Praiseworthy bacterial cells that fall from the atmosphere participate as the first settlers in communities that form on the earth's surface. Environments that contain low bacterial densities, such as the volcanic areas in Iceland, are mainly exposed to airborne bacteria. Atmosphere is the main route of distribution of bacteria but about 1016 bacteria enter the atmosphere from the earth's surface every second.
The success of the distribution depends on: (i) the ability of bacteria to survive and multiply in transport in the atmosphere, and (ii) their ability to compete with existing bacterial communities for inputs.
The diversity of microorganisms in the atmosphere over Iceland has not yet been studied. In addition, it is not known whether the physiological and metabolic status of bacteria in distribution affects their ability to study land in a new environment.
The goals of research that is currently underway at Matís, and is funded by Rannís, is firstly to define the diversity and origins of microbial communities in the atmosphere and to study the relationship of diversity with volcanic areas. Second, the physiological and metabolic status of airborne bacteria will be examined, affecting their ability to land in specific volcanic areas.
The results of the research will contribute to a better understanding of the laws that affect the pattern of microbial distribution and increase our understanding of their distribution on Earth.
Matís is currently working on a project funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund. The project is called Súrþang and refers to the possibilities that exist in the treatment of seaweed with lactic acid bacteria and other fermentation microorganisms.
The aim of the project is to develop and standardize the action method of seaweed based on the treatment of lactic acid bacteria and other fermentation microorganisms. The lactic acid bacteria break down polysaccharides in the seaweed, making it more digestible and usable as a feed supplement rich in oligosaccharides and polyphenols with a variety of bioactivity and prebiotic properties.
Different seaweed has now been acidified with different bacteria under different conditions. The seaweed has also been analyzed for chemical and microbial content. All this has been done so far on a small scale and the results have been interesting. Next on the agenda is to look at more types of seaweed and perform experiments on a larger scale.
Finally, it should be noted that products from this project will be taken on in another project within EIT Food.
Örsláturhús is discussed in Bændablaðið today in an interview with Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, division manager at Matís. The idea of a slaughterhouse has come up more and more often in recent times, but it is a new possibility for farmers to serve their customers directly with home-slaughtered products.
In the interview, Hrönn points out that domestic slaughter is allowed by law, when a farmer slaughters at home on a farm and for his own use. On the other hand, the sale and distribution of home-slaughtered products is prohibited, ie. sales and distribution of products outside the farm. Hrönn points out that sales of home-slaughtered products are quite common behind the scenes and it is really a small matter to get home-slaughtered meat.
"The reason for banning the sale of home-slaughtered products is that the animals are slaughtered […] without any supervision and in a facility that in most cases is not approved for food production," says Hrönn. "After that, one can ask oneself whether the products are not as much of a threat to the locals on the farm where the slaughter took place and to others, should something happen."
Hrönn points out that the situation of sheep farmers today is difficult and that it does not look like it will change much in the near future. "At Matís, we believe that innovation is the key to the development of agriculture, recruitment in the industry and the strengthening of settlements. Our idea at Matís is that farmers will be enabled to innovate at home and that instead of having to buy the services involved in killing the animals, we suggest that it be made possible by regulation to set up a kind of slaughterhouse. This would enable farmers to slaughter at home, process products from the raw material and sell them directly from the farm. "The interview is published in Bændablaðið today.
Work on the project "Marine processing of cod liver oil" was recently completed. The project was funded by AVS and carried out by Matís under the guidance of Marvin Inga Einarsson. The aim of the project was to investigate the economics of processing liver into high-quality cod liver oil directly after processing on board and to compare the benefits of such processing with the landing of whole liver.
The results of the project indicated that it is not profitable to work only cod climbing on board trawlers, but it is more profitable to land it fresh. However, profits can be significantly increased by processing all cod, saithe and haddock livers together, and profits can be even higher if all the salmon is processed, including the liver.
It turned out to be more profitable to process fish oil on board freezer trawlers compared to icefish trawlers, considering that icefish trawlers will generate income if they start producing fish oil on board. It is income from the liver that would otherwise be landed. This does not apply to freezer trawlers, but they generally do not use liver.
Marvin says the results show that the production of slag oil on board freezer trawlers can be a cost-effective option, especially when looking at older trawlers that do not have room for flour processing. The equipment in question covers about 9 square meters and storage tanks under a light of approx. 15 cubic meters.
Hlynur Guðnason will give a master's lecture in Master's lecture in industrial engineering today, Monday 17 September at 15-17.
The aim of the project was to analyze the raw materials of icefish trawlers that bring supercooled raw materials ashore on the one hand and icefish trawlers that bring traditional raw materials ashore stored on ice and to analyze the effect of these two methods on raw material processing properties. and how to maximize the value of landings.
The project is twofold, in the first part of the project a study was carried out on the effect of cod cooling on fillet utilization and product division in HB Grandi's processing in Vopnafjörður. In the second part, a statistical analysis is performed on data from HB Grandi's processing in Reykjavík in order to answer how to maximize utilization and quality and minimize the shortcomings of the catch that comes ashore.
The main results of the project are that the type of cooling does not seem to have a significant effect on the fillet utilization of redfish and saithe, as it is largely dependent on the weight and carcass of the fish. Likewise, the type of cooling does not seem to have a significant effect on the defect rate, but the defect rate seems to depend mainly on the weight of the raw material and the condition of the machines. There is a significant difference in the proportion of red fillet redfish fillets between vessels as well as the fillet utilization of saithe according to the age of the raw material when it is processed, and utilization can therefore be maximized by processing the fish at that age if that possibility exists.
Department
Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science
Supervisors
Ólafur Pétur Pálsson, Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Iceland and Sigurjón Arason, Professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and Chief Engineer at Matís.
Examiner
Sveinn Víkingur Árnason, managing director of Vínbúðin
In the submitted budget proposal for 2019, it is proposed that the financial contributions of the Ministry of Industry and Innovation to Matís Food Research be cut by 12% from the 2018 contribution.
If the proposal is successful, Matís' service agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Innovation will therefore be reduced to ISK 397.9 million in 2019. The service agreement will be used, among other things, to finance research and development projects to meet funding from funds, but according to the 2018 budget of Matís' income. It is common for comparable parties abroad who conduct research and development for the benefit of the business community and society to enjoy at least 35-50% funding in direct contributions from the public sector.
Are you with a company that participates in innovation, research and / or development projects? Companies in the field of innovation and development have the option of tax deductions up to a certain amount of the total cost each year incurred due to research and development projects.
What's more, the total cost of approved projects can be higher if the expertise, services and infrastructure of powerful research companies such as Matís are utilized. This is to meet the needs of those who are taking their first steps in value-added production or services.
Good and proven data is a necessary basis for reliable information to ensure informed decisions. Regardless of what decisions are made and how they turn out, data and information are the basis of the debate. It is important that data and information are based on harmonized and standardized methods so that they can be utilized by knowledge.
In the fisheries sector as well as in other sectors, a large amount of data can be found, data that is the basis for many important and successful decisions that affect international relations, society, companies and individuals.
In this context, it was decided to evaluate specific public data on herring fishing, processing and value creation in Norway and Iceland and to try to assess whether data published in the public databases of these countries can answer some comparative questions in a reliable manner.
The conclusion is quite clear: Public catch information is difficult to link to official information on products and value creation in a reliable way. The registration of products in the correct tariff code can have a significant effect, unconfirmed information on overweight can change the comparison significantly, and so on.
It is necessary to make significant improvements to the entire value chain of marine products regarding the registration and publication of data if the possibility exists to make reliable and reasoned decisions based on the best available knowledge at any given time. The same applies to the value chains of other food production in Iceland.
The purpose of this report is to evaluate general and public data in the seafood value chain with a view to analyzing value creation and attempting to compare different value chains. It was therefore decided to compare the utilization of herring in Norway and Iceland.
The main reason for examining the herring in these countries is that there is also a presentation of data in both countries and that processing takes place in a similar way.
The information in both countries did not prove to be of such a nature that conclusive conclusions could be drawn based on the data available. It is therefore necessary to make various improvements in data collection and publication if the possibility of comparing value chains is to be available in a reliable manner.
Tags: data, information, value chain, herring
English summary
The purpose of this summary is to evaluate how public data from seafood value chains can be used to understand the dynamics of the seafood industry and benchmark different seafood value chains against each other. In order to do so, we have chosen to compare how herring catch is utilized in Norway and Iceland. The reason for choosing this species is good access to public data and the likeliness of production in those two countries. We have analyzed what types of products are made from the available catch and identified the differences between the two countries regarding herring utilization.
Based on the case of Norwegian and Icelandic herring value chains, it is clear that great improvements are needed in order to be able to use public data from seafood value chains to understand the dynamics of the seafood industry and benchmark different seafood value chains against each other .
The next course at Matís will take place on 11 and 12 October. and the starting point this time is Installation and maintenance of HACCP systems. The course takes place at Matís' premises at Vínlandsleið 12.
Focus group
Employees of food companies and especially those involved in the food safety of the companies
Objectives
To provide those who work in some way with HACCP systems with a deeper understanding of the system's setup and how to maintain it. In addition, increase knowledge of the potential biological, chemical and physical hazards that may be lurking in the food environment and what effects they may have on their safety.
Course content
The prerequisites of the HACCP and how they support the risk analysis of food companies will be reviewed. The main biological, chemical and physical hazards that can affect product safety and how they are related to hazard analysis will also be discussed. The installation of HACCP will be thoroughly reviewed and practical examples of individual aspects of the installation of the system will be considered.
Course results
At the end of the course, participants should have gained an understanding of the structure of HACCP systems and what hazards are most commonly found in food and their environment and how those hazards can be managed.
Arrangements
The course will be in the form of lectures and practical exercises.
The course will be held on 11 and 12 October 2018 in Matís' premises from 9:00 to 16:00 both days
Main elements of the course:
Introduction Discusses the development and structure of HACCP systems.
Good practice (e. prerequisite program) Review the key aspects of good practice and how they relate to HACCP. Discuss how good practice directly affects the risk analysis of food companies.
Dangers in food. The main hazards present in the raw materials and environment of food are discussed, as well as the risks associated with food processing and handling. Discuss how these dangers can be managed.
Structure of HACCP. Review the structure of HACCP systems. Thoroughly review each step and how the system is then activated and maintained.
Practical training. Emphasis is placed on participants receiving training in the design of HACCP systems. During the course, participants are divided into working groups or imaginary HACCP teams and the groups will work on short projects in connection with the topic discussed. At the end of the course, participants should have a good understanding of the installation of HACCP systems and be able to take an active part in their installation and even lead the work.
Included in the registration fee are all course materials, light refreshments and lunch on both days.
The maximum number of courses is 15 and the minimum participation is 10 people. If the minimum participation is not reached, the course will be canceled and those who have registered will receive a refund. If the course is canceled due to insufficient participation, Matís will send a notice to that effect with at least 48 hours. notice. Absences with a minimum of 48 hours must also be reported. reservation to receive a full refund of the registration fee.
Most trade union education and retraining funds support participation in courses such as these. Find out from your union.
Barley is grown in Iceland with good results. Progress has been made in the cultivation and the harvest each year is about 9 to 16 thousand tons.
The barley crop is primarily used as fodder. Barley is the type of grain that is best suited for cultivation in northern areas. By cultivating barley in Iceland, it is possible to save money on imports and reduce long-distance transport.
