Category: News

On March 27 last. A co-operation agreement on the implementation of tests and safety services was signed by Matís for the Food Administration.

The main purpose of the agreement is, on the one hand, to ensure the Food Administration's access to the laboratory's security services, which will be given priority in the event of foodborne illness. On the other hand, the agreement should ensure, as far as possible, that Matvælastofnun can fulfill its legal role of supervising food or supervising other parties, in order to ensure the safety and quality of food.

Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís, and Jón Gíslason, CEO of Matvælastofnun, signed the agreement.

Matís is currently running a preliminary project on enzyme treatment of the liver before canning in collaboration with the canning factory Ice-W ehf in Grindavík. The aim of the project is to increase the profitability of canning of liver by lowering production costs and increasing the quality of products.

This will be achieved by developing and testing technology that removes membranes and ringworms on the surface of the liver with enzymes. Preliminary results are promising.

Most people who have worked in fish processing know that fish carry parasites and the best known of these are ringworms, which is a collective name for nematodes (Nematoda) in fish. They are fishing in Icelandic waters and are a problem for the fish processing industry, because they need to be cleaned of fillets. Such fish fall in price due to defects caused by cleaning and fillet utilization decreases. Ringworms also cause damage to markets, which are less sensitive to ringworms. A few years ago, it was estimated that the cost of deworming 200,000 tonnes of cod was ISK 650 million. kr.

As previously stated, the first results of the project, which is funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund, are promising, as the number of ringworms in the liver has been reduced by 80%, and the membrane has been significantly softened. The purpose of removing or softening the membrane surrounding the liver is to provide a better and more even dose in cans and increase utilization, as well as the resulting optimization of the processing process.

It is hoped that this method will significantly increase the efficiency of this process. An application has been made for continued funding to work further on this issue.

At a meeting in Þjóðmenningarhúsið this morning, March 14, Björgvin Sigurðsson, Minister of Commerce, opened the portal Leiðakerfi neytenda, which is a common portal for all types of consumer affairs, regardless of which party handles the matter. The portal was opened on the occasion of Saturday 15 March being International Consumer Day.

On the new web (www.neytandi.is) consumers can access information and examine their rights, receive assistance in submitting complaints and refer cases, where appropriate, to the Complaints Committees or other decision-makers - regardless of the time of day! It is worth mentioning that there is a special category on the portal dedicated to food, and Matís is somewhat relevant.

At the meeting, Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, also spoke about the Nordic food health label, and consumer spokesman Gísli Tryggvason presented the possibility and benefits of using legal authority for magistrates to seek redress in consumer disputes with sellers of goods and services.

One of Matís' main areas of focus is dealing with issues related to public health and food security. One of Matís' four areas is dedicated food safety. The division is divided into three divisions:
Chemical research, microbiological research and finally consulting and databases.

Matís offers a variety microbial and chemical measurements for clients and own research projects.

Matís provides information on food safety on its website. The results of research projects on food safety are presented in reports and articles on the website. Recent reports on marine safety (08-07, 44-07, 52-07), Risk Assessment (17-7) and Acrylamide (01-08).

You can also search for information on nutrients and heavy metals in The ÍSGEM database on Matís' website. In risk assessment, it is necessary to have information on both nutrients and contaminants such as heavy metals and to weigh the effects of these substances.

Matís runs the website Seafoodnet in English on the safety of marine products. The website contains information on contaminants in seafood, reports, promotional material and links to information in other countries, especially the Nordic countries.

An article was recently published in the journal Food Chemistry on the results of the EU project "Fishnose". The authors of the article are Rósa Jónsdóttir, an employee of Matís, Guðrún Ólafsdóttir, Erik Chanie and John-Erik Haugen.

The Fishnose project focused on the use of an electric nose to assess the quality of smoked salmon and involved developing / adapting an electric nose from the company AlphaMOS in France to evaluate smoked salmon, ie. whether he had begun to be damaged. Sensors in the electric nose detect substances in the air, which are formed in fish during storage and cause a malodorous odor. Matís' (formerly IFL) participation in the project consisted, among other things, of defining the quality of the product in terms of chemical content and stability, where microorganisms and chemical degradation were measured. Sensory evaluation studies were performed in parallel.

It is necessary to know well the composition of volatile substances when storing salmon, but Matís (formerly IFL) has specialized in gas analysis of volatile odorants. Volatile substances are formed, among other things, by decomposition and damage to food. They cause a characteristic odor of freshness (aroma) while the raw material is being used, but later the smell of spoilage or odor during the storage period. The electronic nose can quickly detect these substances and thus evaluate the quality of the product.

The results of the project revealed that the most characteristic odor of smoked salmon is caused by the substance guaiacol from smoke as well as volatile substances that are formed during the breakdown of fat. The characteristic substances were also 3-methyl-butanal and 3-hydroxybutanone, but they cause a sweet odor and are formed due to microbial degradation during storage. Other characteristic substances such as furan substances from smoke, destructive substances (eg ethanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-butanone and acetic acid) and fat degradants (eg 1-penten-3-ol, hexanal, nonanal and decanal) were present in although in some quantities but did not have as great an effect on the smell. These major odorants proved to be better at explaining the quality characteristics of smoked salmon than conventional chemical and microbiological measurements, and the article in Food Chemistry discusses this.

The project was a CRAFT project run by the European Union, but it is a project that aims to encourage small companies to participate in research and development work. The Icelandic company Reykofninn participated in the Fishnose project and was responsible for providing raw materials for research and helping to define the quality of the product. Guðrún Ólafsdóttir, a former IFL employee, was the project manager in the project, but in addition to her, Rósa Jónsdóttir worked on the project.

It is worth mentioning that the presentation of the results of the project received the Göpel award at the international conference ISOEN2005 in Barcelona.

The following articles have been published from the project:

Rósa Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Ólafsdóttir, Erik Chanie, John-Erik Haugen. Volatile Compounds Suitable for Rapid Detection as Quality Indicators of Cold Smoked Salmon (Salmo salar). Food Chemistry 109 (2008) 184–195. Read the article

Haugen J., Chanie E, Westad F, Jonsdottir R, Bazzo S, Labreche S, Marcq P, Lundby F., Olafsdottir G. 2006. Rapid control of smoked Atlantic salmon quality by electronic nose: correlation with classical evaluation methods. Sensors and Actuators B, 116, 72–77.

Guðrún Ólafsdóttir, Eric Chanie, Frank Westad, Rósa Jónsdóttir, Claudia R. Thalmann, Sandrine Bazzo, Saïd Labreche, Pauline Marcq, Frank Lundby, John-Erik Haugen, 2005. Prediction of Microbial and Sensory Quality of Cold Smoked Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar ) by Electronic Nose. J Food Sci 70 (9): S563-574.

Olafsdottir G, Chanie E, Westad F, Jonsdottir R, Bazzo S, Labreche S, Marcq P, Lundby F, Haugen JE. 2005. Rapid Control of Smoked Atlantic Salmon Quality by Electronic Nose: Correlation with Classical Evaluation Methods. In: Marco S, Montoliu I, editors. Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Olfaction and Electronic Nose, ISOEN2005, Electronic Department, Physics Faculty, Barcelona University, Barcelona, Spain. p 110-114.

The project has also been introduced poster at conferences.

From the 17th to the 24th of August 2008, a course called Interplay of sensory evaluation, consumer and marketing factors in product development (Integrating sensory, consumer and marketing factors in product design). The course will be held in Reykjavík.

The aim is to utilize information on sensory evaluation, consumers and market factors in product development.

According to Emilía Martinsdóttir, head of the Matís Processing Department, and one of the organizers of the course, the purpose of training doctoral students is to use sensory evaluation methods and consumer surveys in product development, innovation and marketing. The task of the course will be to produce a healthier version of a product that is already on the market. A healthier product can be, for example, a product with a lower content of saturated fat or salt.

Lecturers will be international experts and every day there will be lectures with practical exercises to shed light on the subject. Emilia says that the course is
an excellent opportunity for Nordic doctoral students and other students in this field.

See the advertisement for the course in Icelandic

Course description in English

Information can also be found on the website NordForsk

The Icelandic database on the chemical content of food (ÍSGEM) is a database that stores both information on the chemical content of food on the Icelandic market and exported food and raw materials. The database is stored on Matís' website and is currently being refined.

The reason is that the database programs have become old and it is time to build a new program and reorganize the presentation of the data in accordance with international developments. This will be of great benefit to all work with the data and their utilization. Publishing the data on Matís' website will be easier than before and saves time. Users of the data will benefit from improved access to it.

On March 6-7, Anders Møller from Danish Food Information met with Matís employees to discuss improvements to the ÍSGEM database program. Anders has for many years been one of the leading experts in Europe on the development of food databases. Ívar Gunnarsson, a computer scientist at Hugsjá, took part in the meetings, but he has worked on the ÍSGEM program.

In ÍSGEM you can search for approximately 900 foods and find information on each type. It contains, for example, information on the energy value of each type of food or more specifically kilocalories, fat in food, protein, carbohydrates and added sugar. In addition, information on supplements, such as vitamins and minerals. ÍSGEM is therefore suitable for those who want to stick to it or avoid certain substances, such as the amount of salt or sugar in their food.

The database provides the public as well as the business community with information on food composition and is an essential tool for the food industry and food control, for nutrition research, teaching, catering of large kitchens and advice on a healthy diet. The data is used in programs that calculate how much people get from the various nutrients. Matís offers the Matarvefinn calculator on its website.

At Matís, measurements are made of the chemical content of food for the ÍSGEM database and data are also collected from domestic and foreign parties. ÍSGEM was a prerequisite for participation in the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) network of excellence on the chemical content of food and ways to disseminate the information through databases and online.

Pictured are from left: Björn Þorgilsson, Matís, Ívar Gunnarsson computer scientist, Anders Møller from Danish Food Information, Ólafur Reykdal and Cecilia Garate, from Matís.

The results of a multinational study on whether DNA microchip technology can be used in species analysis of fish have now been published in the journal Marine Biotechnology. The authors of the article include Dr. Sigríður Hjörleifsdóttir, Dr. Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson and Dr. Viggó Marteinsson, who are all Matís employees.

Research groups from eight European countries worked on a study funded by the EU and completed in 2006. Little is known about species variability, changes in the proportions of individual species and the functioning of marine ecosystems. The main reasons are that sampling and analysis are often problematic. It is difficult to identify many marine organisms at the egg and larval stage, animal and plant life and microscopic benthic animals. Microscopic analysis is extremely time consuming and requires a great deal of expertise. Species analyzes based on DNA analyzes are constantly gaining ground and are well suited for such analyzes, as it has been found that they can be very powerful.

As stated earlier, the subject of the study was to examine whether DNA microchip technology could be developed to identify fish species. Species-identified genes (16S rRNA) from mitochondria from fish from European waters were used. Eleven important fish species were selected in the prototype of the microchip. Short probes were designed from 16S rDNA sequences from 230 individuals from 27 fish species. The pairing of 16S rDNA fragments from the eleven species with a mixture of corresponding microarrays on the microchip revealed that this technology is particularly suitable and is sufficiently specific. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the 16S rRNA gene is well suited for designing short probes that can be used to distinguish between fish species.

This gives good hope that in the future it will be possible to develop a fish chip ("Fish Chip") with sensors for approx. 50 important fish species, which could speed up and increase the reliability of species analyzes of fish and fish products. Such a chip could also be used for research in the ecology of the ocean, in fisheries management and for tracking and classifying fish products.

Read the article

On Friday, February 29, 23 students graduated from the United Nations University School of Fisheries, and this is the 9th grade to have completed six months of study at the university.

The school is a collaborative project of four institutions / companies: the Marine Research Institute, Matís, the University of Iceland and the University of Akureyri, but in addition Hólaskóli and the University Center of the Westfjords are involved in this collaboration. The day - to - day operation of the school is part of the Marine Research Institute and the director of the school is Tumi Tómasson.

United Nations University School of Fisheries started working in 1998, but in August of that year the first 6 students started studying here, but since then the number of students has multiplied and they now come from all over the world. The study focuses on practical knowledge and experience, and students work closely with Icelandic supervisors in project work and job presentations that take up more than half of the six months of the study. Every year, special studies are offered in 3-4 courses, but the special studies last between 4-5 months.

The university is mostly funded by part of Iceland's contribution to development and by contributions from the United Nations University. In addition, some students have studied with grants from other sources. The school has a special board and is a collaborative project of four institutions under the leadership of the Marine Research Institute.

At Matís, all students at the school have received instruction in the basic course on the quality and processing of fish, and in direct continuation, students at the school's quality line, who this year were seven, have received instruction and practical training. Five of these seven students have worked on their final projects at Matís in Reykjavík. In addition, two students completed projects from Hólaskóli under the guidance of a Matís employee. These include projects that deal with traceability, cooling, drying, quality and shelf life, as well as the preparation of study material with the students working with the needs of their own home country in mind.

These projects, authors and mentors are listed below.

Quality control in fish handling and fish processing:

Juliana A Galvao from Brazil Project title: Quality control in cod fishing using traceability system. Supervisors: Sveinn Margeirsson, Cecilia Garate and Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson, MATÍS.

Hong Yan Gao from China Project title: Methods of pre-cooling and chilling for fresh cod fish and influences on quality during storage at -1.5 ° C Supervisors: Bjorn Margeirsson, Kristín Þórarinsdóttir and Sigurjón Arason, MATIS

Gisella Cruz Nunez from Cuba Project title: Quality and stability of crude oil extracted from Cuban shark livers: Comparison with cod liver oil and capelin oil from Iceland Supervisors: Heiða Pálmadóttir and Rósa Jónsdóttir, MATÍS

Dedan Mwangi Mungai from Kenya Project title: Identification of the contents for an advanced training course for fish inspectors in Kenya Supervisors: Franklín Georgsson and Margeir Gissurarson, MATÍS

Van Minh Nguyen from Vietnam Project title: The effects of storing and drying on quality of cured, salted cod Supervisors: Sigurjón Arason and Ásbjörn Jónsson, MATIS

Sustainable aquaculture:

Pada Anak Bijo from Malaysia Project title: Feasibility Study of a Recirculation Aquaculture System Supervisors: Helgi Thorarensen, Hólaskóli, Ragnar Jóhannsson, Hólaskóli and MATIS and Páll Jensson, University of Iceland.

Mercedes Isla Molleda from Cuba Project title: Water Quality in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) for Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) culture. Supervisors: Helgi Thorarensen, Holar University College and Ragnar Jóhannsson; MATIS.

The photo was taken when the group visited a fish processing company in Akureyri.

Matís' Process and Product Development Division is working on a project that aims to improve process management in food. This will be achieved by researching new rapid measurement methods on food quality indicators and designing food processing processes that make use of these methods.

In the project, funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund, the possibilities of Near Infra Red (NIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and X-ray X-ray metering technology will be evaluated to measure the chemical content of food (NIR) and other properties of water (NMR) and water properties. (X-ray).

Conventional measurements to assess these quality factors are usually time consuming and require the use of organic or hazardous solvents, but no such materials are involved in measurements using these rapid methods on which the project is based. The methods also all have in common that they do not cause any changes in the quality of food during measurements, which makes it possible for them to be used in real time in food processing lines.

With these quick methods, it is possible to better control the production and ensure that each part of the raw material is utilized in the best possible way and that foreign objects are found and removed quickly and safely. In this way, the control of the processing processes can be improved, and subsequently the quality, safety, utilization and value of food can be improved. The project also involves the design of a production line that utilizes these measurement methods in a systematic way.

The project is carried out in collaboration with Marel, which plays an important role in the design of the production line, in addition to collaboration with Vísi hf, Reykjagarður hf. and Herring and fish. The measurement methods will be used for research into the processing processes of fresh fish, meat and chicken.

The project is part of María Guðjónsdóttir's doctoral program, chemical engineer and project manager at Matís' Processing and Product Development Division.

From 28.-30. In May, a conference will be held in Gothenburg on the main topics of sensory evaluation and how research and technology in this field can benefit the food industry. The conference is intended for both those who conduct research and those who work in the industry. Attention is drawn to the fact that those who want to take advantage of discount terms need to register before March 3, but then the registration fee increases.

As we reported recently on Matís 'website, Emilía Martinsdóttir, head of Matís' Department of Processing and Product Development, took over the chairmanship at the beginning of the year. European Sensory Network (ESN), an international association of research institutes and companies in the field of sensory evaluation and consumer research, which is one of the speakers at the aforementioned conference.

Emilia says that sensory evaluation is becoming an increasingly important part of the product development process of food companies, and if it is done well, it can save companies immeasurable work and money. She says that Matís has extensive experience in this field and can offer food companies in this country various services, for example in food innovation.

The Nordic food industry has been in the spotlight recently, such as the Nordic Council of Ministers' co-operation program "New Nordic Food and Cuisine", which aims to explain the potential for value creation in Nordic food production and food culture and launched last year. . It is clear that people's interest in Nordic food production, both within and outside the Nordic countries, is growing and it is therefore necessary for everyone working in this field to keep a close eye on innovations in this field.

Emilia encourages those interested in sensory evaluation and innovation in the food industry to familiarize themselves with the conference agenda and register as soon as possible.

Agenda and registration form