Category: News

IFL has, together with various partners, worked on a number of projects to increase the value of seafood in recent years. These include several projects to increase the utilization of proteins from by-products and pelagic fish for human consumption, both by developing new processing processes, new products and by exploring the market for health foods and target foods.

One of them is Propephealth within the SEAFOODplus European project managed by IFL. Its goals are:

• Screening, mapping and processing new health-enhancing substances from by-products of seafood or pelagic fish using advanced and gentle processing methods
• To develop new bioactive additives from seafood
• Using these ingredients to develop a new targeted diet

The forthcoming issue of the scientific journal Process Biochemistry presents the first results of a study on the effects of hydrolysed fish proteins on the growth of breast cancer cells. Hydrolyzed proteins, made from cod, coal, blue whiting and salmon, significantly reduced their growth.

These results are an indication of how these fish proteins can be further developed for use in health foods and as dietary supplements. There is still a long way to go. Scientific knowledge is not yet available on whether it will be possible to claim the health effects of these proteins on consumers in the future. This study is only the first step in a long way.

For further information contact Guðjón Þorkelsson: 860 4748 / gudjont@rf.is

As reported here on the web in November, IFL is participating in a major European project on fish welfare in aquaculture. Recently, the first meeting of the steering committee chaired by IFL was held in Brussels, and here you can read a summary of what was discussed there.

The COST 867 project "Welfare of Fish in European Aquaculture" deals, as the name implies, with the welfare of fish in aquaculture. In recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on the welfare of animals, both domestic and non-domestic, including the ethical views of responsible consumers who care about the care and welfare of domestic animals, stricter requirements in regulations on domestic living conditions and rules on organic farming.

Welfare is a complex concept and there is no single definition of the welfare of farmed fish, as this has been little researched and there are no biological criteria for the welfare of farmed fish. It is debated whether fish can survive, but nonetheless, this debate has surfaced in connection with aquaculture and no less fishing. It is therefore important that common sense is taken into account and that the industry takes the initiative to launch the debate. Although there is a debate about how to define welfare, most people should be able to agree that a conflict between welfare considerations and the efficient operation of aquaculture companies should be avoided. There is a direct link between welfare, consumer confidence and quality in production.

The aim of the project is to bring together representatives of those who are related to fish welfare in some way. Participants are fish farmers, representatives of the administration and representatives of research institutes. It is expected that work will be done to formulate guidelines and rules of procedure for the welfare of farmed fish and to define measures of the welfare of farmed fish. An extensive publication will also be prepared where information on fish welfare will be compiled, which will be useful, among other things, in all policy-making in this field. In addition to discussing the welfare of farmed fish, the welfare of fish will also be addressed as experimental animals, ornamental fish and in connection with fishing. It is therefore important for Icelanders to have a representative in this group.

The project is divided into three working groups. They are:

1. Biology of fish important for welfare.
2. Measurable welfare in aquaculture.
3. Fish welfare and management.

Icelandic participants in the project and who sit on the project's steering committee are on behalf of IFL dr. Þorleifur Ágústsson (photo right) and dr. Helgi Thorarensen from Hólaskóli.

It should be noted that a special website for the project is being prepared and it will be prepared by the University Center of the Westfjords, in collaboration with IFL and the University of Stirling in Scotland.

COST website

Dr. Kristin Lauritzen, an expert at Fiskeriforskning in Tromsø, Norway, gave a lecture this morning on research into changes that occur in dried salted fish during storage and transport.

Kristin Lauritzen, who as mentioned earlier works for Fisheries research in Norway, is in this country as a "guest scientist" at IFL for a month. Her visit is mainly related to research on the effects of salted fish, but her doctoral dissertation focused on research on salted fish. It is worth mentioning that Kristín works in part on a large project that is being worked on at IFL and is called Process control for fishing, processing and processing of salted fish.

Norwegians, however, produce some salted fish, especially dried fish (Norwegian clipfish), and their most important markets are mainly in Brazil, the Dominican Republic and the islands by the Caribbean Sea. 15-20% of the value of exported seafood from here.The most important Icelandic markets are in Southern Europe.

About 30 people listened to Lauritzen's lecture this morning, mainly IFL staff, but there were also people from salted fish processing in this country.   

Slides from the lecture

This weekend, IFL advertised for hiring a project manager to work at Höfn in Hornafjörður. This is a new job that will be done in close connection with the activities of Frumkvöðlasetur Austurlands ehf.

The role of the project manager is to manage and work on projects on behalf of IFL. in Hornafjörður but they include:

• overseeing day-to-day operations, project acquisition and planning
• collaboration with companies and individuals on projects
• work on projects related to lobster fishing and processing
• mapping opportunities
• present projects and opportunities in the environment.

Applicants must have completed a master's degree in science or engineering. Applicants must have initiative and independence in working methods, good command of English and Icelandic and agility in human relations.

The planned activities will be based in the knowledge center New worlds Harbor in Hornafjörður. Nýheimar houses, among others, Fruman, Framhaldsskólinn í Austur-Skaftafellssýsla, Menningarmiðstöð Hornafjarðar, Háskólasetur Háskóli Íslands, Þjóðgarðurinn í Skaftafell, Þórbergssetur, Frumkvöðlafræðslan SES, og Fuglaathugunarstöð suðausturlands. Nýheimar is a new, specially designed building with an emphasis on implementing new thinking, technology and working methods in education, culture, development work and innovation, which will be useful in strengthening culture and the economy.

Applications with information about education and work experience, as well as recommendations are sent to the Fisheries Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 101 Reykjavík.

Wages are in accordance with the wage agreement between the Minister of Finance and the relevant trade union.

The application deadline is March 31, 2006. It is desirable that the person in question can start work as soon as possible

For further information, please contact Sigurjón Arason, sigurjon@rf.is, phone 530 8600

As was reported in the news this week, IFL has moved its protein company, Iceprotein ehf, to Sauðárkrókur. The company, founded in 2005, is a development, production and marketing company that develops, manufactures and will sell wet protein for the fishing industry in Iceland and dried protein for the health and food supplement market.

The goal with the establishment of Iceprotein ehf was to develop, produce and sell protein products from pelagic fish and cuts of catfish in fish products and health products. The company was initially based in Akranes, but it soon became clear that more suitable facilities had to be found for the company, especially in terms of food production. In the end, it was decided that Iceprótein ehf would get inside FISK Seafood's premises in Sauðárkrókur.

The transfer was announced when Verið, Þróunarsetur Hólaskóli was formally opened th. March 7 in the same building FISK Seafood by the harbor in Sauðárkrókur. The development center is a collaborative project of the Fisheries Research Institute, the University of Akureyri, the University of Iceland, FISK Seafood and Hólar University, and the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Fisheries contribute a total of ISK 9.6 million to the project. Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, Minister of Industry and Trade, and Einar K. Guðfinnsson, Minister of Fisheries, signed an agreement to that effect at the ceremony in Verin þ. March 7.

Iceprótein ehf is, however, far from being the only forum for protein research at IFL. For example, IFL manages Propephealth-the part of SEAFOODplus, a large European scientific project, which studies, among other things, whether there are any substances in the fish other than omega fatty acids that have a positive effect on human health. There is some evidence that this is the case and the research focuses mainly on proteins and peptides found in pelagic fish, capelin, herring and blue whiting.

Then there is research on whether it can be used unused protein from wastewater from fish processing on land, even for human consumption, but the proteins are usually used in feed or lost to the environment. The project will promote cleaner production technology, increase the value of land-based catches and promote the development of technical additives from underutilized raw materials. 

Then we can mention a project on the use of fish proteins in fillet processing, where the purpose is to be able to use protein products as natural auxiliaries to improve the stability and utilization of products. There are also projects about use of fish proteins as a dietary supplement where the goal is to process odorless and tasteless and water-soluble proteins with high nutritional value from fish that can be used as a dietary supplement.

Agreement between the Minister of Industry / Fisheries

Accompanying document with contract

H.Í. 2006 starts today in Askja, Náttúrufræðihús H.Í. in Vatnsmýri and it lasts for two days. The aim of the session is to present the great and varied research in the natural sciences that is conducted at the University of Iceland and its institutions. At the session, research will be presented in presentations and on posters, and IFL will present seven researches on posters.

IFL has long had a good collaboration with the University of Iceland, especially the Department of Food Science at H.Í. as IFL experts have been teaching for years. Of the 13 posters presented in the category Food and nutrition are five from IFL this time. One poster is then in the category Biology and finally one in the category Chemistry and biochemistry.

The following posters are from IFL:

Food and nutrition

• V309: Drying shrimp and fish cakes in a heat pump dryer / Study on heat pump dried shrimp and fish cake. - Zhang Guo-chen, Sigurjón Arason and Sveinn Víkingur Árnason.
• V310: Stability of saithe fish powder (Pollachius virens) / Stability of fish powder made from saithe (Pollachius virens). - Margrét Bragadóttir, Eyjólfur Reynisson, Kristín A. Þórarinsdóttir and Sigurjón Arason. Fisheries Research Institute, University of Iceland.
• V311: Effects of temperature and packaging on fat damage in cod products (cuts and liver) at Frystigeymslu / Effects of storage condition on lipid degradation in cut-offs and lipids from cod (Gadus Morhua). - Kristín A. Þórarinsdóttir, Margrét Bragadóttir and Sigurjón Arason. Fisheries Research Institute, University of Iceland.
• V312: Low field NMR research on the state of water at superchilling and freezing temperatures and the effect of salt on the freezing process of water in cod mince. - María Guðjónsdóttir, Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir and Sigurjón Arason. Fisheries Research Institute, University of Iceland.
• V313: Volatile substances as quality indicators in chilled fish: Evaluation of microbial decomposition products with Rafnefi / Volatile compounds as quality indicators in chilled fish: Evaluation of microbial metabolites by an electric nose. - Guðrún Ólafsdóttir. The Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Iceland and the Fisheries Research Institute.

Biology:

• V436: Evaluation of different tactile technologies and devices to increase real-time PCR diagnostic capabilities / Evaluation of probe chemistries and platforms to improve detection limit of real-time PCR. - Eyjólfur Reynisson, MH Josefsen, M. Krause and J. Hoorfar. Fisheries Research Institute, Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research, Copenhagen.

Chemistry and biochemistry:

• V206: Light Scattering Investigations of Cod Muscle Proteins. - Tom Brenner, Ragnar Jóhannson and Taco Nicolai. Fisheries Research Institute and the University of Maine.

Every other year, conferences are held in the Nordic countries, mostly on sensory evaluation and consumer research, and IFL has taken part in their preparation. The next conference will be held in Oslo on 3-5. May and is entitled Focus on the Nordic Consumer.

The interest and participation of people from the food industry in attending these conferences has steadily increased in recent years, as it is an ideal forum for the industry and scientists to meet. On average, more than 100 people, from many countries, have attended the conferences in recent years, and it is worth mentioning that people from at least 12 countries, apart from Icelanders, took part in such a conference that IFL hosted in Reykjavík in 1999.

The main topics of the conference this time will be innovations and demand in the field of "traditional" foods, the meal itself and also health and diet will be discussed, incl. target food. IFL has, as before, taken part in the preparations for the conference and at the conference in Oslo, two IFL staff will deliver speeches. Emilía Martinsdóttir will discuss the European project "SeafoodSense" Increased sensory quality for the consumer, which is part of SEAFOODplus the project and Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir who will talk about the AVS project Attitudes and fish consumption of young consumers.

People in the food industry in this country and others who are interested in this topic are encouraged to register their participation as soon as possible. Registrations will be accepted for the next two weeks at least  Further description and program

Sensory evaluation and sensory evaluation research have long been an important field at IFL, and the emphasis has increasingly been on consumer research. IFL has participated in many domestic and foreign research projects regarding sensory evaluation and food quality and held various sensory evaluation courses for employees of fish processing companies and other food companies in recent years. IFL staff has also provided theoretical and practical instruction in sensory assessment at the Department of Food Science at the University of Iceland and at the fisheries department of the University of Akureyri's resources department. IFL staff also teach sensory assessment at the United Nations Fisheries Academy.

Sensory evaluation of IFL

The March issue of the Journal of Food Science 2006 contains two articles, mostly written by IFL staff. One deals with maintaining the quality of salted fish in consumer packages after dehydration and the other deals with supercooling of cod fillets.

The author of the article about salted fish is the staff of the Research Department of Rf and it is called "Keeping quality of desalted cod fillets in consumer packs." Its authors are: Hannes Magnússon, Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, Hélène L. Lauzon, Ása Þorkelsdóttir and Emilía Martinsdóttir and all work, as mentioned above, at the Research Department of Rf.

Read the article

The other article is called "Evaluation of shelf life of superchilled cod (Gadus morhua) fillets and the influence of temperature fluctuations during storage on microbial and chemical quality indicators”. The authors are dr. Guðrún Ólafsdóttir, Hélène L. Lauzon and Emilía Martinsdóttir, who all work at the Rf's Research Division, and then Jörg Oehlenschlager and Kristberg Kristbergsson.  

It is worth mentioning that the article was part of Guðrún Ólafsdóttir's doctoral project and Jörg Oehlenschlager and Kristberg Kristbergsson were her supervisors in the project.

Read the article

The Reykjavík Fisheries Research Institute wishes to hire an employee for office work. This is a 100% job. The job involves specialized office work.

Among the things the job involves are:

• Project management
• Saving data
• Publishing assistance
• Correspondence
• Photocopying
• Replacement in telephone service
• Other incidental tasks

Qualification requirements:

• Good education
• Good computer skills
• Good command of the Icelandic and English languages
• Interpersonal skills
• Independent, precise and organized work methods
• Ready to tackle challenging tasks
• Flexibility and a positive attitude

Wages are according to collective agreements of public employees. Remuneration, rights and obligations are otherwise governed by the Act on the Rights and Duties of Government Employees No. 70/1996.

The application deadline is March 12, 2006 and it is assumed that the person in question will start work on April 1st. Applications with information about education and previous jobs as well as copies of exam documents are requested to be sent by e-mail to the e-mail address gulla@rf.is or by letter to the Fisheries Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, 101 Reykjavík. Information about the job is provided by Guðlaug Þóra Marinósdóttir, tel. 530-8600.

As reported here on the web in January, a project was recently launched on possible ways to increase fish consumption again, especially young people, but research shows that in many respects it should be a steep climb for that age group. Recently, an informative summary of the project was published in the magazine Ægi and can be read here in pdf format.

As readers of this website have no doubt noticed, a variety of discussions about the benefits of fish consumption have been prominent in recent weeks. This is how the Economist's recent discussion on the excellence of fish consumption, especially with regard to omega-3 fatty acids, was also published. report which shows that there are very few undesirable substances in fish from Icelandic waters. Then in January it was introduced project here at Rf, which aims to increase fish consumption again in this country, and the project is doing well in the sector in Ægi. The authors of the article, which is called "Where are Icelanders' fish consumption headed??” they are Emilía Martinsdóttir, head of department at Rf and Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, food scientist.

But despite this positive news, surveys show that fish are becoming less and less popular with people, especially the younger generation. This is a matter of concern, as these are important consumers in the future. Decreasing fish consumption is no less a concern from a health point of view, as seafood and fish, for example, are an important source of vitamin D, which is essential for the body's calcium production and can work against osteoporosis in later life. 

It is therefore not without reason that it was decided to launch a special initiative, which aims to stimulate the interest of younger generations in this country in fish. 

Read the article in Ægi