Category: News

A lecture on projects for a master's degree in food science at the Department of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland will be held on Monday 6 October at 12:00 in Árnagarður, room Á-201, at the University of Iceland.

The research project was carried out at Matís ohf in collaboration with the Laboratory of Nutrition at Landspítali - University Hospital and the University of Iceland as well as the Social Sciences Institute of the University of Iceland.

Kl. 12:00 Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir

Attitudes and fish consumption of young people:

Improved image of seafood

Young consumer attitudes and fish consumption:

Improved image of seafood

Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir graduated with a BS degree in food science from the University of Iceland in 2000. In 2005 she began studying for a master's degree in food science at the University of Iceland. 

The aim of the project was to gather information about young people's fish consumption and their attitudes towards fish. The purpose was to find ways that could contribute to a better image of seafood among young people and increase their consumption of these products in accordance with nutritional recommendations and thus possibly affect themselves and the next generation.  

The main results of the project were that young people between the ages of 17 and 26 ate fish as a main course 1.3 times a week, which is under the Public Health Institute's recommendations that fish should be eaten twice a week or more. Parents have the most encouraging and formative influence on young people's fish consumption. Eating fish as a child has a significant effect on young people's attitudes towards fish consumption later on. Insecurity regarding the handling of fish such as cooking it is a discouraging factor in fish consumption. Interventions that included increased access to fish through school canteens, open educational lectures and web promotion resulted in better knowledge of the fish and fish oil consumption increased by almost half and more for girls than boys. Those who did not have fish before the intervention liked it better after the intervention.  

The project was carried out under the guidance of Dr. Inga Þórsdóttir Professor of Nutrition at the University of Iceland and Emilia Martinsdóttir (M.Sc) Head of Department at Matís ohf. Examiner was Dr. Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir, Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Iceland.

Recently, an article appeared in Journal of Environmental Monitoring which discusses the results of a study by scientists at Matís. The purpose of the study was to develop a method that could be used in internal quality control in fish processing and a tool for decision-making in the processing of raw materials of different qualities.

The results of the study showed the possibility of quickly detecting the harmful bacterium Pseudomonas in fish quickly and safely.

A device has now been installed to monitor the contamination of harmful bacteria in fish. Research into the use of this method in other foods is also ongoing.

Atvinnuþróunarfélag Vestfjarði og Matís ohf. met with the Fisheries and Agriculture Committee last week on the ongoing development of research facilities for cod farming in the Westfjords. The committee was presented with a desire for municipalities and parties to be more involved in the development of research facilities for cod farming.

The project related to this structure is to get land-based cod farms that would facilitate the researcher's access to the research material and it could possibly be linked to tourism when it is further advanced.

Neil Shiran Þórisson says that Atvinnuþróunarfélag Vestfjarði is now looking for funding to launch the project. "These would be land-based pens that would facilitate all the research work of scientists on farmed fish and thereby increase knowledge of it, which could lead to greater productivity and better utilization of the fish. The project is on hold now while we look for people who could potentially benefit from bringing money into the project.

News published on www.bb.is.

The Master's Defense in Food Science will be held today, Friday 26 September, at the University of Iceland in room 158, in VR II, starting at 15.30. Professor Kristberg Kristbergsson will present and direct the defense.

Gholam Reza Shaviklo will defend his master's thesis on: Evaluation and Utilization of Fish Protein Isolate Products.

Supervisors were: Sigurjón Arason, Guðjón Þorkelsson and Ragnar Jóhannsson.

Click here to read more about the project and the master defense.

At Matís, work is beginning on a project entitled: "Bioactive flavoring made from Icelandic seafood". The project is funded by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund for three years and will be carried out with the company Norðurbragður ehf. which is the largest producer of flavors from seafood in Iceland.

The production of various flavors is very extensive worldwide. Relatively few companies, on the other hand, produce flavors from seafood in any significant quantity. One company in Iceland, Norðurbragð ehf., Has created a unique position in this market by producing natural flavors from Icelandic seafood, where no additives are added. Demand for natural flavors has increased significantly and is expected to increase further in the coming years.

Flavors from seafood have only been sold for the purpose of giving a good taste and flavor-enhancing effect in various foods. Flavors processed with enzymes in the way that Norðurbragð produces are in fact hydrolysates, or degraded fish proteins. Research in recent years has shown that hydrolysates from various fish, crab and mollusc species can carry high bioactivity and can be very healthy. The traditional explanation for the wholesomeness of seafood has almost always been omega-3 fatty acids, but recent research suggests that there is an abundance of other substances that contribute to the wholesomeness of seafood, including proteins and their peptides. There is therefore a good chance that flavoring substances made from seafood have a similar effect to hydrolysates, but this is unexplored. Such results would give a completely new perspective on flavors made from seafood, and could have a very positive effect on their sales and production, which would result in better utilization of by-products and underutilized species and increased added value for the fisheries sector.

The aim of the project is to investigate and screen for a variety of bioactivity of flavorings made from Icelandic seafood. Antioxidants, antihypertensives, cholesterol-lowering effects, anti-cancer effects and immunosuppressive effects will be screened. This research will be carried out in close collaboration with the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, University of Florida and the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland. 

The results of this project are intended to strengthen the existing market for Icelandic natural flavors from seafood and develop a new and much more profitable market for them. The project manager is Dr. Hörður G. Kristinsson, Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Matís-Prokaria's Division of Biotechnology.

Can I offer you a slaughter cake and rhubarb caramel?

Designers 'and farmers' dates.
Students and teachers in product design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts have worked in collaboration with Matís ohf and the national team chefs Gunnar Karl Grétarsson and Örvar Birgisson on the development of new products for Icelandic farmers.

The aim of the project is to increase the value of the products and promote innovation in Icelandic agriculture.

The project began as a five-week course for second-year students in product design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts. Students visited the farmer and got to know his production, facilities and knowledge. Subsequently, proposals were made for a new product for the farmer. At this stage, there was cooperation with four farmers. The great satisfaction and interest of the public led to the decision to continue with the project and choose two products each year to develop and bring to market. The project is funded by the Technology Development Fund and the Agricultural Productivity Fund. 

The first harvest of the project came to light this autumn, the slaughter cake that will be available next summer at the restaurant Fjalladýrð in Möðrudalur á Fjöllum, and the rhubarb caramel that will be available in specialty stores and directly from the town of Löngumýri in Skeiðar. 

Today, the target group that makes demands on products based on good design, quality and traceability is growing. By bringing together one of the oldest professions in the country, farmers and one of the youngest professions in the country, designers, exciting possibilities and new opportunities are created. What comes to mind when a young designer comes up with a chopped liver? How do farmers take the designers 'ideas and what are the food experts' posts? 

The project's collaborators in 2008 are Elísabet Kristjánsdóttir and Vilhjálmur Vernharðsson in Möðrudalur in the mountains and Dorothee Lubecki and Kjartan Ágústsson in Löngumýri in Skeiðar.

The participants in the chat are:

Sigríður Sigurjónsdóttir, Professor of Product Design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts

Brynhildur Pálsdóttir, product designer

Guðmundur H. Gunnarsson, department manager at Matís

Irek Klonowski, agricultural engineer at Matís

A marketing plan application to RANNÍS, for the research cluster Nutrition in Innovation, is currently being prepared. The presentation of the preparatory work will take place on Tuesday 16 September at 15–16 in the Grand Hotel, meeting room Gullteig B, where meeting guests can get to know the project and discuss opportunities and collaboration. Among those presenting the topics is Guðjón Þorkelsson, Head of Matís' Processing and Product Development Division.

The meeting will present some of the topics of the class:
• Introduction - Kristinn Andersen, Marel
• Research and processing of food - Guðjón Þorkelsson, Matís
• Opportunities in nutrition - Inga Þórsdóttir, LSH-HÍ
• Entrepreneurs, innovation and business development - Sigríður Ingvarsdóttir, NMÍ
• Discussions and coffee breaks

The conference 9th International Conference on the Application of Magnetic Resonance in Food Science will be held at the Nordic House in Reykjavík on 15-17 September by Matís ohf.

The conference is the ninth in a series of popular conference series, held every two years. It brings together the leading experts in Magnetic Resonance in food research in the world today together with participants from industry and beyond. This time the emphasis is on the use of technology in fish and meat research and how the technology can be used in food production processes in general.

Although nuclear and electronic research is not new, the technology has only been used in food research to a limited extent in Iceland so far. By holding the conference here in Iceland, an attempt is made to introduce the great possibilities and advantages of this technology to Icelandic researchers and industry, thus deepening the understanding of the Icelandic food industry and researchers about the behavior and changes that food undergoes in its production processes.

Paper presented at the conference will also be published in the form of scientific articles in a magnificent conference proceedings, which will be distributed to all participants. The publication is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom. All posters presented at the conference will also be published on its website after the conference.

Further information on the conference agenda and presentations can be found on the conference website www.matis.is/mrinfood2008 Registrations and inquiries are accepted at the e-mail address mrinfood2008@matis.is or by phone +354 422 5091 (María Guðjónsdóttir). 

The conference is sponsored by Matís ohf., The University of Iceland, the Nordic Marine Academy, Bruker Optics, Stelar, Woodhouse Publishing and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK.

Matís ohf has completed a detailed fatty acid analysis of 30 samples of food on the Icelandic market in comparison with previous results, but a large study was conducted on fatty acids in all categories of food on the Icelandic market in 1995.

The current results show that the proportion of trans-fatty acids for almost all foods is lower than before, but a considerable amount of trans-fatty acids was detected in some samples of certain products. Dietary recommendations recommend that people eat as little trans fatty acids from industrial raw materials as possible. It is also recommended to limit the consumption of saturated fatty acids. In this way, the risk of heart disease can be reduced.

The analyzes were this time carried out with Matís' new gas analysis, but he offers very detailed analyzes. 46 fatty acids were analyzed, including trans fatty acids, but they were now analyzed for the first time at Matís. Previously, samples had to be sent abroad for analysis of trans fatty acids.

Fatty acid analyzes were performed on margarine, baked goods, biscuits, ice cream, snacks, sweets and food from fast food places. The samples were taken in June 2008. The study did not cover dairy products and cattle and lamb products that contain a small amount of trans-fatty acids from nature. Also were not included with various foods that contain vegetable oils and therefore no trans fatty acids, but among these foods are various breads and cakes.

For all categories of the above foods, at least some of the samples were detected with little or no trans fatty acids, which is a big change from what has been the case. For example, there were almost no trans fatty acids in the types of biscuits examined. This shows that the food industry has found ways to produce products without trans fatty acids. However, a considerable amount of trans fatty acids was detected in some samples of margarine, baked goods and ice cream. It is clear that manufacturers can improve these products and get rid of trans fatty acids. The results are in line with the fact that in many countries good results have been achieved in reducing trans-fatty acids in food.

A large study was conducted on fatty acids in all categories of food on the Icelandic market in 1995. The results now show that the proportion of trans-fatty acids for almost all foods is lower than before. In some cases the change is very big, such as for biscuits, glowing margarine and french fries.

The table below summarizes the results for the categories of fatty acids. The table shows the ratios of fatty acids and not their amount. The proportion of trans fatty acids is in most cases very low. In Denmark, the maximum value for trans fatty acids from industrial raw material is 2% of all fatty acids. The ratio is below this limit for 17 samples out of 30. Another 7 samples have trans fatty acids in the range of 2-4.2%. Significant trans fatty acids were detected in 6 samples, namely margarine, baked goods and ice cream.

It is clear from the results that the food industry is increasingly using wholemeal fats without trans fatty acids and liquid vegetable oils instead of semi-hard fats, which led to trans fats being present in the products. In recent years, there has been an improvement in the hardening of fats, so efforts are being made to increase as much as possible unsaturated fatty acids (including trans-fatty acids) in saturated fatty acids. It is therefore no longer possible to conclude that trans fatty acids are present in foods when hardened fats are indicated in the description of ingredients. On the other hand, it is clear that trans fatty acids are present when labeled semi-hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated. It is a disadvantage of the use of saturated fats that it provides saturated fatty acids, but it is an undoubted advantage that the trans-fatty acids are no longer present. The use of vegetable oils is more suitable because they contain a lot of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The results show that vegetable oils are used in some baked goods, table margarine, potato snacks and food from fast food places. It is also clear from the ingredients that vegetable oils are widely used in bread and cakes. However, this does not apply to all baked goods, of all samples, the most trans fatty acids were measured in donuts. This can be improved by choosing a frying fat without trans fatty acids.

Click here to view a table with the results of fatty acid analyzes of food on the Icelandic market in June 2008.

There will be a presentation of new equipment that performs freshness assessment of fish, at Matís' premises at Borgartún at 9 pm. 10:00, Friday 12 September. Sequid is called the device, which measures whether the fish has been frozen once or twice, as well as whether it is actually fresh or thawed, and provides an objective assessment of the quality of the raw material in a matter of seconds.

The development of the equipment was carried out by a team of scientists from Wefta European countries and was Sequid the equipment recently launched. Icelandic enthusiasts of fish quality assessment are now offered the opportunity to see a presentation of the latest technology in this field.