Category: News

Wednesday 30 June at At 15.00, a doctoral defense from the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland will take place. Mai Thi Tuyet Nga, a food scientist, is defending her doctoral dissertation. Due to changes in the celebration hall, the defense will take place in hall 105 at Háskólatorg. 

Overview

"Enhancing quality management of fresh fish with improved product management and traceability from fishing and to consumers." (Enhancing quality management of fresh fish supply chains through improved logistics and ensured traceability) is the title of the doctoral dissertation.

Dr. Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir, professor and vice-dean of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, will chair the ceremony, which will take place in hall 105 at Háskólatorg and will begin at 15:00.

Opponents are Dr. Morten Sivertsvik, "Research Leader" at Nofima in Stavanger and Dr. Hjörleifur Einarsson, professor at the University of Akureyri.

The supervisors and the doctoral committee were the following Sigurjón Arason, associate professor at the University of Iceland and chief engineer at Matís ohf, Dr. Gunnar Stefánsson Associate Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Iceland, Dr. Sigurður G. Bogason specialist at the University of Iceland and Dr. Sveinn Margeirsson, division manager at Matís ohf.

The United Nations University School of Fisheries provided Mai Thi Tuyet Nga with a scholarship and Matís ohf. provided her research facilities. The study belonged to the projects CHILL-ON (project no. FP6-016333-2) funded by the 6th Framework Program of the European Union and Hermun kæliferla which is funded by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund, the Technology Development Fund and the University of Iceland Research Fund.  

Abstract from the study: "Strengthened quality management of fresh fish with better planning and traceability from fishing and to consumers."

The aim of the project was to: Strengthen quality management of fresh fish with better planning and improved traceability from fishing and to consumers. Part of the research was to obtain an overview of the knowledge of the directors of companies related to the fishing industry on traceability and their cost awareness in the choice of transport routes and packaging when making decisions on the choice of transport processes for marine products. Analysis of transport processes was a necessary part of the project in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the status of the industry and the transport processes. The results of the analysis revealed which links in the supply chain could be improved in terms of shelf life, procedures, equipment, environmental impact, etc. The project investigated how temperatures evolve through the transport chain for both aviation and sea; fillet processing, pre-cooling, the effect of different packaging, - the function of storage and containers and also during the transfer of goods in the chain. The results of these components of the project were used to assess the heat load experienced by the products in the processes and used to predict shelf life. The results of the project will be used to make decisions about which processes should be improved in the supply chain so that it is most useful in optimizing the overall process. 

The advantages and disadvantages of air and sea transport for fresh fish were analyzed. The results of the temperature mapping showed a much more stable temperature in container transport by ship than by air transport. In particular, there is a risk of heat stress in air transport chains when a product is moved between different links in the refrigeration chain. Other factors in the supply chain that can affect the quality and shelf life of fresh fish are pre-cooling before packing, the location of boxes on pallets in the case of poorly temperature-controlled cooling chains and the length of the chains. 

TTI (Time Temperature Indicators) was also analyzed in the project where equipment was tested for fresh fish products and its use to assess product quality limits. TTI tests were performed in storage trials to verify that the rate of product quality change was consistent with the performance of the TTI equipment.

The doctoral dissertation is based on six scientific articles, of which one article is already published in an international scientific journal and another is approved.

Mai Thi Tuyet Nga was born on December 23, 1971 in Vietnam. She completed her B.Sc. degree from the Department of Aquatic Products Processing Technology at Kaliningrad State Technical University (KGTU), Kaliningrad, Russian Federation in 1995 and M.Sc. degree from the Faculty of Aquatic Products Processing, Nha Trang University (NTU), Nha Trang, Vietnam in 2000. Mai Thi Tuyet Nga has been a teacher of food science since 1996 at Nha Trang University (NTU). Mai Thi Tuyet Nga is married to Tran Quang Hung and they have two daughters Tran Mai Linh and Tran Mai Khanh Huyen.

Mai Thi Tuyet Nga, phone: 00-354-8987821; 00-84-914074318 Email: maiceland@yahoo.com

Sigurjón Arason, main supervisor,  mailto:go@hi.is sigurjar@hi.is  (phone: 8585117)

The main goal of the project is to utilize in a profitable way the catch that comes ashore in Þorlákshöfn with catch that is not gutted at sea.

The project manager for the project is Þorbjörn Jónsson at Atvinnuþróunarfélag Suðurlands and the partners are: Matís ehf., Auðbjörg ehf, Atlantshumar ehf., Hafnarnes Ver hf., Frostfiskur ehf., Lýsi hf., Landgræðsla ríkisins, Búnaðarsamband Suðurlands and
MS Selfoss.

The project is funded by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund.

The aim is to establish a start-up company at the end of the project and the company will focus on the utilization of the slag for fertilizer production. The expected by-product of the production process is crude oil

The use of sludge for fertilizer has a long history around the world. In Iceland, it was common in the first half of the last century to plow fields. Slug is suitable as an organic fertilizer for both vegetables and other plants and grasses. Studies have shown that the nitrogen content of fish slag is better utilized than nitrogen from synthetic fertilizers, as a large part is lost by evaporation. The slag has a much longer activity in fertilizer value as the elements are in organic form and are released more slowly into the soil.

More information about the project is here.

The CAREX project has invited 20 scientists to visit Iceland to exchange views and learn more about hot springs and life in difficult conditions, hot as well as cold. What place is better for that than Iceland?

The group will visit Hveragerði and Sólheimajökull, among other places, and the intention is to test various devices that are to be used for sampling and measuring life in peripheral areas, such as in very hot or very cold areas.

Matís' contact person is Viggo Marteinsson, viggo.marteinsson@matis.is, and provides further information about this trip / visit.

There is a great shortage of high quality surimi in the world and also a very growing demand for products with bioactivity and health benefits.

The aim of the project is to develop and set up a new processing process to produce high quality bioactive surimi products from underutilized and cheap raw materials.

There is a great shortage of high quality surimi in the world and also a very growing demand for products with bioactivity and health benefits. Therefore, there is a great opportunity now for Iceland to gain a foothold in this market. In the project, the process will be maximized and the properties of the product will be measured and confirmed by customers. New methods and blends will be developed to produce a new product, bioactive surimi, focusing on products that can contribute to improved consumer health. Surimi products will then be produced on a large scale and put to extensive market and consumer tests abroad.

Towards the end of the project, the intention is to start profitable surimi production in Iceland, which will lead to more jobs, increased diversity in the production of seafood in Iceland and increased foreign exchange earnings.

Further information can be found here.

The deep-sea conferences are among the main events in the field of deep-sea research. Viggó Marteinsson, director of Matís, will take part in the organization of this conference on behalf of Matís. 

The conference discusses the latest developments in this field and is attended by leading experts in this field. Various themes will be discussed, such as diversity in the deep seas, temperament, human influence, etc.

Further information, can be obtained from Viggó Marteinsson, viggo.marteinsson@matis.is.

Do you want fresh fish and other seafood? The fish market by the old harbor opened at the Festival of the Sea, last. Saturday, June 5th.

The fish market management company at Suðurbugt, in collaboration with Faxaflóahafnir and Matís, is responsible for the fish market. The fish market will be open from 10-17 and it is planned that it will be held every Saturday until the autumn.

The project was originally launched in 2009 already The AVS Fund supported the preparation of a research report and a proposal for the appearance and installation of a fish market for the general public (see the report here). Part of the report was then submitted to an idea competition for innovation in tourism, which Höfuðborgarstofa organized in 2009. The project received a grant for funding and a company was subsequently established to establish the fish market.

At the Fish Market by the old harbor, it is recommended that fresh seafood be sold and that those who sell it can inform buyers about its quality, origin and use. But how to evaluate the freshness of fish and other seafood?

At Matís, research has been done on the freshness of seafood for years. One product of this research is the so-called quality coefficient method for assessing freshness.

This method has been adapted to the freshness assessment for various common fish species:

• Redfish
• Lax
• Peeled shrimp
• Shrimp
• Sand turbine
• Sandkoli
• Herring
• Scarlet
• Plains
• Sunflower
• Cod and haddock
• Ufsi

For further information, contact Þóra Valsdóttir, thora.valsdottir@matis.is, and Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, kolbrun.sveinsdottir@matis.is.

The Chill on project will be covered by the Euronews news channel from 3 to 9 June.

The Chill-on project is funded by the European Union and aims to improve the quality and security, transparency and traceability of the supply chain of chilled / frozen fish products by developing cost-effective technologies, equipment and ways to further monitor and record relevant data and process data.

Here You can find a link to a video about Matís on the TV station.

Á website of the project states, among other things, that the European Union's market area is the second largest market in the world for fresh and frozen foods and that trade in chilled and frozen foods is increasing year by year. It also states that fish is in third place among the most consumed foods in Europe and due to the fragility of fresh fish, it has been decided to investigate everything related to quality and traceability in the supply chain and transport with chilled and frozen fish in the project. .

Matís' research in the project mainly focuses on fish products and methods to increase their shelf life and safety, but collaborative projects of this size open up various new possibilities and knowledge flows to Iceland.

The episodes about Chill on are on the program at the following times:

Thu. June 3 at 17:45
Fös. June 4 at 00:45 08:45 12:45
Lau. June 5 at 05:45 11:15 16:45 21:45
Sun. June 6 at 09:45 13:45 19:45
Mon. June 7 at 08:15 17:45     
Tue. June 8 at 00:45 12:15 17:15
Wed. June 9 at 00:45 09:15 15:45

A declaration of intent for Matarsmiðjan á Flúðir has attracted a lot of attention. Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir was in an interview on Bylgjan recently about plans for a food factory and hot water farming.

The interview with Sjöfn can be found here.

In recent months, preparations have been made for the establishment of a food factory in the uplands of Árnessýsla, which will be a center for product development and processing of vegetables and to strengthen vocational and university education in the area through teaching and research.

In Flúðir, partners will rent premises and set up the necessary facilities for Matarsmiðjan's operations. The intention is to offer entrepreneurs and small producers expert assistance to develop products without spending a lot of money on facilities, equipment and operating licenses while products are being marketed.

The main goal of the project is to build a development center for small-scale food production, ie to establish small-scale production, product development and research of horticultural products in the area and thus create new and interesting opportunities in Flúðir and the surrounding area, but also to create an important platform for entrepreneurs and small producers complete their products for marketing.

Suðurlands' growth agreement supported Matís in the preparation of the food factory. This spring, the partners submitted a new application to the Growth Agreement of the South for the development of Matarsmiðjan.

A special association will be established for the operation of the food factory in Flúðir. The partners will work together to ensure the progress of the project so that the facilities can be used for development work, teaching, courses and experimental activities.

In the near future, an employee will be hired full time for the workshop. Matís invests heavily in its operations outside the capital area and in collaboration with companies and stakeholders throughout the country, but the company operates offices in six locations outside Reykjavík.

For further information, please contact Guðjón Þorkelsson, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is, and Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís, sjofn.sigurgisladottir@matis.is.

Professor Wolfgang Hillen will give a lecture at Matís, Vínlandsleið 12, Reykjavík on Thursday 3 June at 10.00 - 11.00. The lecture is entitled: Tetracycline Dependent Gene Regulation in Bacteria and Mammals: From Mechanisms to Applications. 

Professor Wolgang Hillen is the Chair of the Department of Microbiology, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
More about the topic of the lecture

Tetracycline Dependent Gene Regulation in Bacteria and Mammals: From Mechanisms to Applications
Tetracycline dependent gene regulation originates from resistance genes against this antibiotic in bacteria. The resistance mechanism has provided evolutionary pressure to establish a gene regulation system with low background expression combined with sensitive and efficient induction. The relevant prokaryotic components have been modified to function in nearly all organisms, including transgenic mice and human cell lines. A special strategy will be described for the construction of a suicide device for gene therapy by inducing apoptosis in human cell lines at will using regulated t-Bid expression. The basal expression is reduced below the induction threshold by a combined repressor / activator regulation construct, which leads to over 99% cell death upon induction. Furthermore, a screen for the nuclear localization of proteins will be described that does not need microscopy but instead makes use of a purely genetic procedure in which expression of a reporter gene indicates nuclear localization. The potential for screening novel therapeutics will be discussed.

For further information, please contact Franklín Georgsson, franklin.georgsson@matis.is.

The Italian Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Slow Food Association and Matís, organizes a seminar on the value of local food for culture, tourism and society. Matís' employees, Þóra Valsdóttir and Guðjón Þorkelsson, give a very interesting talk: "The special position of Icelandic food. Origin, quality, products. "

Wednesday. June 2, 2010
The store's house, 14th floor at 15.-17.00 

Slow Food Reykjavik, Eygló Björk Ólafsdóttir: 
Slow Food's project to protect and promote original, local foods.
Matís, Þóra Valsdóttir and Guðjón Þorkelsson:
The special position of Icelandic food. Origin, quality, products.

Edda Hotels, Friðrik V. Karlsson:
The old sky in the new kitchen

EG Fiskverkun, Flateyri, Guðrún Pálsdóttir:
Westfjords dried fish - history and specialties  

The Slow Food movement was born in Italy in 1989 and has played a major role in the preservation, revival and utilization of local foods around the world. The association's ideology is that the food is good, clean and fair - what value can be created in Iceland by following this policy? The ways within European co-operation and Slow Food to recognize food based on origin, quality and traditional processing methods will be highlighted. 

For further information, contact Þóra Valsdóttir, thora.valsdottir@matis.is, and Guðjón Þorkelsson, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is.

Registration with Kristin@chamber.is