Category: News

Slaughter of catfish is no less a fertilizer than cow dung. This is shown by experiments that Matís made in collaboration with Atvinnuþróunarfélag Suðurlands, a fishing company in Þorlákshöfn and Sigurður Ágústsson, a farmer in Birtingarholt in Hrunamannahreppur.

Reportedly Ásbjörn Jónsson, project manager at Matís, experiments have been carried out by Landgræðsla ríkisins with the activity of fish manure as a soil fertilizer in comparison with various types of livestock manure such as horse manure, manure, chicken manure and synthetic fertilizers. According to Ásbjörn, tests carried out on areas without vegetation in Gunnarsholt in the spring of 2010 revealed that the fish log increased vegetation cover considerably compared to many types of organic fertilizer. Last summer, experiments were continued in collaboration with farmer Sigurður in Birtingarholt, but then cultivated fields were compared where on the one hand cow manure was used as fertilizer and on the other hand fish manure. After a two-month sprint, the hay obtained from the experimental fields was examined and the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content were compared, but these are the substances that are most important in organic fertilizers. The results showed that there was much more nitrogen content in hay obtained from plowed fields than from plots where manure was used as fertilizer. However, the phosphorus and potassium contents were similar in these fields.

Ásbjörn says that research on the utilization of fish catches has been carried out by Matís since 2010 and various experiments have been carried out which, among other things, aim to increase the shelf life of the catches, which annually generate around 2400 tonnes of fish catches in Þorlákshöfn. Until now, formic acid has mainly been used to increase the shelf life of fish fillets, but it is expensive and therefore people's eyes have been focused on whether it can be committed with skyrmys, but annually about 3 million liters of it fall at Mjólkurbúi flóamanna in Selfoss and is only part of it utilized. Experiments indicate that skyrmysa can be used to a large extent with formic acid for this purpose.

A similar collaboration has taken place between the Silfurstjörnan fish farm in Öxarfjörður, the University of Akureyri and Matís.

Among the food companies that have used Matís' expertise is Íslensk bláskel og sjávargróður ehf. in Stykkishólmur.

The company, which was founded in 2007, collects and grows mussels and collects seaweed in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way in several places in Breiðafjörður. "We have had a pleasant collaboration with Matís for several years. There are many very talented scientists with extensive experience that are good to look for, "says Símon Sturluson, one of the owners. He says that it is very important that Matís' knowledge network extends far beyond the rocks so that they do not have the knowledge they need each time, they know where to look for it and can access it.

Following on from the mussel farm, the company has now started experimental exports of dried kelp to Denmark, Norway and Spain. Símon says that the kelp is usually sold dried, as this is by far the best storage method. "The market for kelp products is very large, we consider ourselves to be of high quality and therefore want a good price for our products. That's why we avoid all unnecessary intermediaries and try to sell directly to the restaurants, for example. This is all coming but it happens in the calm heat, "says Símon.

Every other year, conferences on sensory evaluation and consumer research are held in the Nordic countries, and Matís has taken part in their preparation.

The next conference, which is the 15th in a row, will be held in Helsinki on the 22nd-23rd. May 2013 and is entitled "Innovations in sensory evaluation and how to reach different consumer groups (Novel sensory approaches and Targeting different consumer groups).

The conference is intended for both professionals in the food industry and scientists in this field. The interest and participation of people from both large and small food companies in attending these conferences has steadily increased in recent years, as it is an ideal forum for industry and scientists to meet and establish a communication network in this field. About 100 people are expected, mostly from the Nordic countries.

The topics of the conference this time are innovations in sensory assessment and how to reach different consumer groups such as children, the elderly and those who are health-conscious. Emilía Martinsdóttir, Matís' director, is on the conference's preparation and science committee. She will speak at the conference, which is based on the results of the Nordic project Enrichment of Seafood and is, among other things, carried out in collaboration with the company Grím kokk. Dr. Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, director of Matís, will give a talk on young people's fish consumption and how it can be increased. The conference will also feature presentations on food that appeals to older people, but interest in this issue is growing rapidly in the Nordic countries and in Europe.  

Registration runs until April 19. The conference fee is lower if booked before 31 January 2013. People in the food industry in this country and others who are interested in this topic are encouraged to register their participation as soon as possible. 

Sensory evaluation and sensory evaluation research have long been an important area of expertise at Matís, and the emphasis has increasingly been on consumer research. Matís has participated in many domestic and foreign research projects regarding sensory evaluation and food quality and held various sensory evaluation courses for employees of fish processing companies and other food companies. Matís' staff has also taught sensory assessment and consumer studies at the Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and at Fisheries Science at the University of Akureyri. Matís staff also teaches sensory evaluation at the United Nations Fisheries Academy.

Further information Emilia Martinsdóttir at Matís.

"Matís' biotechnology center in Sauðárkrókur plays an important role in biotechnology research. The concept of biotechnology is increasingly used in discussions about innovation in the economy, and results have already been demonstrated in research projects in the field of biotechnology that have yielded valuable bioactive substances, both for domestic product production and export, "says Dr. Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir, project manager at Matís.

An example of this is the UNA skin products, which are based on the bioactivity of substances from seaweed that originate, for example, in Breiðafjörður. Part of the research on the bubble seaweed took place at Líftæknismiðja Matís in Sauðárkrókur, but the products are manufactured in Reykjavík, so it can be said that the entire development and production process has a contact surface in a large part of the country.

Matís Biotechnology Center is located in one of the most powerful food processing districts in the country, Skagafjörður. There she works alongside companies in the seafood production, meat and dairy industries that have taken advantage of the proximity in collaboration on research projects. An example of this is a project for FISK Seafood that aims to increase the traceability of the company's seafood products. Matís in Sauðárkrókur also has significant collaboration with Hólar University, thus achieving better utilization of both research facilities and an increased common knowledge base in the area.

"The bioactivity of substances is of great value. Research at the Biotechnology Center focuses on the positive effects of fish proteins on blood pressure and the positive effects of seaweed and seaweed substances on blood sugar. When this bioactivity has been demonstrated by research, the value of the bioactive substances multiplies. There is a lot of work to be done, "says Hólmfríður.

Marel has long been a key player in the fish processing chain in Iceland with its technical equipment where emphasis is placed on raw material quality and processing speed. Matís' collaboration with Marel is extensive and both parties benefit significantly from it.

"Within Marel, extensive and valuable knowledge has been built up of processing technology in the food industry, not least in the fisheries sector," says Sigurjón Arason, chief engineer at Matís and professor of food engineering at the University of Iceland.

There has been a collaboration between Matís and Marel for many years and, for example, two of Sigurjón's students now work for the company but were previously Matís employees. Both of them worked on projects related to fish processing companies in their work at Matís, and Sigurjón says that it is valuable that their knowledge is used in technological development within Marel.

"Collaboration between us is first and foremost project-related and from Matís we invest in the development of our research capacity and knowledge of raw materials and the effects of processing on it. It is essential to look at the entire fish processing process, from fishing to the consumer, as it is not possible to create good fish products if the quality of the raw material is not available. Technology can never make up for poor raw materials, "says Sigurjón.

"In recent years, researchers have become increasingly involved in the development, both the development of technological solutions such as at Marel and research into the floor at the processing companies. After all, we sometimes say that there are our best experimental rooms in the research work. There we can test ourselves further, make our measurements and use the results as soon as they are created. Matís is therefore very important to be able to work alongside companies such as Marel and at the same time increase our relationship and cooperation with the fish processing companies. It is to the advantage of the Icelandic fishing industry.

Today, the research work is increasingly about the development of the processing processes as a whole, and as a result we look at the raw material treatment at sea, as well as factors related to the transport of products to the market, packaging of products and so on. The process itself looks at the integration of technical equipment, and in time this development may lead to changes that in the future will be referred to as a revolution. The goal is to create even better products - even more value from what the resource provides, "says Sigurjón Arason.

"With the establishment of a division for education and food production, we make Matís' activities and role more prominent and better connect the business community, education, research and development of food," says Guðjón Þorkelsson about the new field of education and food production that started working within Matís on the 1st. June 2012.

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 of great importance 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 course has been led by Matís and the University of Iceland and 12 students started the course this autumn, "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 Þorkelsson division manager at Matís.

As the new year draws to a close, it is not out of the question to look at the year that is now coming to an end. Sveinn Margeirsson reviews the year 2012 in Matís' operations, but growth characterized the company's operations during the year.

The growth is reflected in many areas, both as the largest year in the company's history in terms of turnover and not least in Matís' wider project participation both abroad and no less domestically. The number of employees has also increased and the knowledge base has grown. All of this is happening in times of economic hardship and says a lot about the strength of the company and its employees.

Matís is in many ways in line with the progress of food processing in Iceland and the importance of the value chain has become increasingly clear. The value creation is in this way in many links of the chain; it will be in development, production and no less marketing. Matís' strength lies precisely in its involvement in knowledge of the various parts of the value chain, we support food production in its development while at the same time fulfilling our role in terms of food safety and control. Consumers need to have confidence and trust in the products.

Matís' foreign income now amounts to close to 25% of annual turnover and has never been higher. This reflects our success in foreign projects, Matís' position and strength in an international research environment. We have also increased our participation in national projects and Matís' dense network nationwide. In 2012, the company opened two new offices, in the south of the Westfjords and in Snæfellsnes. They are guided by value creation in these areas with special emphasis on Breiðafjörður, where there are great resources in food and biotechnology. In Breiðafjörður, there is a large amount of algae that our biotechnology research has shown can be processed into valuable products, but in parallel with the innovation, Matís can help to combine these new emphases with the existing food production in the area. The key is to work according to the guideline that ensures the greatest value creation.

Food production in Iceland takes place to a large extent outside the capital area and we have good experience of operating establishments around the country to follow the emphases and opportunities in each area, in collaboration with locals. Despite the fact that the development of the establishments entails significant costs, we nevertheless consider this network to be of great value. We have placed great emphasis on increased connections with educational institutions, and it can be said that Matís has made good progress in the bridge-building that needs to take place between educational institutions, research companies and the business community. Experience shows how much that bridge can contribute to increased value creation.

Consumers need to be able to rely on the safety of food production. They also need to be able to trust that the limited funds allocated to research and development activities will be used for development and growth for Icelandic society. I believe that Matís' employees have succeeded well - as the company's growth in 2012 confirms.

A very popular Christmas market with food and crafts has been held at Höfn in Hornafjörður in December in recent months.

The parties involved in the market are Matís, the Hornafjörður Cultural Center and the State of Vatnajökull. The market offers a lot of food produced in the district, such as dried mutton from the wilderness, hot-smoked mackerel, smoked pork products from Miðskersbúið, vegetable products from Hólabrekka, hot-smoked eel, seafood from Skinney Þinganes, ice from Árbær, birch salt. The market will be open on Saturdays 15 and 22 December from 13:00 -16: 00.

The Christmas market is an outdoor market and is held in stalls that were built this summer. Great care was taken in the construction of the stalls as it was planned that they would look like shark shells, which means that the market has a very Icelandic and old-fashioned look. Various events are offered on the market, such as choir singing, etc. to create a real Hornfirski Christmas mood. There has been a good turnout in the market and food producers who sell food on the market are doing well, as people have been coming to the market from the east to pick up delicious food produced in the region for the festive meal.

For further information Vigfús Þórarinn Ásbjörnsson at Matís.

"Icelandic seaweed is an underutilized resource at least here in Iceland, but there are various things going on that are related to algae and they are relevant in our research," says Jón Trausti Kárason, an expert who is one of those related to algae research at Matís.

Jón Trausti says that about eight researchers at Matís work primarily on algae research, although more are related to those projects in one way or another. Among the recent products based on algae research by Matís scientists are skin products that the start-up company Marinox has launched, but they contain bioactive antioxidants that are made from seaweed and are considered particularly good for the skin.

Among other products that are expected to be on the market soon, Jón Trausti mentions algae skyr and barley paste that is added with algae. "In fact, it was a group of students who were with us last summer that started the development of the algae cloud and the product competed on behalf of Iceland in Ecotrophelia, which is a student competition with ecological innovation in food production. This went so well that the development work was continued and now the algae cloud is coming. Here is food on the go that is skyr and kelp flour in the base but flavored with blueberries and honey, "says Jón Trausti.

Jón Trausti, along with others at Matís, is a representative of the young generation. He came to Matís before he finished his studies, then in projects related to his studies. As a result, opportunities were created where the gap between industry and the scientific community was bridged, and Jón Trausti, together with other Matís employees, is an important link in that value chain. For the young generation, it is an exciting task to be in the middle of a whirlwind of food production in Iceland, but with a large interface with the education system. The ideal of this young generation is lofty and exciting. It is, among other things, strengthening Iceland's position as a food-producing nation, but changes in the environment have created conditions that mean that we Icelanders see opportunities for great progress in the production of raw materials, which may not have been considered for decades.

For further information Jón Trausti Kárason at Matís.

This was stated in a speech by Haukur Már Gestsson, an economist who works within the Sjávarklasan, at the Fisheries Conference in Reykjavík recently, and also recently Sigjón Arason, Matís' chief engineer, made a good report on Stöðvar 2's news.

The utilization of cod in the North Atlantic countries is noticeably best in Iceland or 76%, while it is 50% in the Faroe Islands, 45% in Canada and 43% in Greenland. "I believe that the main reason for better utilization here is greater utilization of by-products, and this is undoubtedly thanks to both the regulations and the good collaboration between companies and Matís, but good fillet utilization certainly plays a part. The liver is a good example of a product that is well used in this country. Most of it goes into fish oil and is boiled down. Eggs are also new.

Utilization to increase
The same is true of heads and bones. Almost all cod heads that come to Iceland go for drying, as does a growing part of the cod heads that fall on freezer trawlers. These products are sold to Nigeria. From the accompanying graph, it can be assumed that utilization has deteriorated in Iceland since 2009. Haukur says that this does not have to be the case. "Care must be taken in comparing utilization between individual years. For example, a product manufactured in 2009 is sometimes not shown in export figures for the following year. It therefore makes more sense to look at the graph over a longer period of time and accordingly the utilization is increasing. On the other hand, it can be seen from the diagram that utilization in the other countries has been declining. I have no explanation for that. "

Norwegians strong
According to Haukur, he did not have good enough data to include Norway in this comparison. "Norwegians have looked at this themselves and according to that their utilization is about 41%, but since a different method was used than I used, care must be taken in comparing these figures. Norway is more powerful than most other nations in exploring opportunities in by-products, for example by exporting eggs and oysters to Asia. A special organization was established there, RUBIN, which received a lot of funding to research by-products, but this institution has actually just been closed down today. "

Guts and heads are of little use
"I believe that Icelanders should be able to go one step further to make better use of, for example, gutters, heads and bones and maximize their value. The head is between 20 and 30% of each fish and according to a Matís survey, only a small part of the heads is used if the cod is excluded, "says Haukur Már Gestsson in the end.

_{The above article first appeared in Viðskiptablaðið on November 29, 2012. The author of the column is Vilmundur Hansen, vilmundur (at) fiskifrettir.is.}

Here You can find Stöðvar 2's news from 19 October. For further information Sigurjón Arason, Matís' chief engineer.