Category: News

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.

The Hornafjörður Business Affairs Committee is advertising for applications for an initiative project for small-scale food production in Hornafjörður. This is a support project intended for individuals and companies in the Municipality of Hornafjörður who want to work on the production and development of food in the Matís food factory in Hornafjörður.

Matvælasmiðjan was opened at the beginning of November 2008 and is specially set up to support entrepreneurs and companies who want to start value-added small-scale production of food from Icelandic raw materials. Funds for the project are part of the funds allocated to the Municipality of Hornafjörður in connection with the government's mitigation measures at the beginning of 2008. The aim of the project is to complete products that can be sold directly to consumers, in shops and to or in restaurants in the district. Nýheimar has been working on the development of ideas and business plans in recent years, but now the goal is to take the next step and complete products ready for consumers. in consumer packaging. The Hornafjörður Business Affairs Committee manages the project in collaboration with Matís and the Icelandic Innovation Center. The Employment Affairs Committee accepts applications and processes them.

Matís and Nýsköpunarmiðstöð Íslands provide advice in preparing applications and then provide support to the grantees in the future.

Strength is provided to:
buy expert advice for testing and certification,
buy production time from Matís in the food factory,
buy advice and design from experts on the image and appearance of the product and packaging.

The aim is for the final product of each project to be a ready-made product on the market. There is no funding for original ideas or business plans.

For further information, contact Hjalti Þór Vignisson, Mayor of Hornafjörður, tel. 470 -8000 / 822-7950 and e-mail hjaltivi@hornafjordur.is. The application deadline is December 20, 2008.

The project is carried out on the initiative of the Municipality of Hornafjörður in collaboration with Matís offices and the Iceland Innovation Center in Hornafjörður.

Matís advertises for graduate students to work on final projects and individual projects in collaboration with the company. An advertisement in Morgunblaðið can be found here.

Matís offers projects in pharmaceutical sciences as part of a master's program. The project is about isolation and analysis of complex polysaccharides and other biomaterials from marine invertebrates as well as measurements of their bioactivity. The project will use a variety of methodologies and all facilities and equipment for the project are first class. Applicant must have completed a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry, food science, pharmacology, biology or related disciplines. Information about study and career is attached to the application.

Further information about the projects is provided by Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson, gudmundur.o.hreggvidsson@matis.is, and by phone 422-5000.

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Matís offers projects as part of a master's program. The projects include research related to the statistical analysis of data from the food value chain, the application of operational analysis in the food industry, the development of food production processes and the management of the value chain. The research is conducted in collaboration with Icelandic food production companies in the fisheries and agriculture sectors. Applicant must have completed a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering, Operational Engineering, Food Science, Computer Science or related subjects. Information about study and career is attached to the application.

Further information about the projects is provided by Sveinn Margeirsson, sveinn.margeirsson@matis.is, and by phone 422-5000.

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Matís offers projects as part of a master's program. The projects focus on research related to the uniqueness and special characteristics of raw materials for food processing from the Icelandic environment and could be related to food microbiology, food chemistry, consumer research, sensory evaluation and innovation in the food industry. Applicant must have completed a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry, food science, agricultural sciences, pharmacology, biology or related disciplines. Information about study and career is attached to the application.

Further information about the projects is provided by Guðjón Þorkelsson, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is, and by phone 422-5000.

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Matís offers biotechnology projects as part of a master's program. The project is about research into enzymes from marine microorganisms that act on complex polysaccharides. A variety of methodologies will be used, such as microbiology, enzymology, genetics and genomics, and all facilities and equipment for the project are first class. Applicant must have completed a B.Sc. degree in biochemistry, biology or related disciplines. Information about study and career is attached to the application.

Further information about the projects is provided by Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson, gudmundur.o.hreggvidsson@matis.is, and by phone 422-5000.

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Further information on Matís' operations and employment opportunities at the company can be obtained from Jón H. Arnarson, Human Resources Manager, jon.h.arnarson@matis.is

Recently, an article appeared in Ny Nordic Mad, a fun project about the food culture of the Nordic people.

It mentions Matarsmiðjan á Höfn and how local food production creates increased opportunities in the local area. Article: „Nordic Delights ”- food memories from Iceland

In a press release from Kerecis ehf. and Matís ohf. sl. On Friday, the companies announced the signing of a framework agreement for research into fish proteins for the treatment of various medical tissue problems in humans.

The research agreement between the companies is for one year but contains an extension clause. Matís is expected to carry out all of Kerecis' protein research at the company's new biotechnology center in Sauðárkrókur and at its research facility in Reykjavík. Matís has extensive experience and expertise related to the production of products from fish proteins and has first-class research and development facilities for such research.

The full press release can be found here.