Category: News

Aquaculture can be very useful in building an efficient sector in the Icelandic fisheries sector, not least in the fjords in the countryside where there is sufficient space, as stated in the case of Einar K. Guðfinnson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, at an open meeting of Matís on cod farming in Ísafjörður. He says that by accelerating the development of aquaculture in Iceland, it is possible to multiply the production capacity for the industry, create increased employment opportunities in many parts of the country and provide good raw materials for demanding markets. However, he warns of a gold digger mood in connection with the cod farming.

"Fire is a large part of the production of seafood and is growing globally. It is therefore important for us Icelanders to be active participants in research and development in this field. In cod farming research in this country, efforts have been made to delay the sexual maturation of cod as much as possible so that it continues to expand so that it is possible to increase the efficiency of the fire, "said the Minister. It was also stated in his case that the development of cod farming in Iceland for commercial purposes is very important, but at the same time a risky long-term project that requires a concerted effort by public bodies and private companies.

"At this point in time, we are at a kind of threshold as far as cod farming is concerned. We need to make decisions about the future and where we are going. Tireless, costly and patient work is behind us. We have learned a lot and now it's time to take the next step. Although not all of the questions have been answered, we know that there are great possibilities in cod farming; possibilities that I am not alone in having high hopes for. "

The Minister pointed out, however, that those involved in aquaculture would still have to take care of themselves. "I think I now feel a bit similar to the discussion about cod farming and in the early days of that business activity. The gold digger mood. She has little right. As before, cod farming requires a great deal of resources and knowledge, which can only be obtained through experience and a scientific approach. People do not build cod farms as if waving a hand. It requires a completely different way of working and a great deal of discipline. It teaches us experience and is it not always the worst? Here you can find people with this vast experience and knowledge who can carry all of this. It is on the basis of the experience that I think we should build our next steps. And therefore I believe that the government should support such efforts on the part of the industry itself, as people build on the knowledge that has accumulated within the companies and in our scientific community, "said Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture.

Matís will hold an open introductory meeting on cod farming in the Westfjords Development Center tomorrow, Wednesday 26 September. At the meeting, Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries, Þorleifur Ágústsson, project manager at Matís, and Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís, will discuss the status and prospects of aquaculture in Iceland, especially in the Westfjords. Karl Almås, Managing Director of SINTEF in Norway, will discuss aquaculture in Norway.

Time: September 26, 12: 15-13: 40 p.m.

Location: Westfjords Development Center, Árnagata 2-4, Ísafjörður.

Agenda (PDF).

Matís wants to hire an assistant at a laboratory in Reykjavík. The main tasks are the preparation of food and environmental samples.

The job includes work with sampling and preparation of samples, chemical analysis, etc. in the company's research projects.

University education is not a requirement.

For further information, contact Birna Eggertsdóttir, tel. +354 422 5000. The application deadline is October 5.

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An article by three Matís employees, published in the September issue of the Journal of Food Science, discusses research on the effects of freezing and cold storage on the quality of herring fillets in terms of protein processing.

The use of proteins as auxiliaries in food production is extensive, but they play a variety of roles, such as binders, emulsifiers, etc. The most common proteins are soy protein and various milk proteins. The fishing industry has done little to innovate in this field and fish proteins for use in the food industry have hardly been available. This is especially true of proteins from dark, high-fat fish species such as herring and capelin.

A recent method of isolating fish protein, which makes it possible to remove unwanted fats and elements that affect color and odor, can change this situation and thus make it possible to process protein from pelagic fish.

The study reported in JFS examined in particular the effect of freezing and cold storage at -24 ° C on protein solubility and protein viscosity. It turned out that there were various undesirable changes in the properties of proteins during cold storage, and the authors conclude, among other things, that the raw material should not be stored for more than three months in the freezer before it is used for protein processing to ensure good yields.

The authors of the article are Margrét Geirsdóttir, Guðjón Þorkelsson and Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir. They all work for Matís, but in addition to them, Harpa Hlynsdóttir, a food scientist at Sýn ehf, is the co-author of the article, but she previously worked for IFL.

The research on which the article is based was funded by the Nordic Industrial Development Fund, Rannís and the EU SEAFOODplus cluster project. Read the article

Hvannabeit affects the taste quality of lamb meat, according to a study by Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands). According to the opinion of a specially trained group at Matís, the angel lambs were found to have a more spicy smell and taste, while lambs in traditional grazing land had a more lamb taste.

Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Agriculture, had the opportunity to enjoy the hen meat at the Vox restaurant at Nordica Hotel and on that occasion expressed his satisfaction with such an innovation in agriculture.

The project is initiated by Halla Steinólfsdóttir and Guðmundur Gíslason, sheep farmers at Ytri-Fagradalur in Skarðsströnd. They raised a certain number of lambs in a pasture with angelica. For comparison, other lambs were placed in pasture and on farmland. The aim is to raise angelica to be applied to the lambs before slaughter and to start production of lamb meat based on this method.

Angelica was previously considered a budding remedy and was also considered a remedy for all. Now the interest in this herb is resurfacing as people become more aware of the substances it puts into it. Angelica has been used to flavor food and is considered a good herb. Therefore, it is interesting to look at what it means in the taste quality of meat to raise lambs in part on angelica before slaughter.

Now that research has been done on the meat, it turns out that there is a noticeable difference between lambs that were raised on angelica and lambs that were raised on traditional summer work.

Despite the good results, this is only the first step of many. Among other things, the aim is to create an angel field so that the taste can be further developed.

Heavy metal pollution in the sea around the country is generally well below international standards, according to a new report by Matís on changes in the marine environment around the country. Heavy metals are elements that originate in nature but their concentration can increase due to human action (eg mining).

The report (Monitoring of the marine biosphere around Iceland in 2005 - 2006) states that the concentration of heavy metals such as mercury is very low. On the other hand, the concentration of cadmium has been higher in the marine environment in Iceland than in more southerly areas. However, the amount of cadmium is low in the organisms studied, for example in the range of 0.1-1 mg / kg in mussels. The high concentration of cadmium in Iceland is believed to have natural causes as there is no evidence of human-caused cadmium pollution. Thus, for example, cadmium levels in mussels are higher in various places that are far from residential areas and economic activities, such as in Mjóafjörður, than in Hvalfjörður and Straumsvík.

Matís' report presents the results of an annual monitoring project under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment for the years 2005 and 2006. The aim of monitoring around the country is to identify changes that may occur in the concentration of trace elements in the marine environment around the country during a certain period and between different oceans and seas. coastal areas. Among other things, the research is important for the sale of Icelandic seafood in foreign markets, as it can be shown that fishing takes place in an unpolluted environment.

Various inorganic trace elements and chlor - organic substances in cod were caught in the MRI's annual spring rally in March 2006 and in mussels collected at 11 locations around the country in August / September 2005.

Research on changes in the marine environment around Iceland has been ongoing since 1989.

The report can be found here.

Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands) has succeeded in developing a method that kills bacteria in infected salmon in a short time. The high-pressure treatment method ensures safer salmon consumption and longer shelf life without adversely affecting color and texture. This is a new approach to hypertension treatment, which was developed in Germany a few years ago. With new technology, you can achieve the required results in less than 10 seconds instead of the previous 15 minutes.

With the new method, the bacterium Listeria can be eliminated in smoked salmon. Listeria is extremely rare in salmon but can cause infections in consumers who eat salmon that contains the bacterium.

The results of Matís' research show that high blood pressure needs to be 700-900 MPa to kill the bacterium. Hypertension has a small effect on the structure, color and texture of a product. The method can provide consumers with smoked salmon that has a longer shelf life and is free of Listeria and even free of other bacteria. Knowledge benefits will lead to further development and new uses of this new technology.

Traditional cold smoking of salmon is not enough to kill Listeria and can therefore be a problem for both producers and consumers. However, with improved hygiene and improved quality control, good results have been achieved, but to ensure that smoked salmon does not contain the bacteria, it is necessary to develop new technologies such as hypertension. Participants in the project were from Matís (formerly the Fisheries Research Institute and Keldnaholt Food Research).

The report in its entirety.

Reykjagarður, the producer of Holta chicken, has signed a one-year contract with Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands) for measurements of samples for the company's safety and quality control. These are mandatory measurements of Salmonella and Campylobacter in faecal samples from poultry farms. Samples will also be collected from other farms that have poultry slaughtered at Reykjagarður.

Reykjagarður sells Holta's products to retail chains, restaurants, fast food restaurants and canteens.

Samples from Reykjagarður will be examined at Matís' Food Safety Division. The main research projects of the Food Safety Division are in the field of microbiological and chemical research on food, feed and the environment. Microbial studies cover most of the most important pathogens that can be found in food. The Department of Food Safety is systematically working to increase collaboration with foreign research institutes and companies through international research and development projects.

"Matís laboratories are accredited and can provide services in a broad field of microbial and chemical measurements. The company emphasizes efficient and reliable service and provides customers with favorable service agreements where special consideration is given to the scope of projects agreed upon, "says Franklín Georgsson, Matís' Division Manager.

Dr. Liberia's Minister of Fisheries Chris Toe visited Matís (Icelandic Food Research) on his trip to Iceland. Matís staff introduced the Minister to the company's operations and laboratories on Skúlagata. The Minister was also briefed on Prokaria's biotechnology research, which is part of Matís.

Toe also talked to Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries, visited the Marine Research Institute and learned about the United Nations Fisheries School, which is located at Skúlagata. Furthermore, Toe and his entourage will visit many other companies in this country.

PHOTO: Chris Toe, far left, listens to Franklin's director Franklín Georgsson.

More about Liberia at Wikipedia.

The preconditions have now been created for the introduction of electronic assessment of pork carcasses in slaughterhouses, according to a new report from Matís on the results of measurements of the meat ratio of pork. An electronic assessment, which measures the proportion of meat in pork carcasses, gives more accurate results than has been published so far. It facilitates all communication between slaughterhouses and farmers as well as slaughterhouses and meat processing plants where pricing and meat ratio will go hand in hand.

The report also states that the variability of the Icelandic pig population is so small that there is no significant deviation even though the same calculation formula is used, according to measuring instruments, for all pigs.

The reason why it is now possible to introduce electronic food is that the breeding of pig farmers in this country has become purposeful and that the same pig population is used on all farms. The thickness of fat and muscle at certain measuring points has been assessed with electronic measuring devices and these results are compared with information from the Norwegian meat assessment. This was necessary to study the variability of Icelandic pigs within the population as well as between farms. Pig populations in Iceland are comparable to those in Norway.

The project was carried out for the Icelandic Pig Breeding Association.