for public regulatory bodies in this country, which means that our measurements have received a certain quality certification. The government and other regulatory bodies can then contact us with measurements where certain quality standards must be followed. Matís has also been nominated as the Icelandic reference laboratory for microbial research on shellfish and for measurements of Salmonella in food. We have shown that our measurements for these research areas comply with European standards and we are responsible for ensuring that approved methods are available and that we can guide other laboratories with such measurements, "says Helga.

"Our goal is to be a leader in food and environmental research. The results of our research have yielded important information about consumer products and the environment in Iceland, which is useful not only domestically but also abroad, "says Helga, adding that an important project is now underway in the development of food safety, which is expected to be completed in end of 2014. This is a project that aims to enable the competent Icelandic authorities, the Food Administration and the municipal health inspectorate to better enforce regulations on food safety and consumer protection that have already been implemented through the EEA Agreement.

"The key goal of this project is to further increase food safety in Iceland by, among other things, creating better research facilities and the ability to perform chemical analyzes of the most common dangers in food and develop new measurement methods and procedures for competent food control. The project is therefore necessary for Iceland to be able to meet the increased obligations that we have undertaken with the adoption of food legislation, "says Helga.

For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.

The national campaign "Fish Day", which aims to increase Icelanders' fish consumption, shows an episode where chef Sveinn Kjartansson teaches teenagers how to cook fish quickly and easily.

In the shows, the teenagers will make salmon in tacos, haddock in pita bread and blue-long burgers. There will also be a review of fish handling, bone cleaning, skin peeling to name a few.

The first episode is on the program tonight on RÚV and it starts at 20:05. More about the episodes on the RÚV website.

click on the Fisheries Day website or The campaign's Facebook page.

For more information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir and Ingunn Jónsdóttir at Matís.

Matís' annual report for the operating year 2013 has now been published. Food and food security is the main theme of the report this time. The publication can be accessed in electronic form below in the news, but the printed version will be available next week.

Definitions:

• Food safety deals with how safe foods are for consumption and whether they cause harm to the health of consumers
• Food security deals with access to food and the supply of healthy and safe food

Consumers need to be able to rely on food safety. Matís' two key areas are dedicated to research and services in the field of food safety. These include accredited micro-organisms and chemical measurements, which are an ever-increasing demand in food control and trade. It also conducts research in the fields of microbiology, chemistry and genetics, as well as monitoring and security services.

Food security of the future, i.e. good public access to safe and wholesome food will only be ensured through innovation and improved use of resources. In recent years, there has been a great and positive development in food production in Iceland, and Matís has been at the forefront, with research and innovation support for the business community.

"With the field of education and food production, we make Matís' operations and role more prominent and better connect the business community, education, research and development of food," says Guðjón Þorkelsson, division manager.

Grants both Matís and the food companies

Guðjón says that through collaboration with educational institutions and vocational training, Matís is following up on the emphasis on research and innovation in the field of food for the benefit of the economy, public health and food safety.

"Another main reason for the collaboration is efficiency in the form of shared use of staff and facilities. The other reason, and the one that is very important to Matís and the food companies, is to get students to work on practical research projects and thus gain training to become the companies' future employees. Matís is a very large research company on an Icelandic scale and here is a great deal of expertise and experience that needs to be utilized in teaching, guidance and vocational training in food processing. We are also lucky to have received first-class facilities in many places in the country that are also used for the same purpose, "says Guðjón.

The teaching component has already become extensive

Despite the fact that teaching, vocational training and guidance of students in research studies have so far not been in a fixed and organized form as a field within Matís, Guðjón says the scope of these aspects is very large.

"Matís employees teach about 25 courses in undergraduate and graduate studies and supervise most of them. Numerous students in master's and doctoral studies at Icelandic universities have worked on their research projects at Matís and almost always in collaboration with the business community. We are in good cooperation and have joint employees with the University of Iceland and the University of Akureyri. The collaboration with the University of Iceland is mostly at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, but also extensively at the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences and the School of Social Sciences. Matís works extensively with the School of Business and Science at the University of Akureyri, mainly in aquaculture and fisheries sciences. Due to previous work and research, I have a strong desire to revive and strengthen the collaboration with the Agricultural University of Iceland. Hólar University and Matís are in a joint building at Verin in Sauðárkrókur and work together on many projects.

All of these parties have worked on a project to establish an international master's program in food science in connection with the food industry in the country. This study has been led by Matís and the University of Iceland and 12 students started the study in the autumn of 2012 and there has been an even further increase since then, "says Guðjón, but most of the teaching is at Matís in Reykjavík but teaching also takes place in Akureyri. In connection with the study, two Matís specialists, Hörður G. Kristinsson and Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, were appointed visiting professors at the University of Iceland.

"I have full faith that the international master's program will strengthen and become very prominent in the coming years. Cooperation on other sectors will also be strengthened. Our task must also be to link vocational training, technical studies and other university studies related to food to the economy. We also need to work on strengthening vocational training / vocational rehabilitation related to food with an emphasis on small-scale food production and collaboration with Beint frá býli, "says Guðjón.

For further information Guðjón at Matís.

At a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 9 December 2013, the contribution of the United Nations University School of Fisheries (UNU-FTP) to the development of fisheries in developing countries was specifically recognized. 

The UN General Assembly recognizes the importance of the work of the UN University School of Fisheries in Iceland

At a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 9 December 2013, a regular resolution on sustainable fishing (the General Assembly's Fisheries Resolution) was adopted. The resolution, which is the fruit of negotiations between countries at the United Nations, this time specifically recognized the contribution of the United Nations University School of Fisheries in Iceland to the development of fisheries in developing countries.

The resolution states that the General Assembly values the school's extensive 15 years of work in building knowledge, skills and skills in developing countries, with a total of 280 students from 47 countries graduating from the school. In addition, the school has run 36 shorter courses in 12 countries.

About the collaboration between UNU-FTP and Matís

Among the collaborative projects in which Matís participates is the Fisheries School of the United Nations University, and in addition to Matís, the school is run by the Marine Research Institute, the University of Iceland, the University of Akureyri and the University of Hólar. Students 'projects at the school are all done with the needs of the students' home countries in mind. For example, projects have traditionally focused on the creation of quality index scales for mackerel, on the effect of sorbates and chitosan on the shelf life of mackerel, on teaching materials for the development of a HACCP system in the North Korean fishing industry and on the installation of traceability systems in China.

The collaboration between the United Nations University School of Fisheries and Matís has increased steadily in recent years. In addition to undergraduate studies, which all students at the school receive from Matís, the company conducts six-week special studies and each year some of the school's students work on final projects at Matís. In addition, a number of students regularly pursue doctoral and master's studies at the company on a regular basis, so it can be said with truth that Matís is part of the school.

home page Fisheries School of the United Nations University in Iceland.

The above news is taken in part website of the Ministry of Industry.

In 2013, Matís took over the management and operation of the SAFE Consortium, a European co-operation platform for research institutes in the field of food safety. The participants in SAFE all have in common to emphasize the importance of food safety and the societal benefits that result from research and knowledge building in that field.

SAFE strengthens international relations

Through the collaboration, SAFE's participants will gain a stronger foothold in the international arena and an increased importance in public policy regarding food safety.

 "There is a risk that the debate on food safety will be lost in the general debate on health and the environment and will therefore lose its weight as a separate issue. Through our participation in SAFE, important connections are created with stakeholders, international organizations and the university community around the world. Relationships that strengthen our potential to influence the debate on food safety and focus on the importance of long-term research in that field, "says Oddur Már Gunnarsson, Head of Business Development and CEO of SAFE.

"Secure access to sufficient safe food is fundamental to public health and it is important for the industry not to question the safety of the products traded. In this country, it directly affects the export interests and economic situation if our largest export product, fish, is not safe to consume and therefore insecure foods can not only threaten our health and fitness, but also cause market damage. "

Oddur says that the short-term effects of unhealthy foods are usually quickly apparent, but the long-term effects are less well known. Therefore, one of SAFE's goals is to draw attention to the influencing factors in food that can harm people's health slowly and sharply. Together, SAFE's participants place heavier weights on strengthening this issue internationally and creating a deeper knowledge of food safety and the value of research in this field.

As a leading member of SAFE, opportunities are created to have a positive impact on policy in this area, in addition to strengthening Matís' image when it comes to multinational research projects related to food safety.

For further information Oddur Már.

SAFE Consortium website: www.safeconsortium.org/