Category: News

Updated news: The NASF board has decided to postpone the event until June 8-10. Further information can be expected here on Matís' website in January.

In March every year for the past 15 years, managers and stakeholders in the fisheries and aquaculture industry have flocked to Bergen to attend a conference North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF).

The target group of this three-day conference has traditionally been managers in the fisheries, aquaculture and related industries, ie. equipment manufacturers, marketing companies, banks, insurance companies, consulting companies, etc. Although the cost of participation has been significant (the conference fee has been around ISK 150,000 + VAT per participant), between 800 and 1,000 people have attended the event each year, which shows how important this conference is for the target group. Due to COVID, it has now been decided that NASF21 will be an online event, which provides an opportunity to increase the number of participants and reduce the conference fee significantly.

The conference will take place on June 8-10 and is expected to have at least 2,500 participants. The conference fee is around 45,000 ISK + VAT (290 EUR) per participant, but then a volume discount is available for companies that register more participants. This year's program is particularly successful, a total of 130 presentations will be offered and among those present are Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, Nina Jensen, Secretary General REV Ocean, Jong-Gu Lee, Deputy Secretary General Dongwong Industries which is South Korea's largest fisheries company, Sady Delgado, managing director AquaChile, along with presentations from Yongs, Nutrco, Rabobank, Kontali, Pareto etc.

As in previous years, the program is divided into the following sections:

On June 8, six seminars will take place:

• Aqua tech, managed by Sintef
• Marsh Insurance, where insurance companies are the target group
• Yong leaders summit, where future leaders in the fishing industry are the target group
• A seminar on marine research, chaired by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research
• Seminar on research and innovation in the Norwegian fisheries sector, led by Norwegian research funds
• Seminar on international research and innovation in the fisheries sector.

The program for June 9 is divided into four parts:

• In the morning, there will be general presentations for all participants at a time, but that part is usually the highlight of the program.
• In the afternoon there are three seminars that take place simultaneously, ie.
  • Aquaculture
  • White fish
  • Markets (Brexit)

The program for June 10 is divided into four parts:

• Pelagic fish
• Markets
• Sustainability
• Introductions to start-ups and innovation

One of the most important part of participating in the NASF has always been the opportunity to gather the main influences in the fisheries sector in one place to establish and maintain partnerships. Good and secure business relationships are always based on personal communication, and NASF has played an important role in this. This time, efforts will be made to meet those needs by offering to connect parties in micro-meetings. Different "packages" are available when it comes to such connections, but the "package" that most people are most likely to choose who is interested in taking advantage of this opportunity costs 500 EUR. For that "package", the company gets its name and presentation on the "wall" and then all general participants can book a meeting with that company.

There are still very few opportunities to get on the list of speakers or to become sponsors of NASF21. 

For further information, contact Jónas R. Viðarsson jonas@matis.is or by phone 4225107.

Lava Cheese

Matís operates a so-called food workshop. The food factory is in fact a kitchen and processing facility with a variety of equipment, appliances and utensils available so that it is possible to carry out a variety of food processing in the facility. Processing may take place provided that it has obtained the required operating license or certification.

Two of the entrepreneurs who have worked on their projects at Matarsmiðjan are Guðmundur Páll Líndal and Jóhann Már Helgason at Lava Cheese

In 2017, the members Guðmundur Páll and Jósep Birgir Þórhallsson founded the company Lava Cheese but later Jóhann Már came into the production and they run the company Guðmundur today. In late 2016, the idea came to light when those friends sat together and feasted on grilled sandwiches with cheese, but talked about the fact that they jumped, grilled the cheese that had hardened on the grill the best part of the meal. Based on these conversations, they began further brainstorming and development and the cheese snack Lava Cheese emerged.

The Lava Cheese snack is made from Icelandic cheese that is cooked in an oven so that it turns into crispy and delicious cheese flakes. Ambition is set to achieve a slightly burnt taste and that is one of the special features of the snack. No unhealthy additives are added to the products, but some varieties are flavored, for example with chili flakes or onions. In one box, therefore, the nutritional information is about 39% protein and 0% carbohydrates. This means that the snack is a good choice for those who choose a low-carb diet or keto.

Today you can get Lava Cheese snacks in various stores all over the country. There are four flavors of the snack, namely Chili, Smoked, Sour cream & onion and Plain flavor, which is really tasteless. It is possible to consume the snack in various ways, but it is most common to eat it alone as a snack. However, the imagination has dominated many people and people have spread slices of Lava Cheese, for example by placing sour cream and caviar or pesto, a slice of bacon and eggs on top of the chips. It is also ideal to crush Lava Cheese in the salad bowl and some recipes at the local salad restaurant offer just that option.

More information about Lava Cheese can be found on their website, among others here  and information in English here.

The AVS project "Interaction of fat and pigment in feed on the growth and quality of Icelandic char" has been completed and has final report of the project now been released. The objectives of the project were twofold: a) to evaluate the effect of fat content in feed on growth, feed utilization and quality of char, b) to find the most efficient way of using and utilizing pigment in feed and its interaction with fat content in feed and fish. But with that, it would be possible to achieve significant savings in charr farming.

The project carried out long-term growth experiments with char, where the effects of feed on growth and important quality factors in char, fat composition and body color were investigated. The first objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different fat sources and fat content in feed on the growth and chemical composition of fillets. The second objective was to investigate the effect of different pigments in the feed and different pigment feeds, during the production period, on the flesh color of the fillets. The project was carried out in collaboration between Íslandsbleikja, Matís, Hólar University and the LAXÁR Fodder Factory.

The experiments showed that different fat content of feed and different fat raw materials did not affect growth, growth rate, feed consumption, feed utilization of FCR or utilization factors at slaughter. The fat content of the feed, on the other hand, was reflected in the fat content of the fillets and the fatty acid composition of the feed was in most cases clearly reflected in the fatty acid composition of the fillets. Different fat ingredients and fat content in the feed had little effect on the visible flesh color in the fillets. Greater color variability became more pronounced when pigments were chemically analyzed in fillets.

Analysis of the concentration of pigments in the experimental feed showed difficulties in the production of feed with an exact color content, according to the plan and feed recipes, regardless of the color of the dyes or in improved quantities. There was a significant loss of feed color, in feed production, when using organic coloring, and this loss appeared independent of admixture. The results indicate that these processing losses (approximately 30%) need to be taken into account to ensure that the fish receives sufficient pigment for normal carcass coloration.

Different pigments and different pigment concentrations had no significant effect on the growth rate of feed utilization or the nutritional content of the fish.

A small difference was detected in visible color (Salmofan), but fillet color measured by Minolta analysis showed more correlation in the color of fillets and eaten pigments. The chemical analysis of fillets in fillets was correlated with the amount of pigments eaten. The concentration of pigments in the feed in excess of 50 mg / kg had no visible effect towards a redder flesh color in the fillets.

They provide more information about the project Jón Árnason at Matís and Ólafur Ingi Sigurgeirsson at Hólar University.

Smári's Volcano Sauce

Matís operates a so-called food workshop. The food factory is in fact a kitchen and processing facility with a variety of equipment, appliances and utensils available so that it is possible to carry out a variety of food processing in the facility. Processing may take place provided that it has obtained the required operating license or certification.

One of the entrepreneurs who has worked on his projects in Matarsmiðjan is Eggert Smári Sigurðsson with Smári's Volcano Sauce

Eggert Smári is behind the brand Smári's Volcano Sauce which produces strong sauces to accompany various foods. He himself likes strong sauces, but he got a taste of them in the southern United States when he lived there for a while. There, it is popular to eat chicken wings with a so-called Hot-Sauce or a strong sauce in some form. When he returned to Iceland, he thought the selection of such sauces was small and not varied enough, so he started making them himself.

For a few years, Smári continued to experiment with making sauces and mainly produced for consumption for himself, family and friends. He developed the recipes himself according to "taste-memory" as he calls it. He remembered various types of sauces he tasted when he was abroad and tried to evoke the right taste in his recipes. 

The raw material used in the sauces is specially ordered from abroad, but each sauce is made from scratch from fresh ingredients. The sauces include jalapeno pepper, green chilli pepper, habanero pepper and Carolina Reaper, which is the second strongest pepper found in the world.

Earlier this year, 2020, Smári started selling his products to the public and they are products Smári's Volcano Sauce now available on the project website and at the resurrection club The Secret Cellar in Reykjavik. In a traditional season when the place is open, you can also get chicken wings with the sauces. The product selection is constantly evolving, but now it is possible to get three different sauces that bear the volcanic names Askja, Hekla and Katla. Recently, two types were added and they are an authentic tropical ranch sauce called Drangjökull on the one hand and the blue cheese sauce Mýrdalsjökull on the other. It is common for these types of sauce to be served with chicken wings that have been bathed in a strong sauce and are therefore a good addition to the product selection.

Further information on product items can be found at website Smári's Volcano Sauce.

The AVS project "Dyeing of Salmon with Natural Pigments" has been completed and has final report of the project now been released. The project investigated the effect of different pigments and their concentration in Atlantic salmon feed on flesh color. The main results of the project were that there was an insignificant difference in body color between the dyeing methods tested. All the pigments gave an acceptable flesh color to the fillets. 

The project was carried out in collaboration with Matís, Hólar University, the LAXÁ Feed Factory and Nofima in Norway. The dye Panaferd AX, derived from the bacterium Paracoccus carotinifaciens, was mixed in different concentrations in experimental feed and the effect evaluated. The reference was the chemical pigment Lucantin® Pink, which is currently most commonly used in feed for farmed salmon. Initially, the dye Aquasta® was also to be tested, but it disappeared from the market and was therefore only used in the first part (of three) of the experiment. In the second part of the experiment, therefore, only a comparison of flesh-coloring with Panaferd AX and Lucantin Pink, given in varying amounts with different sizes of fish.

The project carried out feed experiments where salmon were farmed in aquaculture tanks for a total of 438 days.

At the beginning of the study, it was investigated how much pigment was lost during the production of the experimental feed. The study showed that when using Panaferd AX, only 76.9% of astaxanthin was added, compared to 100 + % when Lucantin Pink was used. Therefore, 30% more of astaxanthin in the form of Panaferd i needs to be added to the feed to ensure that the fish has the same amount of pigment as was obtained using Lucantin Pink.

Growth, feed intake, feed utilization and survival were normal in all groups in the experiment. The results showed little difference in body color between treatments, but there was little correlation between the chemical concentration of pigments and the visible color.

The result of the experiment was that all the dyeing methods tested and both the dyes studied gave a similar and acceptable flesh color in salmon fillets. Panaferd AX is an organic alternative for dyeing farmed salmon, if care is taken to mix enough in the feed to cover the loss of astaxanthin in the feed production process.

Further information can be obtained from Jón Árnason at Matís and Ólafur Ingi Sigurgeirsson at Hólaskóli.

In recent years, Matís ohf has been responsible for projects on the value chain of grain from grain cutting to food production. Most of these projects have dealt with Icelandic barley, its quality, chemical content and value added through food production. 

It has been shown both in projects and in companies that Icelandic barley can be used for the production of alcoholic beverages. The production of alcoholic beverages in Iceland has increased significantly in recent years. There are now about 22 craft breweries in the country as well as two large producers of beer. Whiskey is increasingly produced in Iceland. In most cases, imported barley is used for production.

In Matís' projects, the focus has increasingly been on sustainability. One of the results of a recent grain project is a chapter on the sustainability of beer production in the book Case studies in the Beer Sector which was published this September by the book publisher Elsevier. The book covers many areas of beer production, such as the development of the beer market, innovation and marketing. A promising methodology for marketing is suggested and how beer is related to regional food and tourism. The conflict between environmental and economic sustainability is discussed and it is concluded that sustainability needs to be discussed with the government and municipalities.

It is expected that Icelandic beer producers will be able to download many ideas for the book, which can be ordered on Elsevier's website:  elsevier.com. 

It should also be mentioned that Matís was involved in a scientific article on the value chain from barley to beer, but it is in open access here. 

The ice processing

Matís operates a so-called food workshop. The food factory is in fact a kitchen and processing facility with a variety of equipment, appliances and utensils available so that it is possible to carry out a variety of food processing in the facility. Processing may take place provided that it has obtained the required operating license or certification.

Two of the entrepreneurs who have worked on their projects at Matarsmiðjan are Daníel Jón Jónsson and Fannar Alexander Arason at Klakavinnslan. 

In 2018, the company Klakavinnslan was founded and today it is Daníel Jón, one of the founders, and Fannar Alexander who take care of the operation. They have both worked in the restaurant industry for years and got to know each other through that work. They are big fans of good and high-quality drinks, but in their work as bartenders they often found that the low quality of the ice cream they used in the making of the drink meant that they could not serve drinks of the quality they would have preferred. In their opinion, glaciers did not receive enough attention in the restaurant world, despite the fact that they were a large and important part of most of the drinks served by bartenders. In addition, access to good clocks was minimal in Iceland

Those members saw an opportunity there to start production in Iceland of high-quality clams from Icelandic water. There is no newspaper about the fact that Icelandic water is one of the best in the world, so they envisioned that ice made from it, made according to the rules of the art, could be exceptionally good. The ice from Klakavinnslan is frozen slowly and with pressure so that they become very dense. There is no air left in them and they are therefore completely clear and free of holes. This means that each glaze melts more slowly than otherwise and as a result the drink stays undiluted and in its true form much longer.

Klakavinnslan conducts business services, so it is possible to get ice from them for your drink at the various restaurants and bars in Reykjavík, such as Slippbarn, Sushi Social and Miami. In addition, product development has taken place and many exciting things in the pipes, but they have recently been put on sale in Melabúðin and selected Hagkaup stores so people can approach them in a simple way and cool their drink.

More information about The ice processing can be found at their website. 

Matís has good facilities and a strong team of experts in the field of aquaculture research, especially in terms of feed and fish behavior.

In the Matís experimental farm, which is colloquially called MARS (Matís Aquaculture Research Station), there are three aquaculture systems that consist of two RAS systems (Recirculation Aquaculture System) and one flow-through system.

• RAS 1 consists of 36 pots, each of which holds about 200 liters of water / sea.
• RAS 2 consists of 24 pots, each of which holds about 800 liters of water / sea.
• The flow-through system consists of 48 pots, each holding about 20 liters of water.

In MARS, among other things, feed is developed and produced from new proteins, in addition to which growth and digestibility experiments are carried out on various fish species. There is also a great demand from feed producers and aquaculture companies around the world for service projects in MARS. Among other things, they produce feed from raw materials that these parties are developing (or buying from their suppliers) and then growth and / or digestibility experiments are performed on the feed.

In MARCH, we work with different fish species, as well as fish at different stages of life, from juveniles to adult fish. The species that have been caught in MARCH are Atlantic salmon, tilapia, trout, rainbow trout, white-tailed prawns and oysters.

There are few experimental farms in the world that can offer services comparable to Matís in terms of feed production and aquaculture research. In addition, there are significant synergies with other areas within Matís, such as chemical measurements, microbiological measurements, sensory evaluation, processing, product development, etc. There is a great demand for collaboration with Matís in the fields of feed and aquaculture, both in research projects and service projects.

We at Matís are very proud of the facilities and knowledge that exist within the company and look forward to future aquaculture and aquaculture research. 

With the increasing population growth and awareness of the environmental impact of world food production, the need for the development of new ingredients has also increased. At the same time, the food industry continues to strive to meet consumer demands for food quality and nutritional value. Based on this, it has been examined whether biotechnology can be used to develop protein-rich ingredients in food and thereby meet the demand for increased sustainability and wholesomeness in food.

The FUNGITIME project, which is funded by the European Union through EIT food and Matís, leads the development of various foods that contain ABUNDA® mushroom protein. The ABUNDA® protein contains a mixture of nutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals, and the foods that are evolving are varied. Examples include snacks, pasta and various beverages such as milk substitutes. The aim of the project is to develop foods that have excellent nutritional and biological properties while meeting as many consumer demands as possible.

In recent months, Matís has carried out development work on recipes for fresh tagliatelle pasta that contains ABUNDA® mushroom protein. On the one hand, it is a traditional pasta recipe where a certain percentage of flour is replaced by ABUNDA®. However, a pasta recipe has been developed that is suitable for those who prefer a vegetarian diet.

There are various problems with developing pasta in this way, but some properties of the pasta dough, such as adhesion and elasticity, change considerably when it is used. Consumer surveys conducted in connection with the project have also shown that consumers want more products without all the additives that are often used when producing substitute products that are supposed to mimic some kind of original product. It has therefore been assumed that no added material will be used in this development of pasta to meet these requirements.

However, the use of ABUNDA® fungal protein is expected to have several benefits. The protein is of high quality but the production cost is nevertheless low and the production is largely sustainable. The protein is also healthy, high in fiber and suitable for vegetarians and greengrocers.

Further reading on ABUNDA® mushroom protein and the technology behind it can be found here. 

Kombucha Iceland

Matís operates a so-called food workshop. The food factory is in fact a kitchen and processing facility with a variety of equipment, appliances and utensils available so that it is possible to carry out a variety of food processing in the facility. Processing may take place provided that it has obtained the required operating license or certification.

Two of the entrepreneurs who have worked on their projects at Matarsmiðjan are Ragna Björk Guðbrandsdóttir and Manuel Plasencia Gutierrez at Kombucha Iceland. 

The couple Ragna Björk and Manuel founded the company Kombucha Iceland to manage their production of various varieties of kombucha drinks in 2016. They already had considerable experience in the making of beverages, but Manuel, who is from Cuba, had been experimenting with fermenting various foods and drinks. here in Iceland, as is the tradition in his childhood home in his home country, for several years.

Kombucha is basically a tea that is fermented according to the rules of the art. Tea is poured, but Ragna and Manuel use five types of high-quality organic tea leaves and Icelandic water. Under the right temperature conditions and with the help of organic sugar, the fermentation begins and it initiates a process that fills the drink with a variety of health-promoting compounds, beneficial bacteria and vitamins. Kombucha is therefore considered very good for health and not least for the intestinal flora and digestion. The drink is naturally carbonated and has a pleasant sour-sweet taste.

In the production, the couple have strived to have as many ingredients as possible in the drink fresh, organic and preferably Icelandic if possible. Kombucha Iceland is available in many flavors, such as cranberry flavors, but the family usually goes to Borgarfjörður to pick berries for beverage production. You can also get beetroot, glowaldin, rhubarb and vanilla flavors as well as the original flavor that has many fans. Kombucha is a health-promoting and refreshing drink that can be enjoyed on most occasions. It contains caffeine from tea and carbon dioxide due to the fermentation, and commentators have said that it is suitable for beating sugar cravings and as a substitute for soft drinks or alcohol.

Further information about Kombucha Iceland can be found on their website, https://kubalubra.is/.