Category: News

The Rannís Technology Development Fund presented the activities of start-up companies in Reykjavík City Hall on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 January.

The presentation began with an address by Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister of Industry, at 14:00. Start-up companies presented their activities as a result and the presentation took place both on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday at 13:00, there was a special presentation on bridge construction between funds and branches, and public support for innovation was presented.

A large number of people made their way to the Town Hall and it was the unanimous opinion of those who came to the presentation that it had been extremely successful. Here you can see some pictures from Rannís' presentation.

See more here: www.rannis.is/

Recently, the 5th open conference of the SEAFOODplus cluster project was held in Copenhagen. SEAFOODplus is one of the so-called cluster projects in the 6th EU research program and was launched in the beginning of 2004. On that occasion, a scientific publication was published, "Improving seafood products for the consumer", where many from Matís contributed material.

SEAFOODplus was one of the so-called cluster projects in the 6th EU research program and also one of the largest single research projects that the EU had funded at the time for research on fish and seafood (26 m?). The main goal of S-plus was to promote the health of European consumers by encouraging increased fish consumption and thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The project is divided into two main parts and the larger part was dedicated to Research and Technology Development (RTD), which was divided into five main categories. One of these categories was dedicated to consumers (Seafood and consumer behavior and well-being). The aforementioned scientific journal is precisely a compilation of articles from this field.

The Fisheries Research Institute (IFL - now Matís), together with various major food research institutes in Europe, took part in organizing projects in the field of processing, quality and safety of seafood with an emphasis on improving the health and well-being of European consumers. Icelandic parties participated in more than a third of the research projects and managed two of them. Guðjón Þorkelsson, division manager at Matís, manages one of them, Propehealth.

The other part of SEAFOODplus focused on the transfer of knowledge to industry and the presentation of the results of research to industry (Industry, Training and Dissemination ITD). It is worth mentioning that Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís, is the coordinator of Part 4 of ITD SEAFOODplus, entitled Creation of New Business Activities, in addition to being a member of the project's executive committee.

As mentioned before, a successful scientific journal was recently published "Improving seafood products for the consumer,”Book up to almost. 600 pages, which contains a large number of articles that are in one way or another related to the SEAFOODplus project. The book is published by Woodhead Publishing Limited in Cambridge, England and is divided into six parts.

Many of Matís' employees have articles in the book, as IFL / Matís took an active part in this pan-European research project, as previously stated. More information about the book can be found here.

One gram of soil contains billions of micro-organisms, the fewest of which can be isolated, but by isolating DNA directly from such samples, genes can be obtained and utilized in industry.

Matís-Prokaria was one of the first companies in Europe funded by the European Union to develop a methodology for searching for enzyme genes directly from environmental samples. This project was in the fifth framework program of the European Union and was called Thermogen. The work in this project involved looking for starch-degrading and starch-producing enzyme genes from thermal samples with new technology to be developed. In addition to Matís-Prokaria, only two research groups were involved in the project, which was led by Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson and Ólafur H. Friðjónsson. The results of the project were very important in the development of the methodology on which much of Matís-Prokaria's activities today are based on enzyme gene search. Master's and doctoral students graduated in projects both here and abroad. An increased understanding was gained of the nature and properties of starch-converting enzymes. Some are valuable insider knowledge, but three articles have been published based on the results of the project and one is newly published and it discusses the properties of a certain subgroup of starch enzymes that were revealed in this study. The article can be found in its entirety here.

As in recent years, Matís does not send out traditional Christmas cards, but only cards in electronic form. Instead, Matís sponsors Kraft, a support group for young people who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families.

It is Matís' wish that the grant be put to good use and further support the excellent work that is already being done at Kraft.

Further information can be found on Kraft's website, www.kraftur.org.

The purpose of EuroFIR (European Food Information Resource) is to improve data on the content of foods. The project aims to find ways to share the information with databases and online.

This strengthens the competitiveness of small and large food companies in Europe. Work is now underway to develop standards, quality assessment systems and definitions of foods and compatible databases. The job makes it easier for Icelanders to get data from other European countries, not least electronically. It is very important that Icelanders continue to participate in the work when the project is completed, but a European company will take over the role of EuroFIR next year.

The number of food brands in the West now numbers in the tens of thousands. Information on the nutritional value of these products often needs to be provided and the food industry needs to find cost-effective ways to provide this information. The results of the EuroFIR project mean that the industry receives more reliable data than before and that they are defined in the same way in European countries.

Matís is currently working on restructuring ÍSGEM's database on the chemical content of food to meet the quality requirements set out in the EuroFIR project. The database has been accessible on Matís' website for over a year. It contains information on nutrients in many foods. The EuroFir website provides information for the food industry on health claims, data standards and reports.

The EuroFir project will end in 2009 and work is already underway to continue the work of a non-profit organization, coordinating databases, updating procedures and disseminating knowledge. Participants in the EuroFIR project have been requested to continue their co-operation within the new company.

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

This article was last published on p. 5 í Icelandic industry, newsletter of the Confederation of Icelandic Industries.

Activities in the field of biotechnology and bioactive substances have increased significantly around the world.

Researchers have increasingly focused on research in this area, as their findings are thought to play an important role in combating current and future health problems. In addition, scientists believe that some of the world's energy problems can be solved with biotechnology. One example of the benefits of biotechnology and bioactive substances are fish peptides that can potentially lower blood pressure in humans. The reduction of hypertension is a matter of great competition, as the cost to the health system of cardiovascular disease is significant, but hypertension is precisely one of the risk factors for these diseases (see leaflet on this topic). here).

For the past two years, Prokaria has been collaborating with a foreign chemical company in the field of biotechnology and bioactive substances. Now this company has bought from Matís important enzymes that it intends to use in its energy research. The sale value of this contract is no more no less than 60,000 euros!

Not bad when money is needed in the Icelandic economy!

It is also interesting to note that Matís-Prokaria has now set up a sales unit for enzymes and other bioactive substances and more information can be found on the Prokazyme website, www.prokazyme.com.

Matís-Prokaria hopes to sell the above products successfully through this new sales system.

For further information, contact Ragnar Jóhannsson, ragnar.johannsson@matis.is, and by phone 422-5000.

Matís is advertising for a project manager in the field of aquaculture at the company's office in Ísafjörður. An advertisement to that effect appears in Morgunblaðið, Fréttablaðið and The best in town in Ísafjörður.

SScope: To strengthen Matís' operations in the field of aquaculture and develop new employment opportunities.

The job includes:

• Development of farming techniques
• Design and development of processing processes
• Strengthening projects at Matís in the Westfjords in connection with the business community

Qualification requirements:

• University education in natural sciences such as engineering or technology; further education is an advantage
• Initiative and independence in working methods
• Agility in human relations
• Ambition to succeed at work

Applications with information about education and work experience, as well as recommendations, should be sent to Matís ohf., Borgartún 21, 105 Reykjavík, or to the email address employment () matis.is.

The application deadline is December 23rd. The person in question must be able to start work in January 2009.

Further information about the projects is provided by Jón H. Arnarson, Human Resources Manager, jon.h.arnason@matis.is, and by phone 422-5000.

On Tuesday 16 December, Guðbjörg Stella Árnadóttir will hold her master's defense in the field of resources. The defense takes place at 13:00 and will be in room K201 in Sólborg.

Stella's project is entitled "The effects of cold cathode lights on growth of juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.): use of IGF-I as an indicator of growth".

The project was part of a larger project, "Development of industrialized cod farming: Growth and puberty management with advanced lighting equipmentWhich was funded by the AVS fund and was a collaborative project of Matís ohf., The Marine Research Institute, Hraðfrystihús Gunnvarar hf., The University of Gothenburg, the University of Hólar, the University of Akureyri, Matís-Prokaría and the Westfjords Nature Center.

Guðbjörg Stella's master project was funded by Matís ohf., The AVS Fund, Landsbankinn and the Margrét Björgólfsdóttir Memorial Fund.

Ljóslota is one of the environmental factors that has the greatest impact on the growth and sexual maturity of cod, as in other fish species. Recent research suggests that the growth rate of cod can be increased by using light control to extend the day over autumn and winter. In this study, cod juveniles were reared in cans using new cold-cathod lights (CCLs) from a weight of about 10 grams. With the lighting, the juveniles were created special environmental conditions very early in the life cycle that can potentially increase sensitivity to certain wavelengths of light when the juveniles are later in the life cycle transferred to light-controlled sea cages. The effect of the light on the growth of the juveniles and the concentration of IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor-I) in the blood were studied.

The main results of the study indicate that treatment with CCL lights does not affect the growth or survival of cod fry in the first year of fire. The results also show that it is possible to measure the level of IGF-I in the blood, but there was no relationship between the growth rate and the concentration of IGF-I in the blood of cod during this developmental stage. The results also indicate that treatment with CCL lights in the early stages of farming has a positive effect with regard to skeletal defects that have been a problem in cod juvenile farming.

Supervisors and the supervisors of the project were Rannveig Björnsdóttir, assistant professor at the University of Akureyri / head of department at Matís ohf., Dr. Þorleifur Ágústsson project manager Matís ohf., Professor Björn Þrándur Björnsson at the Faculty of Fish Physiology at the University of Gothenburg and Dr. Helgi Thorarensen, head of the aquaculture department at Hólar University.

Opponent is Dr. Logi Jónsson, Associate Professor at the University of Iceland.

The proportion of water in field jam for sale here is up to 80%, according to the results of Matís' measurements for the Consumer Association. Acidic burn jam is richer in water than new and the water content turned out to be slightly higher than required in ÍSGEM, a database on the chemical content of food (more about ÍSGEM).

The consumer association received a complaint that burnt jam contained too little meat but more water and gelatin. Therefore, the Consumers' Association decided to have the amount of water measured in four types of burn jam and Matís took care of the measurements.

The result was as follows:

SS burnt jam
75.7 g / water in 100g

Good burn jam 74.9 g / water in 100g

Sviðasulta SAH products Blönduós 76.1 g / water in 100g

Noatún burnt jam sour 80.3 g / water in 100g

In Matís' results says that the sour burnt jam is clearly richer in water than the new burnt jam, as more jelly has been seen between the burnt pieces in the pickled jam than the others. It says that water uptake in the pickling process can also partly explain the difference in water content. Values for burnt jam are published in the ÍSGEM database (the Icelandic database on the chemical content of food.

Values for new field jam are
74.8g water / 100g and for acidic burn jam 77.8g water / 100g.

"According to the regulation on meat and meat products, meat jams are boiled products from meat and other raw materials and / or additives and form a gel after heating. Food glue / gelatin is used in these products as stated in the ingredient descriptions. Acetic acid is stated in the description of ingredients for new burnt jam from SAH products, but it can be assumed that it does not fit this product, "says Matís in the results. "Of course, this is not in accordance with current rules, as the content of composite products such as burnt jam must be mentioned," says the Consumers' Association's website.

The news first appeared on the Consumer Association's website, www.ns.is/

Matís ohf. is currently working on a traceability project in collaboration with domestic and foreign companies involved in the value chain of containerized fish sold on the auction markets in Hull and Grimsby.

The partners are Atlantic Fresh Ltd., Fishgate Hull Fish Auction, Grimsby Fish Market, The Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish), Samskip, a number of Icelandic fishing companies that are in regular business with Atlantic Fresh Ltd. and several large and small stakeholders in the markets of Hull and Grimsby such as Yorkshire & Humber Seafood Group, Grimsby Fish Merchants Association etc. The project is funded by the AVS Fund, in addition to which funding has come from Seafish and stakeholders in British fish processing. The aim of the project is to increase traceability and information flow in the entire value chain and to create value from that information. The project began in the summer of 2006 when Matís and Atlantic Fresh began collecting sales data from nine vessels that have been in regular business with Atlantic Fresh. Once sales data had been collected for one year, three of these vessels were obtained to increase traceability and information flow to potential buyers. This involved, among other things, tagging all the catch and providing various information to Atlantic Fresh about the catch. Atlantic Fresh was then able to better inform potential buyers about the fish that was expected to be for sale and then let that information accompany the product all the way to the floor of the fish markets. This arrangement was maintained for three months and then the sales data were analyzed; where both the effect of the change on fish prices for each vessel was examined, as well as in comparison with the nine vessels that were in the initial sample. Preliminary results indicate that increased traceability and information flow do not have a significant effect on fish prices, for example in comparison with supply and demand. As supply is very volatile, prices fluctuate somewhat between weeks and even days.

As part of the project, a website is currently being prepared where it will be possible to provide information on the expected supply to buyers. This website will be part of Seafish's information network, ie. Seafood Information Network (SIN) and buyers should be able to see on Friday what the supply from each vessel will be in the following week. It is possible that shipping companies can use this site to provide further information to buyers, for example, the idea has arisen that one of the vessels will be equipped with webcams.

The project has been useful in establishing a strong network within the value chain, for example, Matís employees have traveled to the UK to introduce themselves to local stakeholders and to examine the situation. A group of buyers has also twice come to Iceland in connection with the project to get acquainted with the situation in this country and to hold meetings on the progress of the project.

A new angle emerged on the project in October following the collapse of the banks and the ensuing disputes between the nations. Buyers in the UK then became very worried about the effect the situation could have on the supply of container fish from Iceland, and therefore asked Matís that the company would make short reports on the impact of the banking crisis on the Icelandic fishing industry. It is the opinion of the project partners that these reports have helped to inform buyers in the UK about the state of affairs and, among other things, enabled them to use their influence to facilitate payments for the fish to arrive in Iceland. It should be noted that payments for container fish were the first payments received from the UK after the bank collapse. fish markets in Hull and Grimsby and assess the impact of raw material age on price formation, in collaboration with Atlantic Fresh.