Category: News

Þorsteinn Már Baldvinsson, CEO of Samherji, and Sveinn Margeirsson, division manager at Matís, discuss opportunities in the Icelandic fisheries sector at an open meeting on Thursday. Dec 3 at 08:30 at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica Hotel, Suðurlandsbraut 2.

The meeting is hosted by Matís, the AVS fund and the Association of Fish Processing Plants.

The aim of the meeting is to shed light on opportunities and possibilities for better utilization and increased value. Icelanders are at the forefront of the utilization of marine resources and have strong and powerful fisheries companies with years of experience in meeting the needs of the market. But our raw material is a limited resource and therefore it is necessary to make the best use of it and create great value from it.

It could be that we are missing out on opportunities by often exporting unprocessed raw materials, we can make better use of our well-educated people in development and marketing, we can make better use of the opportunities inherent in the source of the raw material, and so on.

This meeting can shed light on the future possibilities of the Icelandic fisheries sector.

An advertisement for the meeting can be found here.

Recently, an article about the QALIBRA project was published, the aim of which is to develop quantitative methods to assess both the positive and negative effects of food ingredients on human health.

The article can be found here.

Further information can be obtained from Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, helga.gunnlaugsdottir@matis.is

Matís participates in the European network of excellence EuroFIR on food databases and chemical content of food. A workshop on traditional foods in Europe has now been completed.

Five traditional foods were selected in each country, the production process was defined and then a number of nutrients were measured in the products. The Icelandic food was skyr, ham, pickled blood butter, dried fish and a delicious shark. This project was carried out in collaboration with the Agricultural University of Iceland.

Information on traditional foods has now been compiled and published in a loose-leaf folder. The text is in both English and the language of the country in question. The history of the food, its production and nutritional value are discussed. The information has been published on the EuroFIR project website and can be accessed at:

eurofir.org

A general report on traditional European food was also published and can be accessed at:

http://www.eurofir.net/temp/EuroFIRspSynthesisspReportsp6_TraditionalspFoodsspinspEuropehs4hs.pdf

There is reason to point out a diverse version of the EuroFIR project. These are reports and information sheets on a variety of issues related to the chemical content of food. These include the discussion of trans fatty acids, health claims, bioactive substances, regulations and programs.

For further information, please contact Ólafur Reykdal, olafur.reykdal@matis.is.

Introductory meeting for the fishing industry and carriers in the Westman Islands - Matís ohf. and the University of Iceland.

Thursday 26 November An introductory meeting will be held on the results of the cooling projects Kælibót and Chill-on and Hermun kæliferla. Extensive experiments have been carried out in the field of cooling catfish from the market. Participants in the project are connected to different links in the chain: raw material handling, processing, transport and marketing. Various experiments from extensive research on cooling fish will be presented. The experiments were performed in the winter of 2008-2009 under real conditions. A comparison has been made of:

• cooling capacity of different ice media and machines for their production
• cooling methods during processing (liquid and erosive cooling)
• different packaging for product packaging
• different transport routes (ships and flights) and the effect of improved temperature control on the transport of chilled products.

Experiments are now underway where the best methods for each link in the chain are selected together and the whole chain is run in one experiment under real conditions. Transport processes have been mapped in terms of time and temperature, and refrigeration simulators will be used to set up those processes for storing products. In this way, the necessary measurements can be performed without the transfer from the sampling site to the laboratory interfering with the results. At the same time, transport to foreign markets will be imitated by sending fish to the Westman Islands. Foreign participants Chill-on (www.chill-on.com/) have arrived in the country and will test their technology with this transfer.

Location:
Vestmannaeyjar Knowledge Center - Strandvegur 50 - 900 Vestmannaeyjar
Phone: 481 1111 - Fax: 481 2669 - Email: setur@setur.is

The agenda of the meeting can be found here.

The Icelandic participants in the projects Kælibótar and Chill-on are: Brim hf., Eimskip hf., Háskóli Íslands, Icelandair Cargo, Matís ohf., Optimar á Íslandi ehf., Samherji hf., Samskip hf. Skaginn hf. and Opale Seafood.

The projects are funded by AVS, EU, Tækniþróunarsjóður Rannís and Rannsóknarsjóður Háskóli Íslands.

A study on fish products is currently underway, which is a collaborative project between companies and institutions from three countries. Partners in Norway are Nofima, the Culinary Institute, Tank Design and the Norwegian Sea Export Council, in Denmark the Aarhus School of Business, the Department of Market Research and Statistics.

Here in Iceland they are Matís, FYLGIFISKAR, Lýðheilsustöð and Reykjavíkurborg (education and preschool department).

We would love if you could see yourself able to answer the survey. Answers can not be traced to individuals and your name will of course not appear anywhere in the processing of the survey. The survey covers 10 minutes. She has answered online by going to the URL:  http://fishevidence.net/limesurvey/index.php?sid=88481&lang=is

Please complete the questionnaire by December 4th.

The person responsible for the survey is Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir, a specialist at Matís in Iceland and Themis Altintzoglou, a doctoral student at Nofima in Norway. If you have any questions in connection with the survey, you can contact Gunnþórunn or Themis.

Hoping for a good response,
Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir Themistoklis Altintzoglou
Matís, Iceland Nofima, Norway
gunnthorunn.einarsdottir@matis.is                  themis.altintzoglou@nofima.no

Three winners will be drawn here in Iceland and are 10,000 ISK in prize for each.

Winners will be drawn on Tuesday 15 December and their names will be posted on Matís' page www.matis.is.  

The food industry plays an important role in the Nordic countries. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on the safety, sustainability, purity, hygiene and traceability of food produced in the area.

The conference will focus on these key issues in an era of growing international trade in raw materials and processed foods. The connection between food and the origins, culture and cuisine of the Nordic countries will also be discussed.

Topics at the conference will include:

• Food security in the world of globalization
• Interaction between animal welfare, health and food analysis in the market
• Innovation in the food sector
• Nordic culture and identity vs. innovation
• The position of the Nordic food industry and the potential of the world market

The aim is to provide an overview of the position of the Nordic food industry in terms of international security and innovation. Efforts will be made to define challenges and future opportunities for Nordic food.

Do consumers and industry share the authorities' emphasis on sustainability, quality, purity, health and traceability? Which items are considered most important? How do consumers perceive food safety messages? How can the Nordic countries contribute to the international arena in the future in terms of resource management and use? Where are international standards heading and how can policy makers and industry stakeholders influence them? Are Nordic governments and private companies creating technical barriers due to their emphasis on concepts such as safety, cleanliness, health, sustainability and traceability? What future opportunities and challenges does Nordic food face?

Representatives from different stakeholders will discuss these issues from their point of view. The conference is intended for the food industry, scientists, consumer organizations, policy makers and the authorities. The results will be published on the conference website.

Web Nordic Values in the Food Sector - The way forward in a global perspective

Friday 13 November at 13: 30-17: 00 there will be a presentation about Verið in Sauðárkrókur. There, Verbúar will present their activities. Guðmundur Guðlaugsson, mayor of the Municipality of Skagafjörður, convenes the session.

Gísli Svan Einarsson. Be Science Parks
Helgi Thorarensen.  Faculty of Aquaculture and Fish Biology at Hólar University
Gunnlaugur Sighvatsson. Iceprotein           
Arnljótur Bjarki Bergsson. Matís Biotechnology Center
Matthildur Ingólfsdóttir. Your environment

Coffee break

Individual projects presented
Stefán Óli Steingrímsson, Hólar University - Hólar University. Inheritance process of salmonids
Ólafur Sigurgeirsson, Hólar University - Hólar University.  Grass harvester
Jón Þór Jósepsson, Mjólkursamlagi KS. Turning cheese whey into a profitable product
Björn Margeirsson, Matís. Temperature control in the transport processes of marine products - experiments and modeling
Hörður Kristinsson, Matís. Opportunities in biochemical processing
Þorsteinn Ingi Sigfússon, Iceland Innovation Center.  NMI opens in Sauðárkrókur.

Moderator. Áskell Heiðar Ásgeirsson, Head of Marketing and Development at the Municipality of Skagafjörður

Everyone is welcome

Registration of participants and further information:
Gísli Svan Einarsson
gisli@veridehf.is

BE Vísindagarður ehf.
Háeyri 1. 550 Sauðárkrókur
S: 455-7930, 820-7930

Versin website: http://veridehf.is/

The Matís report "Freezing and thawing of halibut - experiments and CFD simulation" has been published, which was prepared in the project Simulation of cooling processes. 

The freezing and thawing of halibut was experimentally studied and CFD models were constructed using the thermal and hydrological software FLUENT. The project has already demonstrated the unequivocal utility of such models for the transport processes of fresh produce, but the results of this report show that the same applies to frozen products. 

In the freezing experiment, whole pallets of semi-frozen halibut were placed in a cold store and the air temperature and the temperature of halibut in different places on the pallet were measured with thermometers. The time taken for the halibut to freeze from -10 to -5 ° C below -15 ° C ranged from one to four days depending on the location of the pallet. 

In thawing experiments, both individual bags and twenty bags, stacked on pallets, were examined in the temperature-controlled cold rooms of Matís and UI. Heating of a frozen product was mapped under conditions that may occur during unloading from freezer trawlers or 10 - 20 ° C air temperature. The results of the experiments were compared with the results of three-dimensional heat transfer models, and there was generally a good agreement between them. At 10 p.m. storage at 12.6 ° C air temperature raised the temperature in individual bags from about -26 ° C to approx. -5 ° C. At such a long temperature load, the temperature in pallet bags rose from -22.5 ° C to -17 to -3 ° C, which shows how homogeneous the heat distribution can be with prolonged heat load. The results of the CFD model showed that 10 m / s wind during loading significantly accelerates the thawing of frozen fish on pallets.

For further information, please contact Björn Margeirsson, PhD student at Matís and the University of Iceland, bjorn.margeirsson@matis.is. 

An interesting summary has been presented about the possibilities of a fish market for the general public, where visitors and pedestrians can get to know the inexhaustible possibilities of Icelandic seafood and get acquainted with the products and buy exciting ingredients for cooking.

Why is it not common in this country for the public to be able to buy fresh fish on the quayside or at the fish market? Iceland is known for its great and good fishing grounds and fish products of high quality. Why not make more of an experience related to the fish, both for Icelanders and for tourists? Many people are interested in the idea of a fish market, but for some reason it has not been implemented.

The AVS project "Fish Market for the Public" is now complete. The project was about exploring the basis for establishing fish markets in Iceland for the general public and tourists. Proposals were also made on how to handle such a market. The main purpose was to encourage the establishment of (retail) fish markets around the country and thereby strengthen the connection between consumers and seafood. There has been a lot of interest in the project and everything points to such a market being established in Reykjavík soon.

These proposals review the state of fish markets in Iceland and what "retail fish markets" can offer. Examples of fish markets abroad are taken, various ways of setting up a retail fish market are reviewed, and the main steps that need to be kept in mind when setting out are reviewed. Finally, an example is taken of the process of original idea work for the establishment of a retail fish market in Reykjavík.

The authors hope that this summary will spark interest in and contribute to the establishment of fish markets for the general public across the country.

Project reports: Proposals for the establishment of a retail fish market in Iceland.

Further information about the project can be obtained from Þóra Valsdóttir, Matís ohf.

A very interesting conference will take place at the Grand Hotel. Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14. Many of Matís' employees are involved and deliver interesting presentations and / or chair meetings. The program can be accessed at the bottom of the page.

PREVENTION & LIFESTYLE
Conference for professionals and the general public.
13.-14. November 2009

PART 1 DISEASES: 9.00-12.30
Moderator: Inga Þórsdóttir.
09.00-09.10 The conference is set.
09.10-09.35 Obesity in children. Erlingur Jóhannsson.
09.35-10.00 Obesity in adults & diabetes. Gunnar Sigurðsson.
10.00-10.25 Cardiovascular disease. Thor Aspelund.
10.25-10.40 Coffee break
10.40-11.05 Dementia. Björn Einarsson.
11.05-11.30 Cancer. Jón Gunnlaugur Jónasson.
11.30-11.55 Digestive diseases. Bjarni Þjóðleifsson.
11.55-12.20 Musculoskeletal problems & bone protection. Björn Guðbjörnsson.

12.20-13.00 Matarhlé

PART 2 RISK FACTORS: 13.30-16.30
Moderator: Halla Skúladóttir. 
13.00-14.00 Heart Disease and Nitric Oxide. Louis Ignarro.
14.00-14.25 Industry. Jón Óttar Ragnarsson.
14.25-14.50 Movement. Janus Guðlaugsson.
14.50-15.15 Smoking & lung diseases. Þórarinn Gíslason.
15.15-15.25 Coffee break
15.25-15.50 Lifestyle. Þórólfur Þórlindsson.
15.50-16.15 Side effects of medicines. Magnús Karl Magnússon.
16.15-16.40 Mental Disorders & Prevention. Högni Óskarsson
16.40-17.05 Dental diseases & prevention. Sigfús Þór Elíasson.

LATER DAY: SATURDAY

PART 3 SYSTEMS: 10.00-12.30

Seminar A The Icelandic Chemical Environment
Moderator: Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir.

a. The diet of Icelanders. Inga Þórsdóttir. 
b. Trace minerals in Icelandic soil & food. Laufey Steingrimsdottir.
c. Chemical content of Icelandic food. Ólafur Reykdal.
d. Food control in Iceland today. Jón Gíslason.
e. Toxins in the Icelandic environment & food. Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir.
f. Antibiotics & hormonal drugs in Icelandic food. Sigurður Örn Hansson.

Seminar B Production & development in Iceland
Moderator: Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir

a. Biochemical processing & health materials from the Icelandic ecosystem. Hörður G. Kristinsson.
b. Medicines from the Icelandic ecosystem. Elín Soffía Ólafsdóttir?
c. Genetically modified foods, pros & cons - Einar Mäntylä.
d. Agriculture & horticulture. Magnús Á. Ágústsson.
e. Aquaculture & omega-3. Jón Árnason.
f. Iceland as a health paradise. Grímur Sæmundsen.

12.30-13.00 Matarhlé

PART 4 POLICY: 13.00-14.30
Moderator: Sigurður Guðmundsson.
13.00-13.30 Changed emphases in the health system. Vilmundur Guðnason.
13.30-14.00 New & healthier Iceland. Þorgrímur Þráinsson.
14.00-14.30 Future challenge. Sigmundur Guðbjarnarson.

14.30-14.45 Coffee break.

PART 5 PANEL DISCUSSION: 14.45-17.00
All original speakers are responsible for the answers together with the following parties:
Lúðvíg Guðmundsson & Hjörtur Gíslason: Dieting measures
Karl Andersen: Preventive measures for heart disease.
Tómas Geirsson tries. Obesity during pregnancy.
Unnur Valdimarsdottir. Cancer & environment.