Category: News

On the 26th - 27th of September last Aarhus Food & Bio cluster in Denmark held the Food & Bio Global Summit 2023. The main theme of the conference was sustainability in food production with a focus on innovation. As was stated at the conference, the world's food systems have reached the limit of endurance, especially related to the effects of weather disturbances; global warming, floods, sea level rise, droughts, etc. Over 170 participants from around the world attended the conference which was packed with great lectures. 

One of the most important themes of the conference was to promote the Global Food Alliance, to connect and promote sustainability and innovation in food production. This vision is important in light of the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise below 2°C relative to the average temperature at the beginning of industrialization. The treaty also aims to strengthen the capacity of the countries of the world to deal with the consequences of climate change.

One of the most serious consequences of climate change is the impact on the health and ability of ecosystems to produce food. The degradation of ecosystems will therefore lead to food shortages and famine. The idea behind the conference on the International Food Pact is that with the consensus and cooperation of everyone who works or is involved in research, innovation or political decisions, it will be possible to prevent disasters such as the loss of ecosystems and famine.

The conference had a dense program of lectures related to the above issues; cooperation, innovation, research and development. Connection meetings, speed dates, were also held, where each participant could connect with other participants in their professional field and thus expand their network.

The conference was well attended, and participants from around the world could be seen. One conference guest came from Iceland on behalf of Matís and she was very happy with the conference and the presentation. The issue of food production and the ability of ecosystems to withstand the challenges of the future ie. population growth and ecosystem decline due to catastrophic global warming is one of the most important challenges of our time.

The innovation and technological development that has taken place in the food industry is not only fast but also extremely interesting. Now, for example, it is possible to process meat from animal cells (cell-based proteins) and grow algae using high-tech methods, etc. There are challenges ahead in food production, but at the same time, solutions are being diligently worked on through the development of technological solutions and innovation alongside sustainable development and the strengthening of the circular economy. More information about the Food & Bio Global Summit 2023 can be found here:

Food & Bio Global Summit 2023 

The United Nations International Day for Food Waste was last September 29. On that day, the Environmental Agency presented the results of a new study on the extent of food waste in Iceland, but this was the first time that food waste has been measured in the entire food value chain according to the European Union's standard methodology. The Environmental Agency's coverage can be found here: Food waste in Icelandic households is below the European average.

It turned out that food waste per population in Iceland was about 160 kg in one year. About half came from primary production and about 40% from households. The results for food waste overall were quite similar to other European countries. However, it is not possible to stop there because the goal for the future is to greatly reduce food waste.

The Icelandic government has set ambitious goals to reduce food waste by 30% by 2025 and by 50% by 2030. The measurements currently available will be used as a baseline for these goals.

At Matís, many projects have been carried out that can help reduce food waste. In a project on the value chain of vegetables measurements were made of the storage conditions and suggestions were made to reduce the wastage of vegetables. Matís has been involved in increasing the full processing of seafood in Iceland and elsewhere in the world, and is currently working on projects that can added value from by-products of vegetable production and meat production. Food packaging has been the subject of much discussion, not least problems regarding packaging plastic and its recycling, but you can read about these issues in Matís's report. Packaging can be important for the preservation of food quality, but deterioration of food quality due to deficiencies in packaging and handling can lead to food waste.

In addition to these projects, there are many others underway at Matís that contribute in one way or another to the better utilization of food and by-products of food processing, the promotion of the circular economy and sustainability thinking. Matís' project can be viewed here:

In September of this year, a meeting was held in the SusKelpFood project in Bergen, Norway. The project is about developing innovative solutions in the production of safe, nutritious and tasty raw materials from kelp for food. 

Among the things developed in the project are new processing methods, such as drying and fermentation, of kelp (Saccharina latissima) and marine kernel (Alaria esculenta) to reduce energy consumption in production and increase the quality of final products. All aspects of the value chain will be studied from primary production to ready-to-eat food products. The food company Orkla, which among other things produces TORO products, is participating in the project and will develop new products for the food market that contain kelp.

The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway, but Matís' role in the project is to measure the odorants in the ingredients and their sensory assessment, which is used to describe the appearance, smell, taste and texture of food products. 

The status of the project was reviewed at the meeting, but Matís presented the results of measurements with an electronic nose and an electronic tongue that were carried out in Israel, and which provide indications of the taste and smell of the ingredients without actually tasting them. The results of those measurements, together with sensory evaluation, indicate that production methods can have a great influence on the smell and taste of the kelp.

More information about the SusKelpFood project can be found on its project page here:
Sustainable ingredients from cultivated kelp to the food industry

On Thursday, September 21, the Matís staff took a step forward and went on an autumn trip east of the mountain. The day was sunny and beautiful and Ölfus looked his best.

The group's first stop was Rádhús Ölfuss in Þorlákshöfn. There, Kolbrún Hrafnkelsdóttir and Rúnar Þórarinsson welcomed us with coffee and donuts and introduced the group to the Ölfus Cluster, Grænan iðngarð, the activities of First Water and Jarðlífs and other exciting things going on in this rapidly growing municipality. It's safe to say that there was enough!

After the presentation, there was a field trip to the area of First Water, which is a closed land-based plant that is currently undergoing rapid development. It was impressive to walk around the area, which is huge and full of possibilities. Rúnar guided the group and showed how the structure has been in recent months and what the plans are for the coming seasons.

After a walk around the area, we stopped at the restaurant Hafinu Bláa, located at the Ölfusár estuary between Eyrarbakki and Þorlákshavn. Delicious lobster soup and freshly baked bread were served there and the group could enjoy the view and the mild weather in this pleasant place.

From there the path went up to Hellisheidi, in the house of Orku Náttúrunn and VAXA. Kristinn Hafliðason, or Kiddi in VAXA as he is fondly called, told about the structure and operations of the company, which reuses water and energy from the Hellisheiðar power plant in order to cultivate microalgae and produce sustainable food from them. The group got to walk around the production hall, which is a very pleasant experience because the whole area is bathed in purple light in which the microalgae thrive.

The group ended the day by having a cup of coffee at Hellisheði and heading back to Reykjavík.

Matís' staff would like to express their thanks for the wonderful reception in Ölfus.  

Last September 13, a Nordic conference was held on the environmental impact of the fishing industry and the energy exchange in the sector. The conference was organized by AG Fisk, but it is a consultation forum on fisheries issues that operates across all the Nordic countries for the directive of the Nordic Council of Ministers, which Iceland leads in 2023.

Jónas R. Viðarsson, manager of value creation at Matís, chaired the event on behalf of AG-Fisk. Many of the Nordic countries' leading experts on the issue gave talks, as well as Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Minister of Food, gave an opening speech. The conference was held in English.

The conference was recorded in its entirety and the recordings are available in the players below.

Photos from the event:

Recording from the conference, first part:

Recording from the conference, part two:

Recording from the conference, part three:

More information about the event and slides from the presentations can be found on his project page here: Environmental impacts and energy transition in the Nordic seafood sector

A lot has been done in Matís genetics laboratory in recent days with analyzes of supposed farmed salmon that have been caught in a number of rivers in recent weeks.

Matís has recently received salmon samples from the Norwegian Marine Research Institute for genetic research. In Matís' laboratory, genetic material is isolated and so-called delayed sequence analysis is performed. The Norwegian Marine Research Institute's experts then use the results to check whether the salmon is wild or farmed. If it turns out to be of fish origin, the genetic data is used to trace the origin of the fish. It is important to maintain knowledge, equipment and skills in order to be able to carry out these analyzes in this country. It ensures short transmission paths as well as promotes safer and faster analysis of samples. Finally, it can be mentioned that Matís and the Norwegian Marine Research Institute are jointly working on the development of a set of genetic parameters to assess genetic admixture from farmed salmon in Icelandic stocks.

Over the years, Matís has worked on many research projects on the genetics of Icelandic salmon. Research has shown, among other things, that populations in Icelandic rivers are diverse and that there are great genetic differences between and within watersheds.

See also:

Salmon in rivers - vigilance of anglers important