This autumn, Matís offered rickets genetic analysis (PrP analysis) at a bargain price (3,000 ISK + VAT per analysis), but the analyzes were subsidized by the Sheep Breeding Development Fund. This project was set up in order to ensure that it would be possible to carry out the analysis quickly and efficiently in the autumn, in parallel with the selection of intentions. The offer price has been valid until now but as of today January 18, 2023, this project has been closed.
A more detailed description of Matís' services and the price of PrP analyzes for the coming term will be announced soon.
Matís and RORUM combine the companies' unique expertise to jointly develop new technology for environmental monitoring of aquaculture in sea pens. In the project, species richness will be used, which is a good measure of the condition of the bottom of the fish ponds.
The aim of the project is to develop a safe, cheap and fast method to assess the state of benthic communities in farming areas using a genetic method. The method will simplify and speed up decision-making about the length of the rest period of farming areas and thus base the length of the rest period on real data about the state of the ecosystem at any given time. This is not the least important in light of the fact that regulatory bodies need to be well informed about the condition of farming areas and it is in the interests of the farming companies to use farming areas in a sustainable manner.
RORUM's research shows that certain species, or groups of species, characterize different conditions under and near fish farms. In the project, 30 species of invertebrates are selected that are characteristic of different seabed conditions and the DNA sequences in their mitochondrial genes are sequenced, but mitochondrial genes are unique for each species.
The DNA sequences are stored in a database for species identification of unknown bottom samples, and therefore the database serves an important role for monitoring and research.
Knowledge, experience and a database of benthic animals in Icelandic fjords, is the basis for Matís and RORUM's collaboration in the project and which will result in this new technology. The results will be directly useful in the monitoring of fish farming and research in general on the biosphere of Icelandic fjords.
The project is funded by Sjókvíaeldi's Environmental Fund.
In the latest issue of Bændablaðin, there is an interview with Margréti Geirsdóttir, project manager at Matís, about the project Is the grass greener on the other side? which is supported by the Food Fund.
Together with Matís, the Agricultural University of Iceland (Lbhí), the Icelandic Farmers Association (BÍ) and the Agricultural Advisory Center (RML) are participating in the project. The project started last fall and is for one year. Its purpose is, among other things, to acquire knowledge about protein processing from Icelandic grass and analyze the feasibility of setting up a plant for protein processing from grass in Iceland. The benefit of the project is increased food security in Iceland, which is achieved by increasing domestic protein production for use in feed and food.
Photo from the initial meeting of the project. Sitting at the table from left to right: Þórey Gylfadóttir (RML), Þóroddur Sveinsson (LBHÍ), Margrét Geirsdóttir (Matís), Rósa Jónsdóttir (Matís), Jóhannes Sveinbjörnsson (LBHÍ), Eva Margrét Jónudóttir (Matís) and Sæmundur Sveinsson (Matís). Ditte Clausen (RML), Borgar Páll Bragason (RML) and Valur Klemensson (BÍ) participated electronically
The interview can be found in Bændablaðin on page 14, here.
Learn about the project Is the grass greener on the other side?, by clicking on the link below:
The aim of the project is to demonstrate the status of Icelandic seafood in terms of safety and wholesomeness, and to use the data in the preparation of food risk assessments to ensure the interests of consumers and public health.
The project builds a knowledge base on the amount of undesirable substances in economically important species and marine products, it is defined as a long-term project where expansion and revision are constantly necessary.
This report summarizes results obtained in 2022 and is generally consistent with previous results obtained in the monitoring years 2003 to 2012 and 2017 to 2021.
All seafood samples analyzed in 2022 contained dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs (DL-PCBs) and non-dioxin-like PCBs (NDL-PCBs) below the maximum levels according to EU regulations. The results also revealed that the concentration of heavy metals, eg cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) in the edible part of seafood was well below the maximum limit set by the EU.
In the latest issue of World Fishing & Aquaculture, there is an interview with Jónas R. Viðarsson, Division Manager at Matís, about how it has been possible to increase the full utilization of seafood in Iceland in recent decades, and what opportunities exist regarding further utilization and value creation in the fishing industry.
Iceland is looked to as an example of how it is possible to greatly increase utilization and value creation in the fishing industry, but there Matís, in collaboration with companies, universities and authorities, has played a major role.
The interview with Jónas was done at the conference Fish Waste For Profit, which was held last June. But experts and business partners from all over the world gathered there to discuss how to increase utilization in the fishing industry.
The interview with Jónas can be found by clicking here:
Saltfish is closely related to our Icelandic history and culture. Matís has worked on the projects in recent years Life isSaltfish past and present and Salted fish delicacies to strengthen the position of salted fish and develop new and improved prepared dishes based on traditional salted fish. Project manager Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, together with other experts at Matís, has worked diligently on the projects and tells us all about the progress here.
A real salt fish should really be on a par with what Parma ham is to Italians
There is a long tradition of processing salted fish in Iceland, and salted fish has been intertwined with Icelandic history and food culture for centuries. Today, the export of fully salted fish products is among our most valuable exports. Most of the exported salted fish goes to countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, France and Brazil, but in these countries a long and strong tradition has been created for the consumption of salted fish as a luxury product in restaurants as well as for ordinary consumers out there.
"At the same time, you can hardly get real salted fish here at home, whether in fish shops, supermarkets or restaurants. Salted fish is even sold as salted fish. We felt it was extremely important to create a higher place for this real luxury product in Iceland, Iceland should really be the Mecca of saltfish," explains Kolbrún.
"Then it is not smart to offer fish, which is not real salt fish. It is necessary to differentiate between what is truly salted fish on the one hand and salted fish on the other," says Kolbrún. Salted fish, usually lightly salted or overnight salted, does not have the same working characteristics as salted fish, which is finished with salt and brine and then dry-salted even for weeks, before being dewatered, which gives this product unique properties such as the characteristic working taste and firm texture. In Kolbrún's opinion, real saltfish should be on a par with Parma ham to Italians.
"Another thing we wanted to fix regarding the image of salted fish was the myth that salted fish should be salty. We wanted to convey that salted fish, which is properly watered, should not be surf salt."
"The point is, after dehydration, the salt content should be on par with the salt content of many foods that many people consume, often on a daily basis, such as common breakfast cereals such as cereal or Cheerios."
"Many dishes, such as pizzas and mincemeat, tend to contain a similar amount of salt, or considerably higher, such as meatballs, cooked ham and ham, according to the database ÍSGEM," says Kolbrún.
Great knowledgetoon efficacy, dehydration, shelf life and quality
Matís has worked diligently on research projects on salted fish, and this has resulted in enormous knowledge of action, dehydration, shelf life and quality. Three doctoral students have conducted academic research in consultation with a fishing industry company on the entire production process, and the goal of that work was to gain deeper knowledge of the physical and material properties of raw materials and final products in order to improve the industry's performance and at the same time to be able to produce a product with the right quality for demanding markets. That knowledge has been communicated in various ways to stakeholders, not least salt fish producers.
"However, there was a need to strengthen the domestic value chain as a whole, and better promote saltfish as the gourmet product it is," says Kolbrún.
The main goal of the project Life is saltfish before and now, which was funded by AG-Fisk, was to increase knowledge about seafood, such as saltfish, and thus contribute to increased respect and thus increased value of it. In the project, traditions, innovations, processing methods, properties and quality of salted fish were examined and presented. Workshops and meetings with chefs were held, together with presentations, which took place in Iceland and other northern countries in cooperation with the Íslandstofa, marketing companies and salted fish producers.
A successful saltfish workshop
A workshop on salted fish was held by Matís on April 30, 2019. The workshop was attended by salted fish producers, master chefs and students of the cookery program of the Menntaskólin in Kópavogur (MK). The aim of the workshop was to make saltfish more popular, get to know the properties of saltfish, history and culture, evaluate the situation as it is, reflect on opportunities and obstacles and exchange opinions and experiences with saltfish.
The results of the workshop showed that the participants found a significant difference between dehydrated salted fish and lightly salted fish and agreed that people need to be taught how salted fish differs from fresh fish.
Participating culinary students believed that the opportunities of salted fish are great and they found salted fish to be a fun ingredient to work with. There was a consensus that there was a lack of awareness among chefs and the public that salted fish should not be very salty. Fish in restaurants and fish shops would often be too salty. "It could encourage consumers to refrain from buying salted fish and instead choose lightly salted or night-salted fish, where the salty taste is more balanced," explains Kolbrún.
A saltfish week that was a hit
As a result of the workshop, it was decided to launch an image campaign for salted fish as a gourmet food, a week-long event entitled "Salt Fish Week". The main goal of Saltfish Week was to promote saltfish in Iceland and introduce the endless possibilities, quality and interesting history of saltfish to Icelandic and foreign visitors. Guidelines for handling and dewatering were prepared and restaurants and canteens were encouraged to participate.
To evaluate the experience of those who participated in the saltfish week, they were sent a questionnaire. General satisfaction was measured among the 13 restaurants and 10 canteens that served saltfish during Saltfish Week. Relatively many people ordered salted fish dishes in restaurants, and salted fish dishes were well received by guests. The main motivating factors for participating in Saltfish Week were various, but the main ones could be mentioned a pleasant change, it would be nice to meet foreign chefs and that the event has a good effect on diversity and creativity in the workplace, as well as that it was important to introduce the ingredients to both Icelanders and foreign tourists .
"Most of the participants who have rarely or never offered salted fish believe that it is likely that they will offer it more often after the salted fish week," says Kolbrún.
The effect does not last
Since the project was intended to promote the improvement of the image of salted fish and at the same time support the increased knowledge of cooks, about the treatment, quality and possibilities of salted fish in general, it could be said that salted fish producers and cooks are direct beneficiaries. Also consumers, both domestic and foreign, who benefit from the healthful eating of properly watered salt fish, which is not too salty, as well as having a wider selection of gourmet dishes that pamper the taste buds and the dining experience in general.
Despite the publication The saltfish book, saltfish has been left out of the teaching of cookery students. The project has brought a new emphasis on educational material and at the same time changed that situation for the better, and after the workshop within the project was held, MK has used the material presented there for teaching at school. Therefore, it can be assumed that aspiring and new chefs know a good deal about salted fish, which will translate into restaurants and the food flora in Iceland for the future.
An excellent and wider selection of salted fish dishes have returned to the menus of restaurants, and we can mention for example that at Einsa Kalda in Vestmanney, their salted fish dish is one of the most popular dishes since the Saltfish Week was held. There, a cooperative basis has been created for saltfish processing in Vestmannaeyjar (the Processing plant in Vestmannaeyjar) and Einsa Kalda in dewatering finished saltfish.
"In terms of volume, this one restaurant now sells more dehydrated processed saltfish (in a dish from the menu), than the only supermarket chain in Iceland that sells dehydrated processed saltfish, on an annual basis," explains Kolbrún.
The follow-up projectSalted fish delicacies
Workshop in the project Saltfiskkräsingar
The project Life is saltfish before and now is over. Although that project has yielded good results, more is needed to properly put saltfish on the map for us Icelanders, as a gourmet food, with all its history, culture and characteristics. To follow this up, a follow-up project was applied for, Salted fish delicacies, which started now in 2022, but it also received funding from AG Fisk. The project is very much about the sharing of knowledge, and this autumn a workshop was held in the building of the Menntaskól in Kópavogur, in collaboration with Matís, the Menntaskól in Kópavogur (MK), Grím Kokk, the Culinary Master's Club and Icelandic saltfish producers. The results of that workshop showed that there seem to be endless opportunities and opportunities for saltfish, but that we need to pave the way for saltfish to the Icelandic market better, and the next steps within Saltfiskkræsing are aimed at that.
The project was carried out in collaboration with Matís, the Íslandstofa, Klúbb reiðslumistara, Menntaskólanin in Kópavogur, Icelandic saltfish producers and others. The project was also joined by Nordic partners in Norway and the Faroe Islands. The project received funding from AG-Fisk on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the AVS Research Fund.
Last summer, Sigmundur Páll Freysteinsson, a master's student in textile and fashion design at Kyoto University and Kyoto Seika University in Japan, worked on the project Future utilization of macro and microalgae in the textile industry in Iceland in close collaboration with Matís. The project was supported by the Student Innovation Fund.
The textile and clothing industry is far behind in adopting better and more environmentally friendly processes and is considered one of the most polluting industries in the world. Algae can be a unique raw material to use for environmentally friendly textile dyeing. Various nations have realized the utilization potential of large and small algae, but now there is an opportunity to use them in the production of natural textile dyes, which has not been known before. The project involved both an in-depth study of sources on coastal products in Iceland as well as color experiments with the large and small algae that can be considered for large-scale production. The project looks to the future and promotes sustainability, innovation and new opportunities related to the textile industry, design and algae cultivation in Iceland. One of the ingredients that was tested was a blue nutritional and antioxidant substance that VAXA Technologies has developed, among other things, in the project Iceblue. Macroalgae from the project were also tested MINERVA.
Matís is also involved in both of these projects, but Iceblue is funded by Ranni's Technology Development Fund as part of the Eurostars program of the European Union. MINERVA is funded by the BlueBio Cofund.
Sigmundur with the instructors at Matís – Rósa Jónsdóttir and Margréti Geirsdóttir.
Here you can see a beautiful dyeing test on Icelandic wool with a blue nutrient and antioxidant from VAXA Technologies.
Here you can see a color palette made from Icelandic large and small algae processed on cotton.
Matís received a grant from the Food Fund in 2022 to work on the project New solutions for work on food labeling. The project is specifically intended to make it easier for small food producers to meet the requirements for labeling new products. The Association of Small Food Producers (SSFM) is a partner in the project.
For this purpose, work has been done on guidelines, the collection of data on raw materials and their registration in the Icelandic database on the chemical content of food (ÍSGEM) at Matís. Work has also been done on the development of a simple calculator to present the nutritional value of products. Finally has presentation of nutritional value information on the Matís website has been improved. You can search for food types and ingredients on the Matís website and a list of nutrients will appear. The presentation is now much clearer than before and the nutrients are divided into categories. It turned out that data for some of the nutrients had become old and unreliable, so information is published on fewer substances than before. Matís collaborated with Ívar Gunnarsson, a computer scientist at Hugsjá, on this project, and he is credited with the programming work.
A group of students in the Introduction to Engineering course from Reykjavík University visited Matís recently. The students received an award for their project on the production of renewable bioplastic from seaweed for drinking straws.
In their project, the students worked to replace plastic pipes, as innovations that have appeared on the market, such as steel pipes and cardboard pipes, are unsuitable for users. The students therefore decided to produce tubes made of bioplastic from kelp. The group visited Matís recently and spoke with project manager Sophie Jensen to gain more knowledge on the subject.
We recommend watching the students' video below.
Students in the group are:
Emil Örn Aðalsteinsson
Hafdís Sól Björnsdóttir
Halldór Jökull Ólafsson
Hrannar Briem weekend
Katla Yr Gautadóttir
We thank the students very much for the visit and wish them good luck.
