Category: News

In Borgir in Akureyri, Matís rents premises and would like to offer exciting partners to rent part of that space for their operations.

The accommodation available is a total of 24.4 sqm in size and is a specially designed laboratory with a window for the entire short side, two openable window frames, fume cupboard, large sink, benches on all walls, cabinet under the sink table and gas pipes (various types of gas used in the house and can be linked to them).

Borgir has a number of progressive companies and institutions, such as the Icelandic Innovation Center (IMPRA), the National Energy Authority and the University of Akureyri. There are therefore great opportunities in collaboration and synergies for forward-looking knowledge companies in this environment of interdisciplinary knowledge.

Here you can see some pictures of the premises, but there is also the possibility of renting office space.

For more information Rannveig Björnsdóttir, Matís' station manager in Akureyri and Oddur Már Gunnarsson, Head of Operations and Business Development at Matís.

A report has been published that Matís prepared for the Consumer Association. The report contains the results of an audit of frozen fish in stores. The audit was conducted between July and November 2011.

The quality of frozen and packaged fish in supermarkets in the capital area was examined. Information on the packaging of the fish products was recorded and then measurements were made of the weight of the fish and packaging, ice skin, water loss during thawing, water content, proteins, salt, phosphates and boiling efficiency.

The report can be found here.

Further information on the Consumer Association's website, www.ns.is.

Issue no. 24/2011 in Icelandic Agricultural Sciences (IAS) and there are many interesting scientific articles on Icelandic agriculture and land use. Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís is a member of the IAS editorial board, but in addition, this edition contains articles by several Matís employees.

The scientific journal Icelandic Agricultural Science, or IAS, is an international journal on life sciences related to agriculture and land use.

IAS has now got a new website www.ias.is. On this page you can access all the scientific articles that have appeared in the publication since the beginning in 1988 in electronic form.

IAS is the only international scientific journal published in Iceland on research related to forestry, fisheries, land reclamation, agriculture and other land use.

In his time, the editorial board changed IAS the name of the publication into English and further increased the requirements for the quality of scientific articles. All articles published in the publication are in English and are peer-reviewed by at least one foreign expert (and one domestic), as well as an editor. In connection with this change, several directors of the institutions responsible for publishing the publication, such as the director of forestry, have agreed to evaluate the publication in their institutional agreements as "Peer-reviewed international scholarly journal".

There will be many interesting things at an introductory meeting about the Icelandic Ocean Cluster which will take place on Thursday 17 November at 15-16: 30 (more here). There will be a discussion on value creation in biotechnology, but Hörður G. Kristinsson, Matís 'research director and Matís' director of biotechnology and biochemistry, will be on the panel.

The meeting will present opportunities that include hundreds of small and large companies in the ocean cluster and how it is possible to increase collaboration and make the most of the opportunities.

Agenda

• Birna Einarsdóttir, CEO of Íslandsbanki and Sigsteinn Grétarsson, Deputy CEO of Marels, open the meeting.
• Þór Sigfússon from the Icelandic Ocean Cluster presents the scope and goals of the cluster.
• Sveinn Kjartansson, chef, shows how the Icelandic sea cluster appears in Icelandic cod.
• Guðmundur Kristjánsson, CEO of Brims, discusses the Icelandic ocean cluster from the point of view of a shipowner and how the entire cluster can be strengthened.
• Árni Oddur Þórðarson, Chairman of the Board of Marels, delivers an address and encouragement.

Nine individuals will also be introduced who are part of the ocean cluster in Iceland and work on such diverse projects as scuba diving on the seabed, exports of grated haddock, international financial services in the fisheries sector, redness as a medical product, biotechnology that can create great value, technology that improves ship equipment and much more.

Following the meeting, TM will host a corporate conference in the lobby of Marels' headquarters.

The ocean cluster

More information at www.sjavarklasinn.is/

In the introduction and in an episode about Hreindýrafélagið in Kastljós on 14 November. sl. stated that the Chief Veterinary Officer and Matís had objected to reindeer being transported to the Westfjords. It can surely be considered here that Matvælastofnun (MAST) and Matís ohf are being confused.

Matís is a knowledge and research company that works on development and innovation in the food industry, biotechnology and food safety. Matís provides advice and services to companies and individuals in the fisheries and agriculture sectors, as well as the Icelandic state. For example, Matís is involved in the development of new products and processes for large and small companies and has an important role to play in terms of food quality and safety. Matís is not subject to general supervision, whether it is food or animals. Matís therefore does not have an opinion on whether it is suitable or desirable to transport reindeer in the Westfjords.

If reindeer are transported to the Westfjords and hunted there, Matís can help hunters and others in the local community to create valuable products from the animals. For example, Matís can assist in establishing suitable food processing for reindeer meat processing. Many well-known products are made from such ingredients, fresh reindeer meat is a festive food that everyone knows, raw sausages made from reindeer meat are made in Norway and chowder and pâté are made from the meat or liver of the animals.

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

Elementary school children solve climate problems in a LEGO design competition. Up to 100 kids aged 10-15 have registered to play in the LEGO design competition for primary school children, First Lego League, which will be held tomorrow, Saturday 12 November, at Háskólatorg.

The aim of the competition is to arouse primary school students' interest in science and technology as well as to build their self-confidence, leadership skills and life skills. Each year, the competition is chosen a specific theme that is high on the agenda in the world. This year the theme will be food security. Ólafur Ögmundarson is Matís' representative on the jury and does well as he knows the value and transport chain of food very well.

It can be said that the competition consists of five different projects. In the first task, the contestants build a robot from a computer-controlled LEGO-i that is programmed to solve a specific puzzle. Second, competitors must conduct a scientific study of a particular subject. This time the project is about food factor and the participants have to move a certain product from one place to another in the most efficient way. Thirdly, the contestants keep a detailed diary of preparations for the competition and fourthly, they are to present the original entertainment. Fifth, the teams have to explain how they programmed their robot, which tests the participants' knowledge of their own equipment.

Nine teams from the same number of schools across the country have registered for the game and there are between 6-10 people in each team along with one adult team manager. All teams were sent a track and competition shirt eight weeks before the competition to prepare.

The program of the competition starts at 9 on Saturday morning and it is expected that the winners will be crowned at 15. The winning team has the opportunity to compete in the European First Lego League. In addition to prizes for winning the competition, prizes are awarded for the best solution in robot design and programming, the best research project, the best diary, the best entertainment and the best team. All participants receive a FLL medal in recognition.

The competition has taken place in this country for the past 6 years and has always attracted a lot of attention. The proportion of people with a vocational and technical education is sometimes used as a measure when examining how well prepared nations are for the future. If the number of people with such an education in Icelandic society is to increase, it is important to increase interest in technology and science among the country's youth. The LEGO design competition is an innovative way to do this.

The School of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Iceland manages the competition and its sponsors are Nýherji, the Icelandic Society of Engineers, the Confederation of Icelandic Industries and Matís.

Everyone is welcome to watch the competition at Háskólatorg.

Further information about the competition is provided by Ingi Rafn Ólafsson, Marketing and Promotion Director of the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, ingirafn@hi.is and GSM: 772-1400.

_{News taken from the website of the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Iceland.}

Recently, the Tanzanian government and Matís signed a co-operation agreement on a project worth around ISK 40 million related to research on fish, fish processing and an assessment of the social status of fishing communities on Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.

This is a collaborative project between Matís, VJI consultancy, Ráðgarður ship consultancy and GOCH engineering company in Tanzania. The project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

For further information Oddur Már Gunnarsson at Matís.

Matís is a regular participant in development cooperation projects around the world. This co-operation contributes, for example, to the development of knowledge in the food industry in developing countries through Matís' co-operation with the Icelandic Development Cooperation Agency, the United Nations University and others working on development co-operation. For example, Matís has been to Kenya and held courses for fisheries inspectors under the auspices of the United Nations University School of Fisheries and in Mozambique, where Matís staff have carried out audits of a laboratory in Maputo and assisted and guided the laboratory's quality team in preparing for accreditation. Mozambique in the development of official quality control in the fisheries sector. Working on the quality issues of the laboratories in Maputo, Beira and Quelimane is part of that collaboration.

Knowledge and experience of Matís' quality system is used to finalize procedures and documents belonging to quality systems, and it is then decided what steps are necessary to achieve the ultimate goal, which is to apply for accreditation.

At the end of 2011, the exemption votes that Icelanders have from the regulation in food legislation in the European Economic Area (EEA) expire. In recent months, certain concepts about food have been discussed and it is important that these terms are used correctly to prevent misunderstandings.

These terms are on the one hand food safety and on the other hand food safety.

• Food Safety (Food safety) discusses how safe foods are for consumption and whether they cause harm to the health of consumers
• Food security (Food security) deals with access to food and the supply of healthy and safe food

Further information on the above concepts and on Matís 'role in the implementation of new EEA food legislation in Iceland is provided by Sveinn Margeirsson, Matís' CEO, sveinnm@matis.is.

Í Bændablaðið 27 October sl. (p. 14) is a press release on the implementation of EEA food legislation in Iceland.

The main objective of the project Simulation of cooling processes - thermodynamic simulation of processing and transport processes, which began in June 2008, was to improve procedures and equipment for processing and transport of marine products.

Process analysis, experiments and computerized thermal and hydrological models were used to achieve the set goals. The consequences of improved temperature control in processing and transport processes are increased quality, stability and safety, which at the same time increase the value of the product. Partners in the project were Matís, the University of Iceland, Promens Tempra, Eimskip Ísland, Samherji, Brim (ÚA), Festi and Eskja.

Examples of the project's products are heat transfer models of fresh fish products in a foam box, which make it possible to predict fish temperatures based on environmental temperature history. Heat transfer models were used to redesign the Promens Tempra 3, 5 and 7 kg foam boxes with the minimum target fish temperature minimization under the target heat load.

Experiments confirmed the superiority of the new boxes over traditional box types, both in terms of temperature control and product quality under heat load. The new round foam boxes have replaced older models of Promens Tempra foam boxes (see Figure 1) and have thus increased the competitiveness of Icelandic fresh fish products, especially those transported by air.

The results of another experiment show that the shelf life of fresh fish fillets in corner boxes of whole pallets in the air transport chain can be about 1 - 1.5 days shorter than fillets in boxes in the middle of the pallet stack. Heat distribution in different cooling chains was mapped and special emphasis was placed on pre-cooling fillets for packing and heat distribution in different types of cooling containers with different loading patterns. The results of the project have not only benefited air transport chains but have also further contributed to increased opportunities for the safe transport of fresh fish products by ship.

Matís' Matís workshop in Flúðir was discussed in a fun way in the episode Ísland i dag on Stöð 2 recently. Sigrún Ósk Kristjánsdóttir thought that the mushrooms that were being tried to dry there were better than the hygiene in them indicated; they were actually more than just "healthy good" in taste!

The news can be found here.