Category: News

Dried fish is a very healthy food, light, nutritious and rich in protein, according to a new study by Matís on dried fish as a healthy food. It turns out that dried fish is a rich protein source with 80-85% protein content.

Dried fish is always made from new and fresh ingredients and is almost exclusively caught on line, so it is ensured that it suffers as little damage as possible on the way to land. Such a fishing method meets the best conditions for environmentally friendly fishing.

Dried fish, made from catfish, haddock, cod, blue whiting and halibut, has long been one of the main foods of Icelanders. The drying stored nutrients well and made it possible to store and have them on offer all year round when food supply fluctuated according to the season. In recent times, it has been a tradition to eat dried fish in the dry season. It has also been consumed as a snack in homes and as a packed lunch during summer holidays. Total production and sales have been around 200-250 tons per year.

It has become increasingly clear that fish protein is important in terms of hygiene. For example, fresh haddock has a 17-19% protein content, while haddock dried fish has a 75-80% protein content. It is estimated that a healthy adult needs 0.75 g of protein per kg of body weight. Therefore, a man weighing 70 kg needs 53 g of protein per day. To get this amount from dried fish, he needs to eat over 66 g. A woman weighing 55 kg needs 41 g of protein a day, or 51 g of dried fish.

Dried fish is therefore suitable for those who seek to get additional protein from their diet, such as for people who do mountaineering or sports and fitness. Furthermore, it has been found that the salt content is somewhat higher in dried fish that is dried indoors than fish that is dried outdoors. However, the salt content of the product can be controlled and it is therefore easy to control such use. Trace elements (elements) are well within the recommended daily allowance, except selenium. The amount of selenium in 100 g is three times the recommended daily dose but is not considered harmful in any way.

Therefore, Matís' research shows that dried fish fulfills all the conditions as a good protein source.

You can view the chemical content of dried fish in ÍSGEM (Icelandic database on the chemical content of food) here.

The project is funded by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund.

Matís report on dried fish (Research results).

Icelanders are taking part in a comprehensive pan-Nordic survey of people's attitudes in Europe towards health claims on food. The results of the survey will be used in connection with a new regulation on health claims in food that is currently coming into force within the European Union. Matís (Icelandic Food Research) is conducting another survey in Iceland.

The survey, which is electronic and funded by the so-called NICe fund, covers about 2,500 people in Iceland. It has been decided to extend the deadline for people to submit answers until mid-July due to the pressure that has arisen due to the great interest of people in Europe in participating in the survey on the Internet.

There is a growing trend for food to be labeled with so-called health claims. There may be claims about the nutritional content of foods, such as low-fat, cholesterol-free, low-calorie, and the effects of consuming individual foods on the health of consumers. The aim of the survey is to examine people's attitudes towards health claims and how they understand different health claims on food.

The results of the survey will be presented in all countries, as well as food companies, consumer organizations and authorities. It is not clear when the survey will take effect in Iceland, but assertions are still being collected that go on the so-called positive list of the regulation, ie. list of permissible assertions.

It has been decided to extend the deadline for submitting answers in a survey of attitudes towards health claims on food until the end of next month. There was a software failure that made it difficult for some participants to answer the questions. Now the software is up and running, so participants can submit answers.

This is a pan-Nordic survey, the aim of which is to examine consumers' attitudes towards health claims and how they understand different health claims on food. The results of the survey will be presented in all countries, as well as food companies, consumer organizations and authorities.

European regulations on food health claims are in the pipeline and the results of the survey will be used to influence its content. There is a growing trend for food to be labeled with so-called health claims. There may be claims about the nutritional content of foods, such as low-fat, cholesterol-free, low-calorie, and the effects of consuming individual foods on the health of consumers.

Matís is advertising for staff for five positions in Reykjavík and Akureyri due to extensive activity. There is an advertisement for a specialist in sensory evaluation, a librarian, a laboratory assistant, a project manager and a specialist in pesticide measurements.

Applications can be sent to birna.eggertsdottir@matis.is. The application deadline is July 1.

You can view the job advertisement here.

Prokaria, Matís' biotechnology department (Matvælarannsókir Íslands) has succeeded in developing a method that can be used for genetic analysis of cod. Such a method is extremely important for the traceability of offspring to parents in breeding work, due to stock analyzes in stock ecology research, source analyzes or due to possible product defects. Prokaria is working to protect the discovery with a patent.

The aim of the project was to develop a new genetic marker for cod that could be put together in a so-called genetic marker set. It is considered necessary to have about 10 genetic markers in parental analyzes and preferably about 20 genetic markers in stock and source analyzes. In the project, part of the cod's genome was sequenced. Areas with a special enrichment method developed by Prokaria were selected.

Matís' biotechnology department developed two diagnostic kits, one with 9 genetic markers and the other with 10 genetic markers, which have been tested on a number of cod samples. The MRI's geneticists have also conducted experiments and analyzes on the two genetic markers that are ready.

In addition, there are many useful genetic markers in Matís that are not included in the diagnostic kit but can be used as individual genetic markers. Matís has already started utilizing the diagnostic kits and many companies, Icelandic and foreign, have taken advantage of the services that the company offers in cod genetic analysis. In addition to creating practical equipment for research on cod, the project has provided training for students at the upper secondary level and a scientific article has been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Demands for sustainability in the fisheries sector are constantly increasing, and it is therefore important that Icelandic companies take an active part in development in this field. At Matís' international workshop, which took place in Sauðárkrókur, it was stated that there are many opportunities for sustainable development in the fisheries sector, but it is necessary for Icelanders to remain vigilant so that they have the opportunity to be at the forefront of discussions on such issues internationally.

Sustainable development is the development that enables people to meet their needs without reducing the possibilities for future generations to do the same. At an international working meeting of Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands) and Faroese and Icelandic representatives related to the fisheries sector, a broad consensus was reached on the importance of maintaining sustainability in terms of fishing, processing and transport in foreign markets.

The workshop is part of a West Nordic project, led by Matís, called "Sustainable Food Information". The project aims to make it easier for companies in the food industry, such as fisheries companies, to demonstrate sustainability. Particular attention is paid to the traceability of marine products, from the target to the consumer, which is the basis for demonstrating sustainable fishing.

"Demands for sustainability in the fisheries sector and traceability are constantly increasing, not least abroad," says Sveinn Margeirsson, department manager at Matís. "Awareness of environmental issues has increased and the market's demands are that it can be demonstrated that marine products are produced without over-exploiting resources and that ways are sought to minimize pollution," says Sveinn.

"Icelanders are in many ways well positioned and have an advantage over many other nations when it comes to traceability. The next step is to use traceability to demonstrate sustainability in the fisheries sector. That is why it is important for Icelanders to remain vigilant and ensure that they remain at the forefront of discussions on such issues in the future. "

Upper picture: Gísli Svan Einarsson, director of Versins-Vísindagarður in Skagafjörður, Sveinn Margeirsson, Matís, and Ólavur Gregersen, project manager of Sustainable Food Information.

As many of Matís' "good friends" know, there is currently a survey of attitudes towards health claims on food in which around 2500 people are participating. Due to a software glitch, the website where participants are supposed to go to answer questions is temporarily down, but it is hoped that the website will be up and running in the next 1-2 days.

About the survey.
A similar survey is conducted simultaneously by consumers in all the Nordic countries and the purpose is to examine consumers' attitudes towards health claims and how they understand different health claims. The results of the survey will be presented to stakeholders in all countries, as well as food companies, consumer organizations and the authorities.

There is currently a European regulation on health claims in food and the results of the survey will be used to influence its content.
There is a growing trend for food to be labeled with so-called health claims. There may be claims about the nutritional content of foods such as low fat, cholesterol free, low in calories and about the effect of consuming individual foods on consumer health for example lowering cholesterol, protecting dental health and so on.

Participants NOTE! Please be patient and do not lose heart over this failure - Try again in 1-2 days!

There are ever-increasing demands that seafood sellers base their fishing on sustainability, says Óli Kristján Ármannsson's article in the latest The market, the business paper of Fréttablaðið. There is an interview with Svein Margeirsson, department manager at Matís, who says that sustainability may be a ticket to more expensive retail chains abroad. This is especially important for the fishing industry when a possible reduction in cod fishing is imminent.

A conference on sustainability in the fishing industry will take place at Sauðárkrók on June 14. It is part of a West Nordic project called "Sustainable Food Information" and its aim is to make it easier for companies in the food industry, such as fishing companies, to demonstrate sustainability in fishing, processing and sales. The Food Research Institute of Iceland (Matís) is in charge of organizing the conference, says the Markadarsin article.

"There, people say that sustainability has become a particularly important concept in the fishing industry in light of the ever-increasing demands of sellers, retail chains and consumers that the ocean's resources are not harmed and that pollution during fishing, processing and transportation of seafood is kept to a minimum. In order to demonstrate sustainability, however, it is necessary to be able to trace the process that takes place in the food industry," says the Markadarin article.

Icelanders are at the forefront

Sveinn Margeirsson, head of the department in the field called new technology and markets at Matís ohf., says that a lot of good work has been done in this regard in this country. "We're really great at traceability here," he says, but by being able to trace the process, you get detailed information about the product. Sellers who have a "quality product" are said to be better able to differentiate themselves from others on the market."

Then Sveinn says: "Firstly, it's about the consumer being able to know where the product comes from, but that's the aspect that most people know, and secondly, about being able to track exactly which way the product went." If we take the example of lamb meat, the path from the farmer to the consumer goes through slaughter, meat processing, distribution and trade." Sveinn says Icelanders are generally ahead in the food industry in terms of traceability "and very ahead in the fishing industry internationally".

Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands) is working on projects that will benefit Icelandic exporters in meeting Tesco's requirements for carbon dioxide labeling of food.

Tesco, one of the UK's largest retail chains, intends to carbon label all products sold in the chain's stores in order to enable consumers to obtain information on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that have accompanied the product's production, transport to the store and sales. This is Tesco's program aimed at responding to climate change.

Sveinn Margeirsson, department manager at Matís, says that the discussion on carbon dioxide labeling of food is part of the discussion on sustainable development. "Matís manages a West Nordic project called 'Sustainable Food Information', which aims to make it easier for companies in the food industry, such as fisheries companies, to demonstrate sustainability in fishing, processing and sales. Participants in the project will meet in Iceland on 14 June with Icelandic and Faroese fisheries companies, where the topic of discussion is the opportunities that lie in sustainable development for the Icelandic fisheries. "

Sustainable development important for the Icelandic food industry

"Sellers and consumers demand that it can be demonstrated that the production of marine products is in such a way that fish stocks are not depleted or that large emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) accompany the production. The Tesco program is simply one of many examples of developments in this area. It is my opinion that sustainable development will be one of the key issues for the Icelandic food industry in the future, as we have more projects in this field in the pipeline. ”

Sveinn says that in this connection it is important to be able to show how the product has gone through the value chain, otherwise it is not possible to say how much the "life cycle" of the product has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

"It's not enough to focus on one link in the value chain. In the UK today, there is considerable debate about carbon dioxide emissions from the transport of organically grown fruit from distant parts of the world. Are the environmental effects of such foods positive or negative? One way to compare foods in this regard is the so-called life cycle analysis (LCA). In order to be able to apply it, it is necessary to be able to trace the product's path through the value chain, where Icelandic fisheries companies are well positioned. One of the practical possibilities of this strong position is to be able to demonstrate the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of the products. "

There is great interest in an international workshop on sustainability in the fisheries sector, which will take place in Sauðárkrókur on 14 June. About 20 people from companies in the Faroe Islands are expected to come to Iceland in connection with the workshop. The workshop is part of a West Nordic project called "Sustainable Food Information", which aims to make it easier for companies in the food industry, such as fisheries companies, to demonstrate sustainability in fishing, processing and sales.

Consumers abroad are increasingly demanding that seafood sellers base their fishing on sustainability; that marine resources are not depleted and that pollution from fishing, processing and transport of marine products is kept to a minimum. Products based on sustainability are therefore very important for manufacturers in the future because they are tickets to high-quality or expensive retail chains abroad.

Great emphasis is also placed on traceability in the discussion on sustainability in the fishing industry. Traceability provides accurate information about the product and sellers who have a quality product can differentiate themselves better from others in the market. Traceability is therefore an important link in the eco-labeling of marine products.

More about the workshop here.