Recently, a report was published on the results of continuous monitoring of undesirable substances in seafood from the resource for the year 2021. For years, Matís has been responsible for tasks related to collecting data and publishing a report on this systematic monitoring.
The aim of the project is to demonstrate the status of Icelandic seafood in terms of safety and health, and to use the data in the risk assessment of food to ensure the interests of consumers and public health.
The project builds a knowledge base on the amount of undesirable substances in economically important species and marine products, it is defined as a long-term project where expansion and revision are constantly necessary.
The results showed that Icelandic seafood contains insignificant amounts of persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins, PCBs and pesticides. At the same time, all samples of seafood for human consumption were well below EU maximum levels for persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. The concentration of so-called ICES6-PCBs was also found to be low in the edible part of the seafood, compared to the EU maximum level.
Further explanation of the results as well as the report as a whole can be found here:
Last night the series began We eat and enjoy on the RÚV, but in the episodes a diverse group of people will be watched, and their nutritional and eating habits will be thoroughly reviewed in order to see how it is possible to combine these two issues, ie. to be nourished and enjoyed.
The episodes Nærumst og njótum are conceptual and supervised by Anna Sigríður Ólafsdóttir, professor of nutrition and are an important contribution to public health in Iceland. In this first episode, the audience got to know the subject, participants and opinion leaders, but in the next episodes, the food life of seven homes in Iceland will be followed. The homes are diverse, ranging from people living alone to large extended families and participants ranging in age from 10 weeks to seventy.
"Food is a common thread throughout our lives, but we eat only to keep it alive. Food is an integral part of physical, mental and social health. We are emotionally connected to food and it is a big part of our culture. "
Kolbrún Sveinsdóttir, food scientist and project manager at Matís, is one of the experts hired to give opinions and discuss various issues related to food and eating habits. She focused on processed foods, the difference between them and fresh foods, and the various processing methods that can be both good and bad.
The episodes will be on the RÚV program in the next few weeks, but the first episode is already available in the player here: Eating and enjoying, first episode.
On New Year's Day 2022, a solemn ceremony took place in Bessastaðir when the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson honored 12 individuals with the Icelandic falcon word. Among them was Matís' chief engineer, Sigurjón Arason, who received the award for research and development in the processing of marine products.
Sigurjón Arason has worked for Matís from the beginning, but before that he worked as a specialist and chief engineer at the Fisheries Research Institute, which merged with other companies and institutions when Matís was founded. Sigurjón is also Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and has throughout the years taught countless courses and supervised a number of students in undergraduate, master's and doctoral studies.
Sigurjón has received various awards for his work and, among other things, a seminar was held in his honor at the University of Iceland this autumn.
Various partners and benefactors of Sigurjón attended and spoke at the honorary symposium held at Veröld, Vigdís' house in October.
In an interview with Sigurjón and published on the University of Iceland website under the heading The innovator from Neskaupstaður the following is stated:
"Sigurjón has been involved in an incredible number of projects that have resulted in net income for Icelandic companies and the economy. Together with numerous business partners and the knowledge society, he has been involved in developing revolutionary methods for cooling fish, including mackerel, which has greatly increased the export value of the products. He has also contributed to the processing and drying of underutilized by-products and fish species, redesigned packaging and fish boxes to ensure better quality of raw materials and products, developed fish freezing and salted fish processing to increase value, worked on improved catch handling and improved fish shelf life, improved shelf life on fishing and the use of fishing gear. Furthermore, he has found ways to make better use of by-products from raw materials that were even thrown away, but this includes fish guts, liver, dill, heads, ridges, swimming belly and skin that was turned into valuable products. There is little to be said here. "
Sigurjón is well on his way to this honor and Matís' staff congratulates him on the word falcon.
Sigurjón Arason and Guðni Th. Jóhannesson at the speech at Bessastaðir
Seaweed is a sea plant and is in fact an unused resource of biomass that is found in large quantities all over the world, including off the coast of Iceland. Seaweed has become much more common than thatwas previously in people's daily consumer goods, for example in food supplements, cosmetics, medicines and food. In recent years, a number of diverse projects related to seaweed, its properties and utilization have been carried out at Matís. Among them are the projects Súrþang and SeaFeed, which have been managed by Elísabet Eik Guðmundsdóttir and Ólafur H. Friðjónsson. We talked to Elísabeta Eik about the possibilities of research of this kind.
Seaweed contains a lot of bioactive substances and many of them have been described as beneficial to health, including prebiotic. Research on seaweed is growing rapidly in the world, as it is available in large quantities around the world. In many places, seaweed can be harvested in a sustainable way and its cultivation does not require land or fresh water. At Matís, emphasis has been placed on researching complex carbohydrates and bioactive substances in the seaweed, with the aim of creating value through new products or methods. Seaweed substances have all kinds of bioactivity, for example they can be antioxidant, affect the inflammatory response, fight bacterial infections and more. Bioactivity is when something affects living processes and we are trying to see and find what a good effect they can have.
Various types of algae off the coast of Iceland
The projects Seaweed and SeaFeed have mainly focused on the development of a fermentation method for seaweed with the aim of using fermented seaweed, so-called seaweed, to be added to aquaculture feed. These research and development projects have been carried out in collaboration with Laxá fiskafóður, the University of Helsinki, the Quadram Institute in the UK and Þangverksmiðjan Thorverk, with grants from the Rannís Technology Development Fund, EIT Food, AVS and the Food Fund.
What were the main objectives of the research?
The main objectives of the projects were to develop a product with positive health properties from seaweed for use in aquaculture feed and thus bring underused biomass into the food chain. We envisioned such research that it would benefit the rapidly growing seaweed industry and contribute to increased value creation from seaweed. Feed producers could then also develop new feed mixtures and aquaculture companies could use feed from Icelandic materials.
Fermentation, beneficial bacteria and improved intestinal flora
The processing of seaweed begins with dried and ground seaweed which is prepared for fermentation by a method which involves soaking the seaweed in water and heating it to 70 ° C. As a result, carbohydrates are released from the seaweed into the solution and at the same time a large part of the seaweed's microbial flora is killed.
After pre-processing of the seaweed, it is fermented with lactic acid bacteria from the genus Lactobacillus but the strain used can use mannitol, a sugar alcohol found in algae in large quantities, for growth and metabolism.
Experiments with seaweed processing
The fermentation process makes the seaweed easier to digest and makes oligosaccharides more accessible. Analysis of the hydrocarbon content of the seaweed after fermentation revealed that branched oligosaccharides are still present in the product but are not eaten by the fermentation bacteria.
This is important because sugars play a bactericidal role. In other words, they stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestines of farm animals. Lactobacillus the strain itself is considered a beneficial bacterium and this mixture of beneficial bacteria and a bactericidal stimulant oligosaccharide makes seaweed a product with multifaceted activity.
The situation today gives good hope for the future
The products of the projects have been tested in aquaculture experiments where salmon were fed on traditional fishmeal feed with fermented seaweed of two types and without seaweed for comparison. The growth of the fish and the effect of the feed supplement on their intestinal flora were monitored, as well as chemical analyzes and sensory assessments of the salmon product.
During sensory evaluation, samples of salmon from all feed groups were evaluated in triplicate by 8 trained sensory judges with regard to 17 factors describing the taste, smell, texture and appearance of salmon and no significant difference in taste, smell or texture was found between the three feed groups. Consistent with the sensory assessment, no significant differences in the taste or texture of salmon from different feed groups were found in a public consumer survey.
Measurements were also made on the color, protein content, fat and water in the salmon, but there was no significant difference between the groups when looking at these factors. Heavy metals have also been measured in salmon, but it is known that seaweed often contains a lot of heavy metals, especially iodine. It was clear that the high iodine content of certain types of seaweed is transferred to the salmon. High iodine content can have a positive effect here as iodine deficiency is widespread in the world and is considered a serious health problem. However, iodine is the factor that limits the amount of seaweed that can be contained in feed so that it does not have a bad or unhealthy effect, according to current regulations on the maximum value of heavy metals in feed. Other major heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury were all well below the feed threshold and there was little to no difference in these substances in salmon fed seaweed compared to salmon fed conventional feed.
The intestinal flora of salmon fed seaweed was shown to contain significantly less bacteria from genera containing known pathogens in fish compared to the intestinal flora of a control group fed on conventional non-seaweed feed. These results give good hope that the addition of seaweed to feed has in fact had a positive effect on the intestinal flora of farmed salmon.
As things stand today, the fermentation method has been developed and the product tested in aquaculture. Further research is underway to answer some outstanding questions and further improve the quality and safety of the feed supplement. Further development of the product is underway and it is planned to repeat the aquaculture experiment for confirmation in 2022.
What do you think is most exciting about research on seaweed?
The most exciting thing about the stage as a whole is that we are taking biomass that we have and lying there loose that we are not using and we are creating something from it. We are creating value by creating a product in the end, but we are also just exploiting it. As the situation is today in Iceland, we are not overusing our seaweed at all, we are using a very small part of what we could use. The seaweed is harvested in an environmentally friendly way and it only grows wild in Iceland as there are no domestic parties cultivating seaweed as it is today. There is a lot of material in there that contains all these possibilities and all these products. That's what's most exciting and drives it forward. We are all trying to work towards a greener future. And use what the earth gives us, do not overuse but use it well.
Elísabet went to a fun interview about her research on seaweed in Samfélagið on Channel 1 earlier this year. You can listen to the interview here: The community
Trivia and live footage from project work and research on seaweed, kelp and algae can be found on Matís' Instagram page here: Instagram.com/matis.
Projects such as the seaweed projects in question are carried out in various areas at Matís but fall under the service category Biotechnology and biomaterials. If you are interested in getting to know more about research and innovation when it comes to biotechnology and biomaterials, you can watch a presentation of the material here: Biotechnology and biomaterials in Iceland - future emphases and possibilities for collaboration
Matís is an ambitious and lively workplace that works on a variety of projects in the food industry, with an emphasis on innovation and added value. At the moment there are three vacancies at the company and we are looking for driven people to apply.
With reference to Matís‘ gender equality policy, all genders are encouraged to apply. Applications must be accompanied by a detailed CV and cover letter outlining the applicant‘s qalifications for the job in question.
The application deadline is December 27th.
All applications will be answered once a decision on employment has been made.
Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the new Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, visited Matís at the beginning of the week together with Iðunn Garðarsdóttir, Assistant Minister, Benedikt Árnason, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other staff of the Ministry.
The group met Odd Már Gunnarsson, CEO of Matís, as well as other employees and was introduced to the operation. Special attention was paid to agriculture, fisheries, education and the environment, but it is clear that there are various opportunities in the company's work that are in line with the government's newly introduced priorities for the next four years. Finally, the group went around Matís' premises, where the directors and staff of the professional groups presented the activities, the projects that are being carried out and the facilities that are available.
Ólafur H. Friðjónsson, director of biotechnology, Viggó Marteinsson, director of microbiology and Oddur Már Gunnarsson, CEO were among those who showed Svandís the premises.
The visit was the most enjoyable and Matís staff looks forward to continued successful collaboration with the ministry with Svandís Svavarsdóttir at the forefront of the party.
The results of the project Icelandic barley for the production of alcoholic beverages is reflected in an MS project developed by Craig Clapcot, except in food science at the University of Iceland earlier this year.
The aim of the project was to compare two methods for producing fermentable liquids from Icelandic barley for domestic whiskey production. The first method was based on the production of malt liquor from Icelandic barley, the second was based on processing Icelandic barley only with added enzymes. Imported barley malt was also studied for comparison. Measurements were made of sugars at the beginning and end of fermentation as well as alcohol at the end of fermentation. Samples were specially prepared for sensory evaluation and to assess the possibility of producing alcoholic beverages.
In Iceland, there are opportunities to define Icelandic methods for the production of alcoholic beverages, and these methods do not necessarily have to follow traditional methods in Scotland and Ireland. Within the beverage industry in Iceland, an examination has begun of how the name "Icelandic whiskey" can be protected both in Iceland and in Europe (see article in Bændablaðið from November 2020: Eimverk applies for protection for "Icelandic whiskey).
Part of this process is to define what Icelandic whiskey is and how it is produced, just as the Scots had to do in the early 19th century for their own production. They did this by asking the question: What is whiskey?
It is necessary to define Icelandic whiskey so that domestic barley can be used for more than just feed and it will be possible to ascertain whether it will be possible to increase the value of barley. It is hoped that this work will make it easier for new parties to utilize Icelandic barley for the production of whiskey and other alcoholic beverages.
The results of the MS project are that both production methods are promising for the production of alcoholic beverages in Iceland. However, not as much sugar was obtained from malted Icelandic barley as imported malt or Icelandic barley that had been treated with added enzymes at high temperatures. It may be that the type of distillation equipment has a greater effect on the taste of the whiskey than whether the barley has been malted or processed with enzymes. It may not be possible to malt Icelandic barley every year as the development of the barley depends on the weather. The industry therefore needs other measures than malting in such years to ensure the production of alcoholic beverages. The project will hopefully provide knowledge and ideas for the rapidly evolving beverage industry in Iceland.
Recently, an article appeared in Bændablaðið where one of Matís' vegetable projects; Improved quality, shelf life and less waste in the value chain of Icelandic vegetables were reported, in addition to discussions with the project manager Ólafur Reykdal.
The project on the value chain of Icelandic vegetables received a grant from the Food Fund and began this year but will end next year. The main topics are shelf life research, research on ways to make value from underutilized by-products of horticulture and analyzes aimed at reducing waste in the entire vegetation chain of vegetables. The various parts of the project have been worked on in recent months and Matís staff hopes to be able to deliver interesting results to the vegetable sector in the coming months, Ólafur told a journalist.
The project aims to strengthen the vegetable sector in Iceland with new knowledge that supports the development of the sector, which means increased production, more employment opportunities and an increased supply of nutritious products. The project is carried out in collaboration with the University of Iceland and the retail chain Samkaup, but the Association of Horticultural Farmers, the Horticultural Sales Association and the Agricultural Advisory Center have also been consulted.
Matís has historically conducted various researches on vegetables and interesting discussions took place on related issues at a focus meeting held this spring on the value chain of vegetables. A recording of the meeting can be accessed here: Value chain of vegetables
