Category: News

Great progress has been made in the breeding and cultivation of barley in this country. Barley has primarily been used as animal feed, but interest in its use for human consumption has been growing.

This is not least due to the hygiene of the barley, but important substances such as fiber are found in barley to a greater extent than wheat. It is also important that barley is a very versatile grain for food processing.

One of the main weaknesses of Icelandic barley cultivation is that the grain does not dry enough in the field and must therefore be dried before it can be used for food production. Cultivation safety is also lower in Iceland than in many other places. Costs and incomes in barley farming need to be analyzed and also look at the side of the food industry.

Barley can be used in baked goods, cereals, porridge, composite dishes and side dishes instead of rice. Barley is used to make malting barley which is used in the production of alcoholic beverages. It is also conceivable that barley will be used in functional foods that promote health. Barley gives food a healthy image due to the fiber and other cavities in it.

In the project "Increased value from Icelandic barley" it was shown that barley can be used in various ways in the food industry. The chemical content of the barley was similar to what happens abroad and the food safety with regard to microorganisms and contaminants was adequate. The project did not reveal anything that militates against the utilization of Icelandic barley for human consumption. The results of the project are useful for the presentation of barley products and the assessment of their health value. The main results and conclusions are summarized below.

Baking industry
The use of barley in baking products was shown to be successful and it can be recommended that the baking industry use barley in its production. The baking industry can produce a wide range of barley products. The bread should not be focused on, but also bakery products that can be largely or exclusively made from barley (flatbreads, cakes, etc.).

From a nutritional point of view, it is important to increase the amount of fiber in the diet of Icelanders. It is particularly interesting that the barley contains water-soluble fiber substances called beta-glucans. These fiber can lower blood cholesterol and have a lowering effect on blood sugar. It is therefore possible to increase the health of bread products by using barley in the products.

In order to be able to meet the potential needs of the baking industry, it must be possible to peel and grind Icelandic barley to a considerable extent. It is necessary for trade in barley for the baking industry to be based on defined quality requirements. Icelandic barley could perhaps meet 10-20% of the domestic demand for cereals for the production of baked goods.

Malt production
The project succeeded in producing Icelandic barley malt with satisfactory properties. Malt production needs to be transferred to the production stage. The production must be of consistent quality, but Icelandic barley can vary considerably from year to year and producer. The raw material for malting must be the Icelandic barley of the highest quality. Development work is necessary to put together usable work processes and retrieve damaged grain.

Alcoholic beverages
Beer was produced from Icelandic barley malt and then only the hops were imported. Strictly speaking, Icelandic plants need to replace the hops if beer is to be Icelandic. Barley and water, however, are the most important raw materials for making beer. Whiskey production from Icelandic barley is possible but has not been investigated. Whiskey production does not make as high demands on the quality of the barley as beer production.

Cuisine and regional registers
Barley is suitable for various cuisines and it is ideal to use it in district registers where barley is grown. The tourism industry can benefit from this.

Biochemical processing
Barley can become a raw material in biochemical processing. Beta-glucans and other barley sugars can be processed. Enzymes could be used to break down polysaccharides into oligosaccharides that could have biological activity. Low sugars can be used in more foods than beta-glucans as the beta-glucans increase the viscosity of certain foods too much. A health-promoting target diet could be based on barley beta-glucans. This could open up new possibilities for the utilization of barley for human consumption. Other ingredients in barley could be important for a targeted diet, such as tocopherols and polysaccharides. Beta-glucans are already being added to various foods abroad and this trend is likely to continue.

Quality requirements
It is important that a channel is found to develop the quality requirements that have been set. Drying the barley is one of the most important things. Manufacturers need to consider this aspect. Drying stations for a specific area could be a good option. The baking industry makes certain demands on barley flour, but for the malting process, other requirements must be met.

It is important that barley is not moldy, neither in the field nor in storage. Some molds can produce fungal toxins that are harmful to humans and livestock. There is no evidence of fungal toxins in Icelandic barley. Emphasis should be placed on monitoring the presence of mold in cereals or flour and preventing the use of the product, whether it is used as animal feed or for human consumption.

Uniqueness
It is possible that various types of fungal toxins do not form in Iceland in the field due to low ambient temperatures and this could be a special feature for Icelandic agriculture. Research is lacking on the formation of fungal toxins in Icelandic conditions.

Adequate food supply in Iceland
Barley and potatoes are the only sources of carbohydrates produced in the country to a significant extent. It can therefore be important that barley is produced in the country for both feed and food production. The cultivation of barley in Iceland is part of ensuring a sufficient food security for Icelanders. Interest in the utilization of domestic raw materials for food production has also increased.

Seminar in Denmark on Nordic grain
Ólafur Reykdal from Matís and Ólafur Eggertsson and Guðný Valberg from Þorvaldseyri attended seminars on behalf of the project Nordic Corn in Nordic Cuisine (Forum for Nordic Domesticated Cereals for the New Nordic Kitchen) in Denmark on 10 and 11 March 2009. The project was under the program New Nordic cuisine. At the seminar, scientists, bakers and producers gathered and shared their experiences.

Information from the seminar can be found here.

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

The export routes of fresh fish products have largely depended on their shelf life. A large part of the products have been exported by air to minimize transport time from producer to consumer, but due to economic and environmental considerations, manufacturers have increasingly focused on shipping in recent years. 

It is therefore important to look for ways to extend the shelf life of fresh products, for example by improving packaging and improving temperature control throughout the process from fishing to consumers. But it is more than the direct cost of transportation and the growing environmental awareness in the world that plays into the competition of shipping and air transport. The results of the AVS projects Simulation of cooling processes and Integration of cooling research have indicated a clear difference in the stability of temperature control in shipping and air transport, in favor of the aforementioned mode of transport. The study is also part of the EU project Chill-on (FP6-016333-2).

In the current experiment, a precise comparison is made between the temperature fluctuations that products experience during transport from Dalvík to Bremerhaven, with flights on the one hand and ships on the other. The temperature and humidity through the transport chain are mapped with 24 - 29 sirens outside and inside the boxes of each shipment, thus obtaining a comprehensive picture of the heat load that the packaging must be able to protect against this valuable product. At the same time, changes in quality are assessed. The transport costs and shelf life of products will be assessed and the results used to obtain indications of the advantages and disadvantages of each mode of transport.

An interesting post can now be found on the website of Ríki Vatnajökull, www.rikivatnajokuls.is. The article discusses, among other things, how income can be increased by further linking tourism to basic industries.

Matís is working on studies of the effects of pre-cooling products before packaging with regard to the shelf life of products. The closer the product is to the optimum temperature during packing, the smaller the need for refrigeration in the actual transport process.

It is very important to lower the temperature of the product in small units before packing, otherwise there is a risk of slow and uneven cooling, as is the case with large packed units. The pre-cooling methods used in the experiments are liquid cooling and skin cooling, and the products are packed in a foam plastic box after trimming and cutting into nape pieces. The boxes are stored in temperature-controlled conditions where the actual transport processes are simulated. Changes in quality and damage processes are monitored at regular intervals. The results will then be used to assess the shelf life of products that have been packaged after or without precooling.

These pre-cooling experiments are useful for two AVS projects, i.e. Integration of refrigeration research (R 061-06) and Simulation of refrigeration processes (R 037-08) and are also part of the EU project Chill-on (FP6- 016333-2). In the first project, they are used for more purposeful process management and the publication of guidelines for the industry. In Simulation of cooling processes, more emphasis is placed on the transport processes and the connection between pre-cooling and the design and use of packaging in transport processes. The results of the pre - cooling experiments are useful in the development of heat transfer models for fresh fish in transport, which are used to improve transport processes. 

On Thursday 5 March, presentations will begin on the final projects of the students of the Fisheries School. Students in the quality specialist line present their projects at 9:00 and students on the fish stock assessment specialist line at 13:00. The presentations on Thursday will be held in the meeting room on the 1st floor, Skúlagata 4.

It is expected that each student will have 20 minutes to present their projects, in addition to which 5-10 minutes will be allowed for questions after each presentation.

Everyone is welcome.

The program is as follows:

The fellows specializing in Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing will present their projects on Thursday morning, 5th of March 2009, and those specializing in Stock Assessment will be in the afternoon the same day. Presentations in Reykjavik, will be in the main meeting room on the first floor. Fellows will give a 20 minute presentation, leaving 5-10 minutes for questions and discussion. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday 5th March - Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing (PRESENTATIONS IN REYKJAVIK)

9:00-9:30  Mathew Ndasi Ngila -Kenya
Project: Environmental study and monitoring of undesirable chemical substances in fish / seafood: A proposal for Lake Victoria, Kenya.
Supervisors: Helga Gunnlaugsdottir and Sasan Rabieh, MATIS

9:30-10:00        Celina Anibal Malichocho - Mozambique
Project: Effect of different temperature on growth of Vibrio Cholerae, total viable Microorganisms and Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) producing bacteria.
Supervisors: Hannes Magnusson and Pall Steinthorsson, MATIS,

10:00-10:30        Ngo Van Sinh -Vietnam
Project: Quality control in processing and distribution of Frozen Basa catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) / fillet in Vietnam and compared to similar process in Iceland.
Supervisor: Margeir Gissurarson, MATIS

10:30-10:40        Break

10:40-11:10        Fanuel Kapute -Malawi
Project: Fish Quality and Processing in Malawi: Responding to challenges through institutional capacity building. (A case study of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Science Department, Bunda College of Agriculture, Malawi) 
Supervisor: Margeir Gissurarson, MATÍS. "

11:10-11:40    Qiancheng Zhao - China
Project: Effect of Saithe protein isolate injection on the quality of Saithe (Pollachius virens) fillets during storage at chilling and frozen conditions. 
Supervisors: Kristin A. Thorarinsdottir, Irek Klonowski and Sigurjon Arason, MATIS

11:40-12:00    Won Sik An -DPR Korea
Projectt: Effective storage conditions on salted herring with cold brine based on domestic demand and current capacity of cold storage in DPR Korea. 
Supervisors: Kristin A. Thorarinsdottir, Asbjorn Jonsson and Irek Klonowski, MATIS

Thursday 5th of March - Stock Assessment (PRESENTATIONS IN REYKJAVIK)

13:00-13:30        Vida Samantha Osei - Ghana
Project: Evaluation of the sampling scheme for Scomber japonicus in the inshore fishery in Ghana.
Supervisor: Gudmundur Thordason, Marine Research Institute (MRI)

13:30:14:00        Thong Ba Nguyen - Vietnam
Project: Assessment of demersal fishery resources of the Southeast and Southwest waters of Vietnam, based on bottom trawl surveys.
Supervisors: Bjorn Aevar Steinarson, Marine Research Institute (MRI)

14:00-14:30        Maria Fiasoso Sapatu - Samoa
Project: An Assessment of Samoa's monitoring and resources of reef and lagoon associated finfish.
Supervisors: Einar Hjörleifsson, Marine Research Institute (MRI)

We hope to see as many as possible
With best regards,
United Nations University School of Fisheries

Well over four hundred foreign students applied to attend courses in Iceland!

From March 10 to 18, an international course will be held in Iceland under the auspices of BEST in Iceland. BEST (Board of European Students of Technology) is a European association of university students in technology.

A total of 81 European universities in 30 countries are members of the association, but an Icelandic member association was founded by students at the University of Iceland in 2005. The main purpose of BEST is to offer students at member universities additional education in the form of short courses as well as giving students the opportunity to learn languages of other nations.

The course that will be held in Iceland next week is entitled “Eat that! Innovation in food technology and nutrition "and is run by BEST in close collaboration with Matís (www.matis.is) and the University of Iceland, in addition to which Reykjavík University, Landspítali University Hospital, Marel and Lýsi are involved in the project.

The course will cover "nutrition in innovation" from A to Z. During the week-long stay, the European students will listen to lectures by professors at the University of Iceland, Matís employees and working engineers, visit Icelandic companies and visit field guards. The students will also visit Gullfoss and Geysir and Jökulsárlón, among other places.

It should be noted that the students who found out in this course only have to pay for part of the fare to and from the country, but a grant was received from Europe in Youth for all other costs of the course for each participant.

There was great interest in the course, with a total of four hundred European university students applying. As the number of participants was limited, only 22 came to Iceland on this occasion. The number of applications shows that there is a great deal of interest among educated European young people to learn from Icelanders about food and nutrition as well as to get to know a country and a nation.

Please contact the President of BEST in Iceland for further information and interviews.
Berglind Rós Gunnarsdóttir
President of the BEST in Iceland
Board of European Students of Technology
www.BEST.eu.org

S: 866-3650
Email: berglind@bestreykjavik.com

A new report has been published by Matís. The report is a summary of previous research on capelin roe.

In recent years and decades, various measurements and research on capelin roe in Iceland have been carried out at Matís ohf / Rannsóknastofnun fiskiðnaðarins. This is primarily a study of microorganisms, egg filling and water content. The report will cover microbial research carried out during the 1984 season, microbiological measurements in the period 2000-2008 and measurements of water content and egg filling 1984-2008.

The information that can be found there is exciting and relevant these days, as people are talking about the importance of capelin for the country's economy.

The full report can be found here.

For further information, please contact Margeir Gissurarson, margeir.gissurarson@matis.is.

Matís' employee, Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, defended her doctoral dissertation "Temporal and spatial trends of organohalogens in guillemot (Uria algae) in North Western Europe" on February 6, 2009 at Umildfild Stockholm University.

The dissertation deals extensively with persistent organic pollutants in the Nordic countries, such as PCBs and the insecticide DDT, as well as their metabolites, which were mainly measured in long-range eggs. The substances were measured in eggs from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden to obtain a geographical comparison.

The results show that the North Atlantic ecosystem is less polluted than the Baltic ecosystem, but various pollutants were found to be in similar concentrations in these areas and it is necessary to investigate further why this is the case. Fluorinated alkanes, which come from outdoor clothing, have recently been found in significant amounts in nature, measured in long-tailed eggs from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden and were in some cases in higher concentrations in eggs from the North Atlantic than in the Baltic Sea. Brominated fire retardants, which are used in electronics, among other things, were measurable everywhere and it seems that it is possible to identify the different origins of the substances that reach the North Atlantic, on the one hand from North America and on the other from Europe.

A comparison was also made of the amount of pollutants in seven Icelandic bird species, i.e. heron, eider, osprey, elephant, herring gull, black-backed gull and skimmer. The foam was found to have a significant high concentration of pollutants, including PCB compounds and the insecticide DDT, and it is important to study the health condition of the foam.

It is clear that part of the pollution measured in the Icelandic ecosystem travels through ocean and air currents to Iceland, but on the other hand a significant part is due to Icelanders' use of goods that contain various pollutants.

Supervisors were dr. Åke Bergman Professor of Environmental Chemistry at Stockholm University, dr. Professor Anders Bignert, Swedish Museum of Natural History and dr. Mats Olsson Professor Emeritus. The opponent was Dr. Derek Muir, Environment Canada.

The examination committee consisted of dr. Kristín Ólafsdóttir, Associate Professor at the University of Iceland, dr. Björn Brunström, professor at Uppsala University and dr. Conny Östman, Associate Professor at Stockholm University.

For further information, please contact Hrönn, hronn.o.jorundsdottir@matis.is.

On the 19th of March next. at the Hilton-Nordica Hotel, the 2nd MARIFUNC seminar will take place. The organizer of the seminar is Matís.

This is a half-day seminar where the available scientific data on seafood and health, the use and quality of seafood fats and proteins from seafood for the production of functional foods and what consumers' reactions are to seafood target foods will be reviewed. .

Seminar agenda:

What: 2 seminars of the Marifunc project on Seafood and Healthy Materials - What is the state of affairs towards consumers and companies? '
When: 19 March 2009, 8.30 - 12.45
Where: Hilton-Nordica Hotel. Suðurlandsbraut 2, Reykjavík. Meeting room E.

Registration: you need to send an email to Marifunc.registration@matis.is. The name of the participant, e-mail address and where the participant is from (city / country) must be stated. You can also register on site. Admission is free.
Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 17.

Background of the seminar:
The seminar will cover research on the effects of seafood and seafood ingredients on health. The use and quality of fats and proteins used as ingredients in supplements and target foods will also be discussed. The presentation at the seminar is based on the results of the Nordic Network for Marine Functional Food project (MARIFUNC) under the auspices of the Nordic Innovation Center. The seminar is organized by Matís ohf. (www.matis.is) and the Laboratory of Nutrition (www.rin.hi.is).

Schedule (all presentations will be in English): 8.30 Registration and coffee
9.00  Opening and presentation. Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís ohf., Iceland.
9.10  Introducing MARIFUNC. Joop Luten, Coordinator MARIFUNC, Nofima Marine, Norway.
9.25 Seafood and health- What's the news? Alfons Ramel Laboratory of Nutrition, University of Iceland, Landspítali.
10.25 Coffee break
10.45 Challenges in the use of seafood fats in targeted foods and supplements.  Nina Skall Nielsen, DTU Aqua, Denmark
11.30 Fish protein and peptide products - processing methods, quality and processing properties. Guðjón Þorkelsson / Hörður Kristinsson, Matis ohf., Iceland.
12.15 1-2-3-4 Health. Ola Eide, Olivita, Norway.
12.35 Closing of the seminar

Here is an interesting link on the topic of the seminar.

For further information, please contact Guðjón Þorkelsson, Division Manager, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is.

Future Days 2009 will be held on Friday 20 February in the premises of Háskólabíós.

Due to enormous changes in the Icelandic economy and economic situation, a record participation among students can be expected this year. Framadagar is therefore an ideal platform for companies to reach the future workforce of the nation by introducing themselves and their activities and thus gain a certain advantage over the competitive parties in the race for the most qualified staff.

More information can be found at www.framadagar.is and with Jón Haukur Arnarson, jon.h.arnarson@matis.is or Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, steinar.b.adalbjornsson@matis.is.