Category: News

At regular intervals, a service survey is conducted for customers of microorganisms and chemical measurements, services that are offered within Matís' measurement services division. The last survey was presented to customers a short time ago and it is safe to say that Matís' customers appreciate the service that the company offers. 

The results give a good overall picture of Matís 'customers' attitude towards the company's services. If some examples are taken from the results, the customers strongly agreed that Matís had met expectations regarding the quality and security of the results, as well as strongly agreed that the processing speed was good and strongly agreed that the employees had the knowledge and experience sought. In addition, customers strongly agreed that the approach of Matís employees is satisfactory, to name a few. 

These are really good results and Matís is a great encouragement. At the same time, it is an incentive to do better and serve our customers even better than we do now.

Overall results.

Various good and interesting comments were received from customers and we will try to respond to them as much as possible. The main comments were on the following points:

• Comments were received on the implementation of the survey. Suggestions were made that a greater breakdown of customers would have been desirable, and this will be taken into account when planning the next service survey.
• Requests for more types of chemical measurements were made. Although Matís has extensive and complete equipment, it is not possible to fully meet all requests, but on the other hand, Matís employees can find out and mediate in sending samples to sister institutions abroad in cases where it is not possible to offer on the relevant study here at home.
• Comments on guidelines and interpretation of results. It is not possible to send out reference values with results, but customers are encouraged to contact us either by e-mail or by telephone, and employees are both kind and obliged to assist in any way they can. Both in terms of interpretation and evaluation of results.
• Comment that Matís would set up a user area, where the customer would have access to everything regarding their research. This would certainly be possible and is both an ambitious and exciting but at the same time costly project that will hopefully become a reality in the future.
• An update of the request sheets was requested, but this is an issue that is being worked on.
• In addition, Matís received pleasing comments thanking for the good service, and it was clear that there is great satisfaction with the service. Matís' offices in Neskaupstaður.

Not only are the names of these units chemically similar, but their subject matter is in many respects the same; food! So it's not at all strange that people get confused. And to add gray on top of black, they are based or have a branch in almost the same area in Reykjavík.

MAST (Matvælastofnun): Matvælastofnun provides administration, control, education and services to fisheries, agriculture, companies and consumers in order to promote animal health and welfare, plant health and safety, health and quality of food. Location: Selfoss, a district of veterinarians nationwide and at Stórhöfði 23. Home page: www.mast.is

Matvís: MATVÍS is an association of craftsmen in the food and restaurant industry, ie bakers, cake makers, waiters, butchers, chefs, students and others who work with serving, cooking and selling food and the association decides to accept. Location: Stórhöfði 31. Home page: www.matvis.is

Matís (Matvælarannsóknir Íslands): Matís is a knowledge company that carries out diverse research, service and innovation work in the food and biotechnology industry. Matís provides advice and services to companies in the fisheries and agriculture sectors, as well as the Icelandic state. For example, Matís is involved in the development of new products and processes for companies and has an important role to play in terms of food quality and safety. Matís has no supervisory role. Location: Vínlandsleið 12 and in several places in the countryside. Home page: www.matis.is

Thursday 26 May at 14-16, a draft bioeconomy policy for Iceland will be presented. The presentation will take place at Matís' headquarters Vínlandsleið 12 in Reykjavik.

Work on formulating the policy has taken place in recent months on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture. At the meeting, the draft policy will be presented to stakeholders and discussions and comments will be invited.

It is necessary to register at the e-mail address matis (at) matis.is to participate. The registration must include the full name and information of which working group you wish to participate in (see grouping below).

Agenda

• 14: 00-14: 15 Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture - address
• 14: 15-14: 40 Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir - presentation of the bioeconomy policy
• 14: 40-15: 20 Group work
• 15: 20-16: 00 Review of working group results and discussions

Working groups

International cooperation and new markets

• Synergies of research programs
• Development cooperation
• Cooperation in the Arctic

Untapped resources and opportunities across sectors

• Utilization of underutilized resources
• Utilization of by-products
• Technology transfer between sectors

Technological development and human resource development

• Open biomass center
• Tomorrow's education
• RNI Coordination (Research, Innovation, Industry)

Rural development and strong infrastructure

• Regional policy
• Emphasis on strategic funds
• Strengthening infrastructure

Public investment and private investment

• Support for shoots
• Strategic research emphases
• Utilization of data and presentation

The blue bioeconomy

• Future products and markets
• Sustainable utilization and solutions against pollution
• Leadership in maritime affairs

Welcome to a workshop at Matís where we will go through the practical aspects of food product development and how well-organized food design can make a product unique and desirable.

All ideas where food is the main topic are welcome. This can be about production, service or food experience. This time we are particularly interested in seafood-related ingredients, but of course everyone with good food ideas is welcome.

The moderators of the workshop are: Guðjón Þorkelsson food scientist, Óli Þór Hilmarsson
meat industry master and food designers Brynhildur Pálsdóttir and Kristín María Sigþórsdóttir.
At the end of the workshop, participants are available to apply for support to continue working on their idea and 4-6 ideas will be selected.

The support is worth 1 m.kr. for each project and that support involves help from Matís' experts and food designers Brynhildur and Kristín María.

The aim should be for the projects to be off the drawing board and in production or final preparation for
November 1, 2016.

Notification of participation will be sent to the e-mail address matarhugmynd@matis.is

It is necessary that the name of the idea and a very short description of the project appear together with the full name of the participant (s).

The workshop will be on May 26 at 10 to 14 in Matís' premises at Vínlandsleið 12, 113 Reykjavík.

Light lunch offered by Matís.

Food is of great value is the title of a conference that will be held in Silfurberg in Harpa today, Thursday 19 May. A co-operation forum on Matvælalandið Ísland will host the conference and focus on the future and ways to increase the value of the food resources that Icelanders have.

The keynote speaker at the conference is Birthe Linddal, a Danish expert in futurology, who gives a talk on the latest trends and trends in the food sector. A number of other presentations will be given on new ways to increase the value of products, the policy of Icelandic companies and experience stories will be told of innovative methods to reach consumers. Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, addresses the guests, while Hörður Kristinsson, Director of Research and Innovation at Matís, will chair the conference.

The conference begins with a lunch refreshment at 12.00 in the care of the chefs Gunnar Gunnar Kristinsson, head chef in Harpa, and Gísli Matthías Auðunsson, owner of Slipp in the Westman Islands and Food and drink in Reykjavík.  

Matvælalandið Ísland is a co-operation platform between the Farmers' Association of Iceland, the University of Iceland, Íslandsstofa, Matís, the Association of Tourism, the Association of Companies in the Fisheries Sector, the Association of Industry and the Ministry of Industry and Innovation. This is the fourth time that these parties are holding a conference under the auspices of Matvælalandið Ísland, but the first was in November 2012.

Further information on the website of the Confederation of Icelandic Industries, www.si.is.

Rannís, the Association of Companies in the Fisheries Sector and the Association of Industry invite to a seminar in Hús atvinnulífsins, Borgartún 35, 17 May. from 13: 00-16: 00.

Agenda:

• 13:00 Prime Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson opens the symposium
• 13:10 The Horizon 2020 plan Oddur M. Gunnarsson, Matís' division manager and board member
• 13:30 Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking Marta Campos Iturralde, expert at the European Union
• 14:10 The blue economy Jens Garðar Helgason, Chairman of the Association of Companies in the Fisheries Sector 
• 14:30 The model project Iceprotein Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir, CEO of Iceprotein
• Coffee
• 15:15 Technology Development Fund Lýður Skúli Erlendsson, specialist in Rannís' research and innovation department
• 15:40 Investments in the food and biotechnology industry Jenný Ruth Hrafnsdóttir, Investment Manager of the Business Innovation Fund
   
  The moderator is Hörður G. Kristinsson, Matís' director of research and innovation

Further information on registration can be found at Rannís website.

An assistant professor is wanted to work in the joint position of the University of Hólar and Matís with an office in Verin in Sauðárkrókur.

Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology Hólar University emphasizes research in aquaculture with special regard to environmentally friendly and profitable solutions in the industry, for example in terms of feed science, aquaculture environment, recycling and breeding. The faculty has 11 employees and in addition to them about two dozen students in master's and doctoral studies. Matís is a powerful knowledge company that carries out diverse research, service and innovation work in the food and biotechnology industry. Í Verinu is a vibrant community of scientists and the business community, and a forum for innovation in resource utilization.

The role of the employee must be to strengthen interdisciplinary research in the field of aquaculture with an emphasis on the disciplines of Hólar University and Matís.

The employee is expected to be able to formulate interdisciplinary research in aquaculture and related disciplines, conduct teaching and research, supervise master's and doctoral students and participate in the development of new products related to aquaculture.

Educational and qualification requirements:

• doctoral degree in aquaculture, breeding, animal nutrition or related disciplines
• experience of research in aquaculture or related fields, teaching, management, project design or development work
• responsibility, initiative and competence in human relations
• good English skills

The provisions of the Act on Public Universities no. 85/2008 and rules on new hiring and advancement of academic staff at Hólar University.

This is a 100% status. 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 applicant must be able to start work on 1 August 2016. For further information, please contact Bjarni Kristófer Kristjánsson, tel. +354 455 6386 and Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir, tel. +354 858 5014.

The application deadline is May 30, 2016. Applications must be sent to the e-mail address umsoknir@holar.is marked „lecturer-aquaculture“. Applicants must enclose with their application copies of diplomas, CVs and summaries of academic work, as well as a statement of plans in the event of employment. The application must also be accompanied by a summary of publications and other scientific results that the applicant wishes to be taken into account in assessing eligibility, as well as the names of two reviewers.

All applications will be answered when a decision on employment is available. 

Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, recently visited Matís with some of the ministry's employees. He got acquainted with Matís 'operations, met Svein Margeirsson, Matís' CEO and several employees of the company.

Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, Fisheries
and the Minister of Agriculture and
Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís.

The visit was enjoyable and it was important for Matís to shed light on the good work that the company's employees are doing.

We thank the Minister and the staff of the ministry for the visit.

What is better than getting those who know how to work to show how good work is done. Matís and the National Association of Small Boat Owners (LS) are launching a competition among fishermen to show in words and pictures what is needed for first-class catch to land.

Social media will be used to show the work of fishermen and the fishermen themselves will take care of pictures and text.

At the end of each month, May, June, July and August, one fisherman will be selected who is considered to have delivered the best and most positive material. Only the pictures and the text will be evaluated and it will be up to Matís and LS to choose from the submitted and published pictures.

The aim of the project is to increase awareness of the importance of good catch management and how important it is to practice good work practices. It is necessary to show consumers in a positive way that things are going well and that we are working responsibly for the sustainable use of our common resource.

Photos or short videos can be of almost anything related to fishing, fishing and catch management. However, we first and foremost want to see images that capture the positive image of catch management and it is not wrong to wonder what it is that does your fish the best on the market and by what means you can show that in words and pictures.

It is not at all forbidden to be original and fun in the choice of images and give the imagination a little free rein because it will be a lot of work.

Instructions for the photo contest

You can participate in the competition via social media Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You can also send an email with a photo and text to the email address fallegurfiskur@matis.is. 

Facebook

1. Go to the site www.facebook.com/fallegurfiskur or find the page in the Facebook phone app under Beautiful fish and click the "Like" button.
2. Take a picture that highlights the good handling of the catch / raw material, which means that first-class catch is landed.
3. Place the picture on the wall next to it www.facebook.com/fallegurfiskur and write descriptive text about the image.
4. Click the "Share" button or the button or button that shares the image and text on Facebook.

Instagram

1. Go to the site www.instagram.com/fallegurfiskur/ or find the page in the Instagram phone app under Beautiful fish and click the "Follow" button.
2. Take a picture that highlights the good handling of the catch / raw material, which means that first-class catch is landed.
3. Post the photo with descriptive text on your Instagram wall, but also do two things:
a. "Hash-tag" / use the hashtag (#) on the image / post with 1TP3Beautiful fish and
b. Add @beautifulfish to the text or "Tag" beautifulfish in the "Tag people" option
4. Click the "Share" button or the button or button that shares the photo and text on Instagram.

Twitter

1. Go to the site www.twitter.com/beautifulfish or find the page in the Twitter phone app under Beautiful Fish and click the "Follow" button.
2. Take a picture that highlights the good handling of the catch / raw material, which means that first-class catch is landed.
3. Post the image with descriptive text on your Twitter wall, but also do two things:
a. "Hash-tag" / use the hashtag (#) on the image / post with 1TP3Beautiful fish and
b. Add @beautifulfish to the text or "Tag" beautifulfish in the "Who's in this photo" option
4. Click the "Tweet" button or the button that shares the photo and text on Twitter.

For further information Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís.

Related material:

• An app for sailors to calculate the need for ice
• The importance of good handling of fish
• Fish technology
• The Fresh Fish Handbook
• More published material by Matís

On Monday 2 May, Sigríður Sigurðardóttir, an employee of Matís, will defend her doctoral dissertation in industrial engineering at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Iceland.

Opponents are dr. Villy Christensen, professor and director of the Institute of Marine and Fisheries Research at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and dr. Ronald Pelot, Professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada.

The supervisor was dr. Gunnar Stefánsson, Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Iceland. Sigurjón Arason, professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and chief engineer at Matís, dr. Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, dr. Páll Jensson, professor of industrial engineering at Reykjavík University, and dr. Birgir Hrafnkelsson, Associate Professor of Statistics at the Faculty of Science, University of Iceland.
 
Dr. Ólafur Pétur Pálsson, professor and dean of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, will chair the ceremony.

When does this event start: May 2, 2016 - 2:00 PM Event location: Box Further location: Room 132

Summary of study

Fisheries management is a difficult task that addresses a number of challenges, including an oversized fishing fleet, discards and unprofitable fishing. Fisheries can be seen as a system characterized by human interaction with natural resources. Computerized simulators are useful for raising awareness of fisheries management as well as supporting fisheries management decisions. Models are useful for assessing the impact of changes in fisheries management on various factors, such as fish stocks, employment and profitability. The changes are, for example, fishing restrictions, a change in the allocation of quotas or a requirement that all catch be landed.

The aim of the study was to promote better fisheries management. The purpose was to develop models and simulate fisheries management systems with the aim of comparing different approaches to fisheries management. This is done by looking at their impact on selected variables, which are either economic, biological or social. The main contribution of the study is to present methods that have so far been little or not used in this field. The research is interdisciplinary and combines modeling and simulation that has its roots in engineering and fisheries science based on ecology, economics and sociology. Three models were developed, a hybrid dynamics model consisting of a system dynamics model and a discrete-event simulation model and a new type of model similar to unit models. .-agent-based models). One part of the study dealt with discards, where twelve methods for reducing discards were systematically evaluated with a so-called SWOT analysis, which involves identifying strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.

About the doctoral dissertation

Sigríður Sigurðardóttir was born on December 1, 1983. She completed her B.Sc. degree in 2007 in industrial engineering and a master's degree in the same subject in 2011. Sigríður's master's thesis dealt with models and ways to streamline milk processing at Mjólkursamlag Kaupfélag Skagfirðingar. In parallel with her doctoral studies, which began in 2011, Sigríður has worked for Matís on various projects, especially in the fisheries sector. Sigríður spent part of her studies abroad; at the University of California, Berkeley and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and was supervised by professors there.

Sigríður's husband is dr. Egil Maron Þorbergsson and they have a daughter Anna Ísafold.