Category: News

A research project recently began in collaboration between Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish parties with a new composition of feed in charr farming, but it can be said that this is preceded by the development and research of Matís, Hólar University and domestic charr producers with new protein sources and raw materials in feed.

Jón Árnason, feed scientist and project manager at Matís, will lead the project. He says that in light of Iceland being the world's largest charr producer, Iceland has a leading role in research and development.

"We have been examining with the farming companies the protein needs of char and whether it is possible to use protein sources other than fishmeal in the feed and thereby increase the efficiency of char production. With the Nordic project, we will test fish farmers in all three countries and then we will see the results in different situations. Subsequently, we will examine the impact of environmental factors on charr farming, assess growth and feed utilization based on changed feed, follow the impact all the way to the market and examine the reactions of consumers. Given that we are applying this new source of protein to the rainforests of Brazil and the plains of America, we are also going to assess with everyone involved in charr farming and sales whether this change in feed can affect the image of charr in the high Nordic markets. fish species. The end of the project will thus be a kind of evaluation meeting with everyone in the char chain's value chain, "says Jón.

In addition to Matís and Hólaskóli, the project involves two farms in Iceland, the Norwegian company Polarfeed and one Norwegian farm, while in Sweden the Swedish Agricultural University and one farm are participating. The project will take two years.

For further information Jón Árnason.

Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, director of chemical research and risk assessment at Matís, has recently taken part in a European project where a cluster of knowledge was formed on the analysis of risk and benefits in food consumption.

Representatives from seven European countries took part in the project, which is a so-called SAFEFOODERA project, which was in most cases funded by the research funds of the countries in question. Despite the fact that such a grant was not received in Iceland, Matís decided to nevertheless participate in the project with its own funding.

In order to be able to assess the benefits and / or disadvantages of consuming certain types of food, it must be possible to assess their direct impact on human health. Such an assessment can only be made through a risk and benefit analysis. Risk and benefit analysis is a relatively new field of research and the development of methods is nearing completion in the field of food.

Helga says that the aim of this project was to utilize knowledge and experience in risk and benefit analysis that has been built up in other fields of study, such as medicine and pharmacology, microbiology, environmental sciences, sociology and economics, and to adapt the methods to food and nutrition. .

"An analysis like this is useful, among other things, for the administration in advising on food consumption and it focuses the spotlight on both aspects, ie. risks and benefits. This is very important because in many cases the benefits of consuming food outweigh the risk factors. In this European project, we have actually been assessing where we have come in the field of food and nutrition and whether it is possible to use knowledge from other fields of study to develop and improve risk and benefit analysis in the field of food and nutrition, "says Helga en The work of the group has been completed and the results will be published in the January issue of 2012 in the scientific journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology". In addition, the results can be accessed at www.sciencedirect.com.

For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir.

Recently, an interesting European study of salmon has been completed, which has been going on since 2009. The project was entitled SALSEA-Merge and Matís was one of the researchers in it.

There is interest in building a new project in North America and Greenland on the same ideology and experience, but in this research, increased knowledge is gained about salmon stocks that flow this year and about sea areas.

"The project was to genetically identify salmon throughout the distribution area in Europe, from northern Spain in the south to Iceland and Russia in the north. A total of 26,813 salmonids from 284 rivers in this world were analyzed. Thus, we mapped institutions in the rivers, analyzed different genetic units that gave us a better picture of the genetic differences of the salmon stocks in the area, "says Kristinn Ólafsson, a specialist in genetic and biotechnology at Matís, who was in charge of genetic analysis of samples from Icelandic rivers.

"One of the main motivators for this project is the status of salmon stocks in the south of this area, i.e. in and around Spain. Due to climate change, the salmon stock is in danger there, but in addition many questions about the salmon are unanswered, including what happens when the salmon goes from the rivers to the sea and what causes increased mortality there. "

Participants in the project were research institutes such as Matís, universities and institutes in charge of salmon fishing management. In addition to Matís from Iceland, the Directorate of Fisheries also participated in the Salsea-Merge project. "

With the processing of these samples, a very large database was created that gives a picture of salmon stocks and a comparison of them. To get the clearest picture of the comparison, we agreed on 14 genetic markers that were all analyzed in the same way. With this large number of samples and the database that has been created during their processing, possibilities have now opened up for taking salmon into the sea and identifying where it came from. This has already been verified and gives us an idea of how salmon behave when they go to sea. Of course, we do not have a device that answers all our questions, but nevertheless this gives us a clearer picture than we had before, "says Kristinn.

As fishing for salmon in the sea is not permitted in Iceland, the Directorate of Fisheries has taken samples from salmon that are caught as by-catch in mackerel fishing. In this way, Kristinn says that the large study will be useful to get a clearer picture of the salmon's behavior in the Icelandic rivers.

"We hope to participate in a similar project that will hopefully become a reality in North America and Greenland. If this happens, a picture will be obtained of the entire area owned by the North Atlantic salmon. The project would then be carried out in the same way as in Europe, ie. that basic work will be started with samples and genetic analysis of fish from rivers and as a result an analysis of samples from fish in the sea will take place, "says Kristinn.

For further information Kristinn Ólafsson.

Matís participated in a study of sewage from three places in Iceland which shows that pharmaceutical residues and residues of hygiene products, such as soaps, hair products and creams, are present in sewage and pumped into the environment.

The study was part of a larger research project comparing the Nordic countries. The samples were taken at the pumping station at Klettagarður, from a well at Landsspítali in Fossvogur, at the pumping station in Akureyri and at the pumping station in Hveragerði.

In most cases, the amount of medicines and hygiene products was lower in Icelandic samples compared to samples from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. In some cases, however, higher levels were detected in Icelandic samples, such as ibuprofen (painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs), estradiol (contraceptives) and Atenolol (heart drugs). Sewage treatment of these substances does not take place in Iceland. The report did not draw any conclusions about the environmental impact of these substances, but the aim was only to obtain information on whether the substances are present in order to prioritize research and compounds that need to be monitored.

Medicines and hygiene products are used to a considerable extent in people's daily lives to improve health and hygiene. Hygiene products cover categories such as soaps and detergents, creams, deodorants, cosmetics, perfumes, etc. and are increasingly used around the world. The chemical content of these product categories can be of many kinds and are both available as active ingredients or supplements to increase the quality and / or service life of hygiene products.

For further information Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir project manager at Matís.

Do you have a futuristic idea to strengthen the Icelandic fishing industry and related industries?

The Fisheries Conference calls for futuristic innovation ideas, which will be recognized at the forum's next conference on 8-9. November at the Grand Hotel. The aim is for the ideas to be progressive and original and to create a basis for discussion or new thinking.

What to keep in mind
A futuristic idea shall be presented in a concise manner where a description of the idea, a proposal for implementation, expected results and effects will be beneficial for the image of Icelandic products (maximum 2 pages). Individuals can submit their own ideas and / or nominate the ideas of others on their behalf. All ideas must meet the following conditions:

• The idea is futuristic
• The idea is realistic

Deadline
The deadline for submitting applications is October 1, 2012.

More information can be found here

Icelanders are at the forefront when it comes to the utilization of the fish that comes from the sea, on the one hand, and New Zealanders look to Iceland when it comes to acquiring knowledge about the treatment of seafood.

This is stated in an article in the New Zealand news business Business day, which worked on a report from the Auckland Business School on the New Zealand fishing industry. Viðar Guðjónsson, a journalist at Morgunblaðið, explains the content of the report and Matís' involvement in his article on 18 August.

The article can be found here.

Icelandic salted fish products have long been sought after and prominent in foreign markets. This strong position can be traced to the great development of processing and processing in recent years, which have completely changed all handling of production.

The majority of Icelandic salted fish products are sold to Spain, where wet-processed salted fish is popular and a good price is obtained. However, there are other needs in the Portuguese and Brazilian markets, where the demand for dried salted fish is higher. These markets are large and it is therefore desirable for Icelandic producers to increase their share in these markets. For this, however, further process control of drying and dehydration needs to be worked on, based on the salting methods used in Iceland. It can be estimated that the best processing and processing processes, from raw materials to final products, can promote a quality product that is suitable for this new market for Icelandic salted fish products. There have also been regular complaints about acid-salted saddles that can be traced to the distribution of salt around the muscle.
In a new project, which Matís and Íslenskir Saltfiskframleiðendur (ÍSF) are working on and received a grant from the AVS research fund to carry out, special attention will be paid to the distribution of salt and water around the salted fish muscle and how different treatments affect this delicate balance and quality of the final product. One of the goals of the project is to find the reason why the aforementioned defects occur and to prevent their formation with improved methods of action.

The latest technological advances in food research (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) will be used, as well as traditional chemical and physical properties measurements in order to gain the best possible understanding of the effects of different treatment on the quality of salted fish products. MRI is familiar to most people who have gone to hospital for research, but research with the technology within food research is relatively new and has so far not been carried out in Icelandic projects. In the project, the MRI technology will be used to provide insight into the structure of the muscle and the distribution of water and salt around it in a graphical way. One of the main advantages of this technology is that it has no effect on the samples and the samples are therefore undamaged after analysis. NMR measurements will also be performed, where more detailed quantitative measurements of the effect of processing methods on the mobility and distribution of salt and water, inside and outside the muscle cells, will be performed. It will also be examined how this balance affects the quality of salted fish products and how the processing methods can be improved with regard to this balance between water and salt in the muscle.

The project is funded by AVS for one year and is carried out in collaboration with the Icelandic Saltfish Producers (ÍSF) and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Clermont-Ferrand in France.

Further information is provided by dr. María Guðjónsdóttir, project manager at Matís and Sigurjón Arason, Matís' chief engineer.

To improve knowledge of this underutilized species, Fiskvinnslan Oddi in Patreksfjörður and Matís applied for a grant from the AVS Fisheries Research Fund for the project "Improved utilization of grayling products".

The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture's regulation, No. 1083/2010, obliges to bring all grayling catch ashore after 2011. It was therefore necessary to react quickly and find a market for the grayling itself, but only the roe had been harvested and the rest thrown into the sea. . A lot of entrepreneurial entrepreneurship had taken place for several years, and it is worth mentioning the National Association of Small Boat Owners and the export company Triton in that context, which together built up a market for grayling in the Chinese market, with a bang and all. It should be noted that the roe is about 30% by the weight of the grayling, while the whale with the head and tail is about 55%, of which the fillets are only 14% of its total weight.

There was a lot of work to be done and it was clear that there was great value in this underutilized fish species and great opportunities would be created in many sea settlements for the production and export of grayling: Increased income for fishermen and fishing as well as the sluice gutting was now mostly brought ashore. created a lot of work for parties in production. Guttering for the Chinese market is different from traditional guttering and requires more complex procedures, but it requires better working conditions that do not exist on board small fishing boats.

Iceland's average production of grayling roe 2002 - 2011 is 1,337 tonnes per year for export and the FOB value of production in 2011 was around ISK 2.55 billion, compared to ISK 3.84 billion a year earlier. It can be assumed that the total catch of grayling is about five thousand tonnes a year, and the total catch of roe deer is therefore just over that.

To improve knowledge of this underutilized species, Fiskvinnslan Oddi in Patreksfjörður and Matís applied for a grant from the AVS Fisheries Research Fund for the project "Improved utilization of grayling products". In the project, samples were taken from fishing areas from Skjálfandi and west and south from all the way to Faxaflói. This gave a comparison of grayling from different fishing areas as well as information on chemical and nutrient content as well as information on contaminants such as heavy metals. This is the basic information to sell your product and find a new and exciting market. Research was conducted at Matís laboratories at Vínlandsleið in Reykjavík.

In order to improve the treatment of gutting and meet new requirements made by the Chinese market, the National Association of Small Boat Owners and Matís agreed to single-leaf which was distributed to all grayling fisheries. The leaflet was informative with pictures and explanations of the correct procedures.

Matís in collaboration with Fiskvinnslan Drang in Drangsnes carried out an assessment of the quality issues of landed grayling, where, among other things, the temperature of the product was monitored from the beginning of the season to the end. There was also co-operation with the Directorate of Fisheries on monitoring the temperature of landed catches. As the season progressed and sea temperatures rose, it was almost the rule that fishermen used ice to cool their catch.

Matís then carried out an audit in collaboration with AtVest and with AVS 'support for fishing and processing of grayling in the Westfjords. Two reports were published by Matís, one on fishing and the other on the state of processing in the Westfjords, but as previously stated, there are great job opportunities in increased utilization of grayling.

The project Matís og Oddi, which is funded by AVS, assumed the development of a product for the domestic market. In view of the good export performance, and given the fact that fillet utilization is only about 14%, it was not considered appropriate to spend a lot of energy on that component. By utilizing domestic fillets, people are sweetened up with a whale and a head, which is the main part of the roe deer, but the Chinese use all the fish. In cooperation with manufacturers and exporters, it was therefore decided to look further at what needs to be done to further advance in the Chinese market, open up new possibilities and raise sales prices in the future.

It is admirable how well fishermen have responded to these changes by shifting their working methods to decades and adapting to the changes. Although the price that has been offered for the grayling is not high, all fishermen alone have taken the initiative well and made an effort to increase the value of the catch.

Since 1989, the National Association of Small Boat Owners has been collaborating with interested exporters, processors and, last but not least, Matís in developing processing methods and looking for a market for the grayling. Grásleppukarlar has followed on the sidelines with a positive attitude, including payment to the LS development and marketing fund that was used for these matters. The soil for change was therefore fertile and the harvest was plentiful, as can be seen in the current season with a 300 million increase in catch value from grayling fishing. Market conditions are good as it is not possible to meet the demand of the Chinese market.

For further information Gunnar Þórðarson, station manager of Matís in Ísafjörður.

Dr. Andreas Hensel, President of the BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment), recently visited Iceland, but BfR is one of the most powerful institutions in Europe in the field of risk assessment and food safety.

The purpose of Dr. Hensel to Iceland was, among other things, signing co-operation agreements on behalf of BfR with Matís on the one hand and Matvælastofnun on the other. At the same time, the co-operation agreement between Matís and Matvælastofnun was renewed.

Dr. Andreas presented the role and work of BfR to the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture and the employees of Matís and the Food Administration. It was very interesting to hear how BfR performs its role for the German state in risk assessment and food security and much that Icelanders can learn from the German approach in these areas.

BfR employs an average of 750-800 people and the role of the agency is, among other things, risk assessment with regard to human health, food safety, genetically modified food and more.

BfR bore the brunt of the response to the so-called EHEC infection in the past. year but the infection was caused by E.coli and was initially thought to originate in cucumbers. It was later revealed, with the help of BfR, that the origin was in bean sprouts. Thousands of people became seriously ill from the infection. 

Cooperation with BfR and access to the institution's expertise in the field of risk assessment are very important for Matís' operations. One of Matís' defined roles is to promote improved food safety, but Matís has to appoint staff with expertise in the field, including risk assessment, foodborne infections and foodborne illness.

The following picture is from the signing of a partnership agreement.

For further information Sveinn Margeirsson CEO of Matís.

It is called a food factory when a facility for various food processing has been prepared, which has received a permit from the competent authorities for the operation.

The facilities can vary from one workshop to another, but what they all have in common is that there is a wide range of food processing equipment and tools and other facilities that the processing requires. Users receive training on the equipment and free access to the production of the products that are possible with regard to facilities and equipment and issued licenses by the health authorities.

The food factories regularly hold courses on the production and processing of various products as well as courses on internal control. Matís food factories are on Flúðum and on Harbor in Hornafjörður. Further information about Matís' establishments and Matarsmiðjur can be found here.

Recently, a news item appeared on the website www.freisting.is about Matís Matís Workshop in Flúðir. The news can be seen here.

For more information Vilberg Tryggvason in Matís' Matarsmiðja in Flúðir and Vigfús Þórarinn Ásbjörnsson in Matís Food Workshop in Höfn.