Category: News

The location of Matís' offices across the country has made it easier for entrepreneurs to seek cooperation and support.

Páll Gunnar Pálsson, a food scientist at Matís, says that one of the company's most common tasks is participation in product development and organization of work processes at food companies. "Matís' main guiding principle is to increase the quality, value, health and safety of production and thus strengthen the competitiveness of the Icelandic economy on an international level and promote better public health."

Ten establishments

"Matís' headquarters are in Reykjavík, and in addition there are nine offices throughout the country. The activities are diverse, but with a special emphasis on collaboration with companies and individuals. Matís has a staff of about one hundred and within that group are many of the country's leading experts in food and biotechnology as well as a number of master's and doctoral students in research-related studies. "

Páll Gunnar says that many of the projects are small and limited and therefore do not have the possibility of grants from the competition funds, in addition to which the application deadline and processing time for funds can be so long that the projects burn out while waiting ..

Necessary to act quickly

"The acquisition of seafood depends on the seasons and if it is not possible to start a project at a certain time, the waiting time can be long. It is therefore important to be able to react quickly and start working immediately on important project ideas that arise.

In recent years, Mátís has placed great emphasis on collaboration with individuals and companies who are looking for ways to increase value or are preparing to process new products.

For this reason, we launched the project Product Development Center for Marine Products with the support of the Fisheries Project Fund. Within this, work is being done on various product development projects in the field of fisheries throughout the country. The project is intended to meet the need of the Icelandic fishing industry for product development and further processing. In light of the experience gained from the operation, the importance of being able to respond to companies 'and individuals' requests for assistance with product development has increased, "says Páll Gunnar.

We welcome everyone

Páll Gunnar says that projects that find their way into Matís 'board have more often than not come from companies and individuals in the countryside, and the strengthening of Matís' operations in the countryside has had a great impact on this.

"We welcome everyone who has a good idea for product development or needs help to get their idea in the right shape, and we can get started much earlier than if we had to try to finance through the traditional fund system.

In the two years that the project has been in operation, Matís has been involved in more than 50 projects and some of them have already returned products and new activities. These include products based on kelp, such as kelp and ointments. We are currently working on the development of dietary supplements from kelp, barley pasta, smoking saithe, oil made from lobster, health snacks from seafood, improved utilization of grayling, guidelines for people who want to make their own salted fish, to name a few, "says Páll Gunnar.

For further information Páll Gunnar Pálsson.

Videos from several Matís offices have now been produced. The videos are about 4 minutes long each and there is a lot to see and hear.

Ólafur Rögnvaldsson at Axfilms ehf. had a problem with the production of these videos.

The videos, both in Icelandic and English, can be found here.

Matís has now published a book on how to make good salted fish. Páll Gunnar Pálsson at Matís has had problems with the publication.

The publication is primarily intended for individuals who are interested in making healthy and good salted fish from excellent ingredients. Later, Matís will publish a booklet that sheds light on the processing of salted fish in a larger context, for production and sale.

The publication can be seen here.

For further information Páll Gunnar Pálsson at Matís.

On Monday 26 November, a doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland. Then protect J. Sophie RE Jensen pharmacist's doctoral dissertation: "Bioactive natural ingredients from Icelandic mushroom moss - protozoan and cancer cell inhibitory activity" (English: "Bioactive compounds from Icelandic liverworts - anti-protozoal and cytotoxic activity").

On Monday 26 November, a doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland. Then protect J. Sophie RE Jensen pharmacist's doctoral dissertation: „Bioactive natural ingredients from Icelandic mushroom moss - protozoan and cancer cell inhibitory activity " (English: "Bioactive compounds from Icelandic liverworts - anti-protozoal and cytotoxic activity").

Opponents are Dr. Lars Bohlin, professor at Uppsala University in Sweden and Dr. Hörður G. Kristinsson, research director and head of Matís' biotechnology and biochemistry department.

The supervisor of the project was Dr. Elín Soffía Ólafsdóttir, professor and co-supervisor Dr. Sesselja Ómarsdóttir, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland.

Dr. Már Másson, President of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Iceland, will preside over the ceremony, which will take place in the celebration hall, Aðalbygginga, starting at 2 p.m.

Mushrooms are a group of primitive mosses that produce unusual bioactive compounds. These plants have been used in oriental folk medicine for centuries, mainly as a diuretic, for cancer, bacterial and fungal infections.

The aim of the study was to isolate and determine the molecular structure of compounds from Icelandic fungal mosses Marchantia polymorpha and Chiloscyphus pallescens, focusing on bioactivity against cancer cells and protozoa. Bioactivity-induced isolation of carcinogenic agents led to the bis-bibenzyl compound marchantin A. It inhibited cell proliferation in several types of breast cells, as well as showing a synergistic, cytotoxic effect on cancer cells when administered with the Aurora-A kinase inhibitor MLN823 ML1. The inhibitory effect of marchantin A on several pathogenic protozoa was also demonstrated, including Plasmodium falciparum causing malaria. In addition, marchantin A showed an inhibition of the enzyme PfFAbZ in the liver form of the protozoan which may indicate disease-preventive uses.

Taken together, the results of the project have increased knowledge of the chemistry of these two species of fungal mosses and demonstrated unprecedented bioactivity of pathogenic cells in culture, which could have pharmacological value.

Sophie worked for a few months on her project for partners in Copenhagen. Functional tests on protozoa were carried out by partners, Dr. Morten A. Nielsen at the University of Copenhagen and Dr. Deniz Tasdemir at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of London. In addition, the project was partly carried out at the Laboratory of Oncology at the University of Iceland Faculty of Medicine with Dr. Helga M. Ögmundsdóttir who also sat on Sophie's doctoral committee. In addition to her and her supervisors, the committee included Dr. Jerzy W. Jaroszewski Professor at the University of Copenhagen (he died on October 18, 2011) and Dr. Már Másson, Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland.

English abstract
Liverworts are a group of primitive mosses that produce unique compounds of potential interest for pharmacological research. They have been applied in oriental folk medicine as diuretics, anti-tumor, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agents. The general aim of the project was to isolate and characterize bioactive compounds from the Icelandic liverworts Marchantia polymorpha and Chiloscyphus pallescens, with focus on cytotoxic and anti-protozoal bioactivity. Bio-guided isolation led to the bis-bibenzyl compound marchantin A, which proved cytotoxic to several types of breast cancer cells. Further studies on cancer cells showed that merchant A and the Aurora-A kinase inhibitor MLN8237 act synergistically. Furthermore, marchantin A was shown to be parasitocidal against several types of pathogenic protozoa, including the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, as well as showing malaria prophylactic potential by inhibiting the PfFAbZ enzyme of the liver stage of the infection.

The results have contributed significantly to the knowledge of distribution of liverworts compounds in the two Icelandic liverwort species and furthermore demonstrated previously unknown biological effects of therapeutic interest.

About Sophie
J. Sophie RE Jensen (b. 1979) graduated with a master's degree in pharmacology from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Iceland in 2006 and took 1 semester in an exchange program at the University of Copenhagen in 2004. In the years 2006-7 Sophie took 3 months of internship in a laboratory at Novartis in Boston 3 months in Asia and Oceania and worked part time for Lyfja and Íshestur. Sophie began her doctoral studies in 2008.

Sophie's parents are Elsa Jensen and Peter Ydregård. Sophie's husband is Sigurður Arnar Friðriksson and their daughter is Sól Lilja.

The association Matur-saga-menning will have a presentation of the national Westfjords food traditions in Víkinn, the maritime museum in Reykjavík, on Thursday 22 November from 20.00-22.00.

The West Fjords Halldór Hermannsson skipper of Ísafjörður gives a talk about Westfjords skate. Halldór has been active in promoting the skating tradition throughout history. Kolbrún Ösp Guðrúnardóttir from Stykkishólmur deals with Westfjords wheat cakes, which she got in the countryside from her grandmother in Ingjaldssandur and they have long been an essential part of Christmas. Kolbrún has sold in Jólaþorpin in Hafnarfjörður with good reception. Then will Guðrún Pálsdóttir Flateyri delivers lectures Westfjords dried fish. She has many years of experience in dried fish processing and together with her family runs EG Hard Fish Processing in Flateyri.

No entrance fee and everyone is welcome as long as accommodation allows. It will be hot in the jug.

The Food-History-Culture Association
facebook: food history culture

Seminar on the market differentiation of catfish from the North Atlantic. The results of research on the market differentiation of catfish from the North Atlantic will be presented at a seminar at Matís on 4 December.

The results come from the WhiteFishMaLL project, which is funded by the Nordic Innovation Center and is being worked on by parties from Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Canada. The aim of the project is to ensure further differentiation of catfish from the North Atlantic from cheaper whitefish species, which are now flowing into our main market areas, in particular the UK market.

Work on the project began at the beginning of the year and market research has been conducted in the UK among fish consumers, in addition to which interviews and meetings have been held with parties working in this sector in processing, sales and marketing. The attitudes of focus groups made up of typical fish consumers in the UK have been explored towards North Atlantic catfish products and how their experience in shopping, cooking and consumption can be improved.

Subsequently, an opinion poll was conducted among 1,500 consumers in the UK, where they were asked about a number of aspects related to fish and how accessibility, experience and increased education can be improved to better meet consumer needs. The following focus areas have developed over time and form the basis for market differentiation:

• Transparency of information and traceability in relation to the value chain of fish.
• Personalized approach to the marketing of stores in connection with products.
• Product sustainability information based on factual and reliable data.
• Emphasis on comfort and wholesome products.
• A methodological solution for how retailers can meet the needs of consumers.

At the seminar, the intention is to evaluate the emphasis elements that have been formed in the project of highlighting the uniqueness of products, and the intention is to develop this further over the next two years. It is therefore important that representatives from the business community take an active part in the seminar and review the results with those involved in the project.

The seminar will be held in English and is open to everyone, but it is necessary to register on the project's website (www.whitefishmall.com), note limited seating available. The seminar will take place at Matís, Vínlandsleið on Tuesday 4 December.

For further information, contact Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís, jonast.r.vidarsson@matis.is, 858-5107.

Matís will hold a course on risk analysis in the field of food and nutrition on 16, 19 and 20 November, but risk analysis is a well-defined method for understanding and assessing risk due to food consumption and how it can be reduced. There is a lot of interest in this area and now the course is full.

During the course, foreign experts from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Germany will give interesting lectures on the main aspects of risk analysis in connection with food consumption, ie risk assessment, risk management and risk presentation. There will also be a review of recent practical examples of food hazards based on real-world cases in the experts' home countries.

These lectures are part of teaching in the course Food Safety, which is taught for the first time this autumn semester in a master's program in food sciences, but this postgraduate program is the fruit of a collaboration between the University of Iceland, three other state universities and Matís. The experts from BfR we have recruited are: Dr. Anja Buschulte veterinarian and expert in the field of food safety and Prof. Matthias Greiner specializes in food risk assessment.

This is a unique course on risk analysis in the field of food and nutrition that is suitable for those who want to strengthen and deepen their knowledge of how to use risk analysis in this field.

The course will be held in English and more information about the program can be found here:

Friday 16.11.2012
8.30-9.10	Dr. Anja Buschulte	Investigation of Food-borne Outbreaks in Germany
9.20-10.00	Dr. Anja Buschulte	Investigation of Food-borne Outbreaks in Germany
10.10-10.50	Dr. Anja Buschulte	Lessons learned from Food-borne Outbreaks
11.00-11.40	Dr. Anja Buschulte	Risk communication and Management
Monday 19.11.2012
8.30-9.10	Dr. Anja Buschulte	General Introduction to Risk Assessment
9.20-10.00	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Risk Assessment -Risk modeling; basics of probabilistic risk assessment
10.10-10.50	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Risk Assessment -Risk modeling; fitting statistical distributions to empirical data or expert assumptions
11.00-11.40	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Risk Assessment -Risk modeling; Monte Carlo simulation
11.50-12.30	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Risk Assessment -Risk modeling; Practical application
Tuesday 20.11.2012
8.30-9.10	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Dose response analysis; basic concepts
9.20-10.00	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Dose response analysis; comparative applications in microbiology and toxicology
10.10-10.50	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Dose response analysis; Practical application
11.00-11.40	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Predictive microbiology; basic concepts
11.50-12.30	Prof. Matthias Greiner	Predictive microbiology; Practical application

 Further information is provided by Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.

Food seminar in Breiðablikur in Snæfellsnes on Friday 16 November. at 14: 30-18: 00

Tourism is one of the industries that is considered to be Iceland's growth spur. Despite strong growth in the sector over the past decade, this has not resulted in increased economic growth in rural areas. One way to strengthen the tourism industry and its extra-economic impact in the country's rural areas is to strengthen ties and increase cooperation between tourism and local food production.

The aim of the seminar is to:

• Draw attention to the possibilities inherent in home food processing and sales directly from the farm.
• Highlight the development process - from idea to homework.
• Encourage dialogue and co-operation between local food producers and tourism operators.

Agenda:
Moderator: Halla Steinólfsdóttir, Ytri-Fagradal

14:30 Seminar set. Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, SSV
14:40 Development of food-related tourism - the experiences of entrepreneurs

     Arnheiður Hjörleifsdóttir, Bjarteyjarsandur 
     Þorgrímur E. Guðbjartsson, Erpsstaðir.

15:30 Coffee break
15:45 Development of a rural market store & food cluster in the State of Vatnajökull. Rósa Björk Halldórsdóttir, West Iceland Marketing Agency
16:00 Cooperation between food producers, tourism and the support system in the district. Þóra Valsdóttir, Matís
16:15 Food labels and regional foods. Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, SSV
16:25 Vendor's view of handmade and home-made products. Eirný Sigurðardóttir, Búrið
16:45 What's straight from the farm? Hlédís Sveinsdóttir, Straight from the farm
16:55 Home industry kitchen - ideology, implementation and utilization. Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, SSV
17:10 Summary and discussion. Halla Steinólfsdóttir, Ytri-Fagradalur

All interested are welcome - Admission free

For further information, please contact Margrét Björk Björnsdóttir, representative of "Sveitaverkefni"  maggy@ssv.is.

The fisheries conference ended this afternoon. A lot of interesting things came out and there were only four Matís employees with presentations, but in addition Sveinn Margeirsson, Matís' CEO, chaired the meeting and Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir sits on the board of the Fisheries Conference.

Sarah Helyar gave a lecture on genetic research and its use in aquaculture and Sigurjón Arason gave a talk on what is technically feasible when it comes to the utilization of additional raw materials on board fishing vessels. Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir gave a lecture that attracted deserved attention, but her talk was about the opportunities in processing extra raw materials. Finally, on this first day, there was a presentation from Matís about the opportunities that lie in the processing of pelagic fish, but Guðmundur Stefánsson gave that lecture in the absence of Vígfús Þ. Ásbjörnsson, Matís' station manager at Höfn in Hornafjörður.

Matís also had a booth where barley seaweed paste was introduced, UNA Skincare skincare (unaskincare.com) and Gunna á Rif who owns and operates Reykhöll Gunna also presented wonderful smoked saithe which she has developed in close collaboration with Matís.

Gunna in Rif has worked with Icelandic seafood for many years. She is a professional in its handling and Icelandic seafood has been and is one of her hobbies. The aim of the applicants is to strengthen the foundations of her company, Reykhallar Gunna, with an increased product range and improve the company's market appearance. By doing so, applicants believe that it is possible to increase the activities of the company, which will be used closer to its environment with increased jobs in the area and no less strengthen the collaboration of entrepreneurs like Gunna with companies in the area.

The project is the development of a new product on the Icelandic market, sweet-smoked fish, based on a centuries-old recipe of the North American Indians. The goal is to develop a new product from Icelandic raw materials with an emphasis on its origin from Snæfellsnes. The philosophy of the project is to create a finished product through collaboration between a processing company and a raw material producer. This is increasing the value of raw materials in the area and at the same time creating food souvenirs for tourists in the area and a new product for the Icelandic consumer market. In order for this to happen, the applicants believe that the brand and marketing of Reykhalla Gunna also need to be improved.

The project is encouraging an entrepreneur like Gunna to achieve further and enable her company to create a place among companies in the area. The vision for the future is to complete more seafood and even agricultural products under the Reykhalla Gunna brand. With this collaboration, the foundation is being laid for closer collaboration between the companies in the future regarding product development and finishing. For a raw material producer such as Sjávariðjan, it can be invaluable to be close to a strong processing company, as is the intention that Reykhöll Gunna can become.

The product of the project is a new product made from raw materials in the area that will deliver added value and new knowledge. The project will create a production process for a new product; sweet smoked fish. Such a product is known abroad and has created a permanent place for itself. Certain aspects of this production are not well known in this country to deliver a competitive product, but with the project that knowledge is created. The product of the project is therefore a new production process, new knowledge, new products and a stronger brand for the finished product from Snæfellsnes.

With this collaborative project, we are supporting innovation and product development for an entrepreneur who wants to strengthen the product range, increase the value of the product and its competitiveness. The project is to increase activity and create more jobs in the near future at Gunna Hall Gunna in Rif.

Matís' involvement in the project will contribute to the transfer of knowledge of processing processes and the handling of the raw material. At the same time, Sjávariðjan's involvement in the project will strengthen co-operation with Reykhöll Gunna, but the intention is for Sjávariðjan to be involved in raw material handling before smoking and to put its hand to the plow with facilities for drying. Thus, the project will contribute to increased business development in Snæfellsbær. The co-operation of the companies in the project will strengthen Reykhalla Gunna's knowledge, increase the supply of products, strengthen product development and acquire new knowledge in the field of smoking that will increase the value of raw materials in the area.

The entire agenda of the Fisheries Conference can be found here.

Pollution of heavy metals and other toxins in the sea around the country is generally well below international standards, as stated in Matís' new report on changes in the marine environment around the country (report 28-12).

The concentration of cadmium in Icelandic mussels, however, is higher than is generally the case in mussels from the waters of Europe and America, and the reason is due to the natural cadmium background from the strata.

Since 1989, an annual monitoring project of pollutants in the marine environment of Iceland has been underway. The project is funded by the Ministry for the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and Matís ohf. The Environment Agency is the administrator of the project.

The aim of the monitoring project is to identify changes that may occur in the concentration of trace elements in the marine environment around the country during a certain period and between different ocean and coastal areas. Various pollutants in the ocean can enter marine organisms or organisms that feed on seafood. In many cases, this pollution is man-made and there is growing concern about this development. Pollutants are transported by air and sea currents from mainland Europe and America as well as pollution from Iceland. It is therefore important to monitor the amount of pollutants in Iceland, both in the environment and in the organisms that live in the country. It is also important to be able to compare the state of the marine life around Iceland with the situation in other countries, not least because of the importance of marine products to the nation. Among other things, the research is of great importance for the sale of Icelandic seafood in both domestic and foreign markets, where it can be demonstrated with scientific data that Icelandic fish is caught in an unpolluted environment.

In Matís' report (report 28-12 on Matís' website) the results of measurements of pollutants for the years 2010 and 2011. The trace elements lead, cadmium, mercury, copper and zinc, arsenic and selenium, the persistent organic pollutants HCH, HCB, PCB, chloride, are published. trans-nonachlor, toxaphen, DDT and PBDE. The report states that the concentration of heavy metals such as mercury is very low. However, the concentration of cadmium has sometimes been higher in the marine environment in Iceland than in more southerly areas. However, the amount of cadmium is low in the organisms studied, for example in the range of 0.1-1 mg / kg in mussels. The high concentration of cadmium in Iceland is regional and is considered to have natural causes as there is no evidence of man-made cadmium pollution. The results show changes in the pattern of chlorine organic matter in mussels collected near Hvalstöðin in Hvalfjörður in September 2010 which are comparable to results from the same place since 2009. There were no visible changes in the concentration of these substances at the mussel collection point at Hvammsvík in Hvalfjörður or at any another collection site around the country that was studied in 2010. It is important to monitor these changes in the pattern of the concentration of chloro-organic substances in mussels in the monitoring project in the coming years to see if they are still present. A detailed statistical analysis of the data is in progress, i.e. it will be possible to estimate with scientific methods the increase or decrease of pollutants in the marine environment in this country.

For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.