Category: News

The company Þoran, which now develops production of Icelandic quality whiskey from barley, won the first prize in the innovation competition between Matís and Landsbankinn for business ideas in the food and biotechnology industry based on Icelandic raw materials and ingenuity.

The first prize is ISK 1 million from Landsbankinn and important technical advice and facilities to continue working on the idea from Matís. The picture shows representatives of Landsbankinn and Matís together with Birgur Már Sigurðsson and Bergþóra Aradóttir on behalf of the winning idea Þoran - Icelandic quality whiskey.

Other ideas that stood out this time were:

• GeoSilica - Silica suspension as a dietary supplement
• Iceland - beverage and ice cream production from whey
• Barley and kelp pasta - development and production of healthy pasta

Relatives of these four business ideas now have the opportunity to present their idea to investors and continue to work on their implementation with the help of Matís experts.

The innovation competition was entitled "This is something else" and refers to a discussion about innovation in the economy that often ends with the saying "do something else", or to undefined resources that many people talk about but do not have a name for. This competition creates an opportunity to do "something else".

The members of the competition intend to be a powerful stimulus for the development of small and medium-sized companies in the field of food and biotechnology, with lasting value creation as a guiding principle.

Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, says: “This time, the winners of the competition presented a uniquely fun idea for non-traditional food that has excellent marketing potential. It is gratifying that if it had not been for this competition, we certainly would not have entered into a partnership with Þoran so soon. That fact alone strengthens my belief that the decision of Landsbankinn and Matís to hold such a competition was the right one. It creates a good opportunity for us to create a platform that can become a rich part of increased value creation in the field of food production and biotechnology. "

Brynhildur Ingvarsdóttir has been hired as the new managing director of Marinox ehf., The manufacturer of the UNA skincare skin care line.

Brynhildur graduated with an MA in Media Studies from Emerson College in Boston in 2002 and a BA in History from the University of Iceland in 1995. She most recently worked as EGF's Marketing Manager at Sif Cosmetics, where she participated in the development of the company and the brands EGF and BIOEFFECT ™. Brynhildur was previously the director of the National Museum of Iceland's media department on the eve of the museum's construction and reopening on September 1, 2004. She is one of the authors of the museum's basic exhibition and directed the media department in the first years after its opening.

When Brynhildur was asked about her new job, she said that Marinox was a very interesting company with great potential in various fields. "Marinox is one of these exciting innovative companies based on solid research and the enthusiasm of the founders. Their research has shown that one type of seaweed that grows off the coast of Iceland can be used to produce highly bioactive substances with high antioxidant activity, which are not only sought after as raw materials in cosmetics, but also as valuable food additives and food additives to name a few. , "Says Brynhildur.

Marinox ehf. is a young innovative company specializing in the research, development and production of bioactive substances from marine algae and products containing such substances. The company's first product line, the UNA skincare skin care products, was launched just over a year ago. The research and development work of the product line took place in close collaboration with Matís, both in Reykjavík and in Sauðárkrókur. UNA skincare skin products contain unique bioactive substances made from Icelandic seaweed, but Marinox researchers have developed a unique method for isolating and producing active substances from this underutilized Icelandic resource - a method that ensures maximum effectiveness of the substances. The UNA skincare ™ brand is only the first of many that are in the pipeline at Marinox, as there are many opportunities to enter the market.

For further information, please contact Hörður G. Kristinsson, Board Member and Founder of Marinox (858-5063) or Brynhildur Ingvarsdóttir (860-9650).

Berglind Ósk Alfreðsdóttir, Helga Franklínsdóttir students at the University of Iceland and Sigríður Hulda Sigurðardóttir students at the Iceland Academy of the Arts received a special award from the jury in Ecotrophelia, which is a competition in environmentally friendly food innovation.

25 judges from 18 participating countries and 7 from large companies and the European Union liked the seaweed soup and gave the Icelandic participants a special prize for having the most interesting new idea. One judge was from Iceland and it was Ragnheiður Héðinsdóttir from the Confederation of Icelandic Industries.

It is safe to say that the Icelanders' results are great considering that about 120 teams took part in national competitions and 18 teams advanced to the main competition itself, which was held in Cologne, Germany.

It should be noted that in Chinese cuisine, sea urchins are mostly used in soups, but it can take several days to cook them as the preparation is complicated and time consuming. Therefore, the idea was to make a product that would be suitable for the Chinese market but would be accessible to the consumer, quick to cook and would be suitable for long haulage. The result was a cup soup with freeze-dried sea oysters that only needed to be poured over boiled water and then it would be ready for consumption, but the soup is named Hai Shen.

The collaboration between the Ecotrofood project of the Icelandic Innovation Center, Matís and the University of Iceland means that Icelandic students are participating in Ecotrophelia for the second year in a row. It is worth mentioning that the Confederation of Icelandic Industries, the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and the Innovation Center awarded prizes in the Icelandic national competition and that Product Development Center for Seafood at Matís has supported the project for the competition in Cologne.

Guðjón Þorkelsson, head of department at Matís and associate professor at the University of Iceland, has guided the students and supported them along with many of Matís' employees. In addition, the relatives of the students have faithfully supported them.

For further information Guðjón Þorkelsson with Matís, Helga Franklínsdóttir (690-5255) and Berglind Ósk Alfreðsdóttir (865-1125).

Now there is a new Nordic competition in small-scale food production which was held in Östersund in Sweden. About 600 products in various categories were entered into the competition.

Of the 40 awards given, Icelandic producers won three awards. The bronze went to Klaus Kretzer from Skaftafell for Jöklabit, a beer sausage made from mutton. Klaus also received a silver award for Hnjúkur, which is dry-smoked and smoked sheep's back muscle.

The best product in the category of smoked fish, which won the gold award, was smoked mackerel from Sólsker in Hornafjörður. All of these products have been developed in Matís food factories which once again demonstrates the importance of enabling entrepreneurs and small producers in food crafts to take their first steps in the most efficient and secure way that can, if successful, lead to more job opportunities and a wider range of products.

The competition is discussed in more detail Ny Nordisk Mat website and Eldrimner's website.

Klaus Kretzer's website.

For further information, please contact Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir,  gunna@matis.is (858-5049) and Óli Þór Hilmarsson olithor@matis.is (858-5099).

The day will this time be devoted to a discussion of dietary and nutritional advice and how it is useful in daily life.

The title of the conference will be:

Dietary and nutritional advice - new emphasis

The main aim of the conference is to explain what is behind the recommendations on diet and nutrients, how they are created and how they are used in prevention and product development in the food industry. The Nordic keyhole and its possible uses will be introduced, but it is planned to introduce it in this country.

This year, new Nordic nutrition recommendations will be presented at the conference. The audit has lasted for four years with the involvement of a number of Icelandic experts and scholars, most of whom are academic staff at the University of Iceland and active in research in the field of nutrition. Icelandic dietary and nutritional recommendations are largely based on the Nordic ones and will be reviewed as a result.

Food Day is celebrated on FAO International Food Day, which is held on 16 October each year. On the occasion of Food Day, the Food and Nutrition Association publishes a successful newsletter Food is on the side of man, which discusses International Food Day as well as various interesting issues in the field of food industry and food.

On Food Day, Fjöregg MNÍ will be handed over, which is awarded for a praiseworthy initiative in the field of food production and human consumption. Fjöreggið is a great prize, designed and built by Gleri in Bergvík and has been donated by the Confederation of Icelandic Industries from the beginning. Orri Hauksson, CEO of SI, hands over Fjöreggið.

From: 16 October 2013 12:00
To: 16 October 2013 17:00

Agenda for the MNÍ food day 2013

Registration for MNÍ Food Day 2013

For further information Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, marketing director of Matís.

The results of a study carried out over a 12-month period with the aim of examining the frequency of the pathogens are now available. Salmonella and Campylobacter in Icelandic fresh chicken products on the market. 

The premise of the study was that Iceland has now adopted most of the food rules and EU food legislation, so it is clear that the import of fresh meat products to Iceland could become a reality, but so far the government has banned such imports. Therefore, there was a need to gather data to assess the safety status of Icelandic fresh products on the market with regard to microbial contamination, and chicken manure was selected where the contamination of these pathogens is most prevalent.

Comprehensive data are available on frequencies Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry farming in Iceland and at slaughter in recent years, but there has been a lack of information on the state of affairs in the consumer market. The study took 537 samples from May 2012 to April 2013 from the country's three largest producers. 183 consumer packages of whole chickens, 177 packages of breasts and 177 packages of wings were examined. All the samples in the study turned out to be negative for both Salmonella and Campylobacter. It is therefore clear that the situation in these countries is very good and as good or better than what is happening in other countries.

The report of the study can be found here.

The study was a collaborative project between Matís and Matvælastofnun (MAST).

For further information Eyjólfur Reynisson at Matís.

Can Iceland play a role in both food security and our own food security? But what about other countries? Can the country play a role elsewhere than in Iceland?

Below you can see a video where Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, explains the difference between food safety and food safety.

The start-up company Hafbor in Siglufjörður has designed and built an underwater drilling machine that attaches to the seabed for various equipment. The project was funded by the Technology Development Fund and the NORA-Nordic Technology Development Fund in collaboration with Matís and more.

The machine option has already been used in Iceland and is on its way to projects abroad.

Hafbor ehf.

According to Ingvar Erlingsson, CEO of Hafbor, the machine was fully developed in Iceland and has already performed several projects in Iceland. A contract is being negotiated with a distributor in Sweden and the machine will go to the USA at the end of the month.

More information and a video with the news can be found here.

The above article first appeared on Morgunblaðið's website, www.mbl.is.

On the 1st and 2nd of October next. In collaboration with a number of domestic and foreign experts, Matís will hold a workshop entitled "New technology for the Nordic fishing fleet: fishing gear and catch management". The meeting takes place at Matís' headquarters in Reykjavík at Vínlandsleið 12. Participation is open to everyone and free of charge, but people are asked to register by sending an e-mail to jonas () matis.is.

Workshop on research and development on fishing gear and catch management

The aim of the meeting is to present the main innovations in the field of research and development related to fishing gear and catch management on board fishing vessels. The meeting is sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers through AG-fisk (Working group for fisheries co-operation), whose main goal is to promote co-operation in the fisheries sector among the Nordic countries.

At the meeting, nineteen experts from nine countries will present research and the main innovations in fishing gear development and technology related to catch management. The meeting is divided into four parts and at the end of each part there is project work and a panel discussion. The hope of the participants is that it will promote increased co-operation among professionals in the Nordic fisheries sector.

All information about the meeting can be found at www.fishinggearnetwork.net and the site will be used to share information about the main innovations regarding fishing gear and catch management following the meeting.

All further information provides Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís, tel. 422 5107

Matís is launching a national campaign called Fishing day and is intended to make consumers more aware of the importance of fish consumption and fish-related products such as fish oil and other seafood. The aim of the campaign is to increase Icelanders' fish consumption, but the campaign is funded by the AVS fund.

Many are involved in this positive effort. There will be several 5-minute interludes on RÚV, where myths about seafood will be addressed and we will also prepare study material for primary and secondary schools on seafood handling, nutrition and cooking. The biggest factor, however, is in the form of an advertising campaign where the unique characteristics of each type of seafood are hammered out and consumers are encouraged to have fish in their food at least twice a week and of course to take fish oil.

The Fish Today campaign will formally begin this weekend and the opening ceremony will be held in Smáralind on Saturday 28 September between 12: 00-16: 00.

… And when the kids ask: "what's for dinner?", The answer is of course: "we are going to have Fish Day"!