Category: News

The project NextGenProteins, which Matís is working on, has organized a photo competition for students aged 8-10 (3rd-4th grade of elementary school). The subject of the competition is the food of the future, but the kids are encouraged to let their minds wander and put down on paper how they envision the food of the future. You can send a drawing, painting or other graphic design. The maximum size of photos is A3 and they must be sent to Matís by letter.

Main information: 

• Opens:  May 1, 2023
• Who can participate? Kids aged 8-10 years
• Closes: June 1, 2023

Great work!
Award:

1. Nintendo Switch Light
2. 15,000 ISK gift certificate in Smáralind
3. 10,000 ISK gift certificate in Spilavini

By participating in the competition, consent is given for the publication of the images on the media of the project. When submitting photos, the name of the participant and the name of the photo must be included.

For more information, please contact Katrín Hulda Gunnarsdóttir, an expert at Matís, at the email address: katrinh@matis.is

Matís' annual report for 2022 is now available on the website.

It is clear that the future of food production in Iceland includes great challenges but also great opportunities. We need to ensure that there is enough safe and healthy food for everyone. We need to reduce the negative environmental impact of food production and promote sustainable use of land and sea so that the resources can continue to serve future generations.

The annual report can be accessed here.

Next Tuesday, April 18, Hang Thi Nguyen will defend her doctoral thesis in food science. The project is called: New proteins for human consumption from side streams of fish processing and underutilized fish species.

The doctoral defense takes place in festival hall of the UI's main building and starts at 1:00 p.m.

Opponents:

Dr. Heidi Nielsen, Research Director of Nofima in Tromsö, Norway

Dr. Ida-Johanne Jensen, assistant professor at NTNU/UiT in Trondheim, Norway.

Supervising teacher and instructor:

The supervising teacher was María Guðjónsdóttir and the instructor was Sigurjón Arason, professor and chief engineer at Matís.

Doctoral committee: Ólöf Guðný Geirsdóttir, professor and Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir, professor.

Dr. María Guðjónsdóttir, professor and dean of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, presides over the ceremony.

More information can be found by clicking here.

The professional meeting of the Sheep Breeding Association was held yesterday, Thursday, April 13, in Hvanneyri. The annual meeting was held in the building of the University of Agriculture and it is the professional council of sheep farming that organizes the event.

Many interesting topics were discussed at the meeting. Guðjón Þorkelsson, strategic expert at Matís, gave the talk: Does fat explosion make a difference to the taste of Icelandic lamb? and Sæmundur Sveinsson, professional manager at Matís, had the talk: The search for the genetic factors of bow crisis - Status of the project and future prospects.

We encourage those interested to watch the professional meeting in its entirety on the Youtube channel of the Icelandic Farmers' Association, by clicking here.

The message: The search for the genetic factors of bow crisis - Status of the project and future prospects starts at 1:43:00

The message: Does fat explosion make a difference to the taste of Icelandic lamb? starts at 2:07:00

Cover photo: Lbhí

The Microbial Analytical Service Laboratory of Matís was recently visited by a Quality Assessor from NYSDOH (New York State Department of Health). Visits such as these allow the laboratory to maintain its accredited methods for analysing potable water intended for sale in America.

The Matís Microbial Analytical Service Lab remain the only laboratory in Iceland to fulfil the requirements of the NELAC standard used by NYSDOH. The lab also complies with the ÍST EN ISO / IEC 17025 standard and is accredited by Swedac (Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity).

The NYSDOH assessor visited Matís on the 8th and 9th of March and thoroughly assessed the lab‘s quality system as a whole, as well as assessing the NELAC accredited methods. As previously stated the methods in question are used to analyse potable water.

Assessments such as these are regarded as excellent opportunities to grow and improve, and the staff of Analytical Services are always eager to polish the quality system and take the services they provide to their customers to the next level.

For a list of the accredited methods and services the Microbial Analytical Service Lab of Matís provides click here.

With increased population growth, food security for the future must be ensured, while at the same time taking care of the impact on the environment and climate. Food derived from fire has one of the lowest carbon footprints of animal products, and especially food that comes from the lower levels of the food chain. There are, for example, oysters, mussels and abalone. This and more is discussed in the new online course offered by UiT Norges arktiske universitet (The Arctic University of Norway). The course is interdisciplinary and at master's level.

The course opens on April 3, and is open to everyone.

The course covers a wide range of issues related to fire at the lower levels of the food chain. The biology and ecology of the main species, environmental impact, sustainability, economics and more are discussed. Students with different knowledge and experience should therefore all be able to find something that suits them. The course is based on short lectures in the form of videos, assignments and reading materials. Once the students have completed the course, they can receive a certificate to that effect from UiT.

The course was created as part of AquaVitae project, but it is a European project, funded by the Horizon 2020 (Grant Agreement No 818173) program of the European Union, with the aim of increasing the importance of farming at lower levels. Matís is part of both the project and the development team of the course.

Find out more about the course, here.

For more information, you can contact Katrína Hulda Gunnarsdóttir, an expert at Matís katrinh@matis.is.

It is gratifying to report that the first Green step has been achieved at Matís. The implementation of Green Steps in Matís' operations began at the beginning of 2022, and the first step was approved by the Environment Agency last Thursday, March 16.  

The green steps are a total of five steps. Steps 1-4 are grouped into seven categories, each of which has a different number of actions to fulfill. The last step, step 5, concerns only the environmental management of the workplace, divided into six elements and actions.  

The implementation of Green Steps at Matís does not only extend to our headquarters in Reykjavík, but all establishments must participate, in all categories and functions.

In step 1, we are starting a journey towards more environmentally friendly advantages, thinking and actions regarding Matís' operations. For example, the home ownership association needs to be informed about this journey, but it is also key to introduce the requirements of the steps to purchasing partners, storekeepers, cleaners/cleaning companies, the kitchen as well as all other establishments and staff.  

The requirements of the steps are, among other things, that procurement partners always trade products, i.e. there are some advantages that have environmental certification. In this connection, it is important to know well the certification marks that are recognized and under strict quality standards.  

The goal of Green Steps is to:  

• Reduce the negative environmental impact of Matís' operations 
• Promote the environmental awareness of staff 
• Increase the well-being of staff and improve the working environment  
• Reduce operating costs 
• Implement priorities in environmental matters 
• Actions in environmental matters are visible

The Green Steps team at Matís consists of the following passionate minds: Ásta Heiðrún Pétursdóttir, Anna Berg Samúelsdóttir, Birgir Örn Smárason, Eva Margrét Jónudóttir, Laura Malinauskaite and Justine Vanhalst.

Comparison of microbial communities from atmosphere and lava from two different active volcanic areas in Iceland, Surtsey and Fimmvörðuhálsi.

Aurelien Daussin, PhD student at Matís, has had a scientific article published in the journal Microorganisms (MDPI). The article is entitled "Comparison of Atmospheric and Lithospheric Culturable Bacterial Communities from Two Dissimilar Active Volcanic Sites, Surtsey Island and Fimmvörðuháls Mountain in Iceland". Matís instructors and staff Pauline Vannier and Viggó Þór Marteinsson are also co-authors of the article.

The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the diversity of culturable microbial communities in lava at two different Icelandic volcanoes, on the island of Surtsey and on Fimmvörðuhálsi, and investigate their origin. Air and lava samples were collected in 2018-2019 from both volcanic areas. The main results showed that the origin of most of the culturable microorganisms in the lava lumps came from the local environment (85%), while others have traveled far.

You can read the entire article here.