Category: News

An agreement has been reached on the purchase of the Irish company Marigot, the owner of Íslenska kalkþörungafélagið in Bíldudalur, for a 60% share in the innovation company Marinox ehf., Which is owned by Matís ohf. and two key executives there. A new share capital will be issued for Marigot's share as a result.

Matís has historically built a strong reputation in the field of research and innovation in food production and biotechnology. More often than not, these have been underutilized products, such as seaweed and kelp, around which Marinox's operations have been built. Matís has thus been involved in companies that have been tempted to create value from an underutilized resource that others would not have been interested in using. By supporting the innovation of Matís employees in this way, an incentive is created for the company's researchers to go further with their work and create a valuable product out of it, for the benefit of the entire business community. Such an arrangement has long been used all over the world and in Iceland as well, for example within the university community.

At the same time as it has been Matís' competitive force to assist entrepreneurs and companies in taking the first steps in valuable food production and biotechnology, it has never been the case that Matís has a long-term shareholding in start-up companies. It is important that entrepreneurs and companies receive the expert assistance that Matís has to offer only for the time necessary and that Matís then sells its share in the companies. A good example of such a process and Matís' involvement is the innovation company Iceprotein in Sauðárkrókur, which was sold to FISK-Seafood ehf. in 2012.

Now it's time to sell shares in Marinox's production division. This is the part of the company that handles research and processing of valuable raw materials from the sea, seaweed and kelp. The company will therefore continue to operate under the same name but with a new controlling shareholder. In parallel with the share capital increase in Marinox, the skincare line, UNA Skincare, will be separated from the company and transferred to a new company, which will initially be owned by the same parties that now own Marinox. In the immediate aftermath, new investors in UNA Skincare will be sought.

Matís celebrates this milestone and looks brightly at the opportunities that open up for Marinox and Matís in collaboration with the Irish company, which has already made a name for itself in Iceland.

Further information is provided by Friðrik Friðriksson, Chairman of the Board of Matís (896-7350). 

An open presentation meeting is called where the NordBio program and its projects will be presented, but the Nordic Bioeconomy (NordBio) is a priority in the Icelandic Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. NordBio's goal is to make the Nordic region a leader in sustainable production and use of living resources in order to reduce waste and promote innovation, a green economy and rural development.

The NordBio program brings together a broad group of Nordic experts who join forces and work on projects that promote the sustainable use of living natural resources. The plan covers three years (2014-2016).

When

Tuesday, March 3, at 13-16.

Where

The Nordic House, Sturlugata 5, 101 Reykjavík.

No entrance fee and everyone is welcome.

Agenda:

• Meeting minutes | Eygló Harðardóttir, Iceland's Minister for Co-operation in the Nordic Council of Ministers.
• The bioeconomy - the basis of sustainable development | Daði Már Kristófersson, Associate Professor of Natural Resource Economics at the University of Iceland.
• The NordBio program | Halldór Runólfsson, Chairman of the Icelandic Project Board of NordBio. 
• WoodBio. The role of wood biomass in the Nordic bioeconomy | Ólafur Eggertsson, State Forestry.
• Innovation in the bioeconomy. Opportunities for product development and value creation | Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir, Matís.
• Marina. Increased use of environmentally friendly energy at sea | Ágústa S. Loftsdóttir, National Energy Authority.
• Ermond. Reservation against natural disasters | Guðmundur Halldórsson, Landgræðsla ríkisins.
• Biophilia. Creativity as a teaching method Björk Óttarsdóttir, Ministry of Education and Culture.
• The Nordic Region's living resources: sustainability goals | Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, University of Iceland.
• Organic waste for innovation | Guðrún Lilja Kristinsdóttir, Environment Agency.
• Opportunities related to the bioeconomy in selected regions | Sigríður Kristjánsdóttir, Iceland Innovation Center.
• Sustainable protein production | Torfi Jóhannesson, Ministry of Industry and Innovation.
• Inquiries and discussions.

There will be a coffee break at 14.30.

Moderator

Danfríður Skarphéðinsdóttir, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.

More about NordBio at www.norden.org and on Facebook page of the meeting.

The herring processing is The educational sector of the economy 2015 but the results were introduced last Thursday on Education Day which the Confederation of Icelandic Employers, together with its member associations, SFS, SVÞ, SF, SFF, SI, Samorka and SAF.

The Education Award is a recognition for companies that have emphasized education and training issues within and outside the companies. Herring processing is well on its way to recognition, as emphasis has been placed on development work and innovation to strengthen education and training.

Matís wishes The herring processing congratulations and is proud to be a partner of this powerful company.

_{Illugi Gunnarsson, Hildur Elín Vignir and Gunnþór Ingvason at the presentation of the education scepter 2015.
Photo from the website of the Association of Companies in the Fisheries Sector, www.sfs.is.}

Very few collaborative projects between Síldavinnslan and Matís:

• Maximizing the quality of frozen mackerel products
• Processing properties of mackerel
• Production of fish sauce from Icelandic seafood with useful fermentation
• Increased value of pelagic fish
• Drying of herring fillets

and many more projects. In addition, Síldavinnslan uses services Matís in Neskaupstaður.

Every other year, Nordic Sensory Workshops are held in the Nordic countries, mostly on sensory assessment and consumer research, and Matís has taken part in their preparation. The next conference will be held in Oslo on 11 and 12 May. and is entitled: Taste of the future (e. A Taste of the Future).

The main topics of the conference this time will be:

• What do the children want to eat? (by Children and Food Preferences)
• Taylor made Healthy Foods
• Nordic Food Trends

Gunnar Karl Gíslason caterer on Dill Restaurant will give a talk on where new Nordic cuisine is heading from the chef's point of view. Gunnar recently published the cookbook North along with the American author Jody Eddy. The theme of the book is the new Nordic cuisine as it appears in Iceland, but Dill has been one of the main heralds of that policy in this country.

People in food production and others interested in this topic are encouraged to register their participation as soon as possible. Further description, registration and program are on Nofima website.

Sensory evaluation and sensory evaluation research have long been an important area of expertise at Matís, and the emphasis has increasingly been on consumer research. Matís has participated in many domestic and foreign research projects in this field and is a participant in European organizations. European Sensory Network (ESN) which deals with sensory evaluation and consumer research.

For further information Emilia Martinsdóttir at Matís.

"I see a great opportunity for Icelanders in food production and I think we should look at what the Swedes have been doing with the Matlandet Sverige project," says Eygló Harðardóttir, Minister of Social Affairs and Housing.

The vision of the Swedish government is for Sweden to become the new food country of Europe and to be based on Swedish food traditions, valuable nature and culture, unique ingredients and chefs who have achieved great success internationally. We should be able to do all this too. The governing charter emphasizes measures to increase food production in Iceland. We emphasize Iceland's exports and the uniqueness of Iceland when it comes to the purity and quality of raw materials.

With increased sustainable and environmentally friendly food production, we had a rapidly growing target group both here at home and abroad. An increase in domestic food production provides an opportunity to increase economic growth and increase employment. The opportunities are found in food processing, exports, tourism and experience as well as in agriculture itself.

Our specialty when it comes to food freshness is unique. The land is large and we have access to large amounts of clean water. Good raw materials are the basis of everything else in food production, and it is good to be able to rely on agriculture and unspoiled Icelandic nature.

The world is facing challenges when it comes to food production, and when innovating in the food industry, it is not least important to think about food quality and food safety at the same time as trying to ensure food security in the world. The government should consider increasing the number of food producers, both large and small, and increasing their turnover.

The largest food buyer is the public sector, which entails a great deal of responsibility. The government's policy is therefore very important when it comes to purchasing raw materials for the thousands of meals that are served daily in schools, hospitals and old people's homes.

In fact, there needs to be a certain awareness-raising when it comes to choosing ingredients, in addition to which companies and institutions need to pay close attention to the selection and training of employees when processing and purchasing food. Emphasis must also be placed on the full utilization of raw materials and rationalization in purchasing, without compromising the quality of the meals.

Food is and will be a big part of our experience of visiting other countries. We need to place even more emphasis on this in Iceland. It can even be said that the sale of domestic food to foreign tourists is an export, as the buyer pays for the transport himself. A great example of how people have used domestic ingredients and culture are his spicy sausages Klaus Kretzer, which he produces from mutton in the Wilderness. The sausages have made a breakthrough and have become part of the tourist's experience when he visits Skaftafell and Öræfin. He was assisted in the development of the idea Matís food factory in Höfn. We need to do more of this. That was the task Arctic Bioeconomy particularly pleasing, but it was part of the Icelandic Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project resulted in almost 30 new products that were developed in collaboration with Matís, which has led this part of the project.

The government has a duty to protect the uniqueness of Iceland and the reputation of Icelandic food is part of that. We need to support development in this sector and we can do that by supporting Icelanders' participation in cooking competitions, the production of Icelandic cookbooks and TV shows and of course the operation of a diverse flora of Icelandic restaurants, so we present our food, encourage people to visit the country and we support Icelandic food production.

The above text originally appears in Matís annual report for the year 2014.

The show Nautnir norðursins is nominated for the Edda Award as the best lifestyle show of the year 2014, but the show is produced by Sagafilm for RÚV, NRK, YLE and Kringvarp in the Faroe Islands and Matís is the co-producer of the shows.

The programs are sponsored by NORA and Kulturraadet in Norway, as well as the Ministry of Employment and Innovation.

Ferðalangur is actor Gísli Örn Garðarsson. During his trip around Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway, he meets four chefs from the four countries and they lead him to a new truth about traditional cooking and an innovative approach to local ingredients.

Further information about the episodes can be found at Facebook page of the episodes. The Edda Prize Festival will take place in Silfurberg in Harpa, on Saturday 21 February.

For further information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís.

The first two articles in this year's issue of Icelandic Agricultural Sciences have now been published online.

On the one hand, this is an article by Eyþór Einarsson et al. on the effectiveness of the new electronic method VIAscan®) to evaluate muscle mass of lambs in slaughterhouses in Iceland and how the heritability of muscle ratio is structured in the Icelandic sheep population. The results indicate that electronic meat assessment is a usable method in Icelandic conditions and that the measurements provided by the assessment can be used in breeding work in sheep breeding in Iceland. The authors came from the Agricultural University of Iceland, the Farmers' Association and an Australian research and development company.

However, this is an article by Jan Eric Jenssen et al. um capacity of Paenibacillus strain, which has been isolated from Icelandic hot springs, to produce ethanol and other substrates from sugars or directly from foxgrass. The ethanol production of the stock corresponded to 250 liters per tonne of foxgrass, which is similar to various recent studies that show that the biomass of wheat straw, which is a by-product of cereal cultivation abroad that is interested in being used in ethanol production, can be processed. The authors came from the University of Akureyri and the Agricultural University of Iceland.

It's a newcomer to articles in Icel. Agric. Sci. will be formally published electronically as soon as they have been reviewed professionally. The change, however, has been that all articles now receive a so-called electronic doi number from the international database CrossRef, which means that they are formally published as soon as they are published on the Internet. This is a major milestone for the publication and will further increase its visibility internationally and at the same time facilitate access by foreign and domestic scholars to it.  

This means that it is now unnecessary to print copies of the publication so that articles are formally published. As a result, the time it takes for authors to submit manuscripts for publication until they are formally published will be significantly shortened. Soon we will be posting changes to the author's guide on the publication's website (www.ias.is) that take this into account. As of this year, the publication will therefore only be published in electronic form.

More information can be found at www.ias.is.

Ian Goulding, an expert in fish, fish processing and aspects related to fisheries management, will give lectures at Matís' premises on 14 - 18 February.

There will be four lunch lectures on different topics. The lectures are given in English and are open to all. The lecture series is available United Nations University School of Fisheries but the lectures are held in Matís headquarters at Vínlandsleið 12.

Matís' first project in the new Horizon 2020 research program to begin. Matís is a participant in a new 2.7 million Euro project that is funded by Horizon 2020, Europe's new research and innovation program.

The four-year project is called "Social Science Aspects of Fisheries for the 21st Century(Abbreviated: SAF21) and is a European Training Network (ETN) but such projects are part of Marie Sklodowska Curie Horizon 2020's flagship research program. The start of the project is a milestone for Matís as this is the first project in which Matís participates, which is funded within Horizon 2020.  

SAF21 is a collaborative network of eight institutions or companies from six countries that will employ ten doctoral students. The students will conduct research related to the socio-ecological issues of fisheries management. Participants ensure good collaboration and share knowledge through numerous courses and seminars during the project. Matís' doctoral student will study how fishermen adapt to changes in fisheries management and new market requirements with the support of simulators. He will have access to all events (seminars, seminars, conferences, etc.) within the co-operation network as well as spending part of the project time with other SAF21 participants.

Project management is in the hands of dr. Melania Borit, University of Tromsø (UiT) in Norway. Other participants, along with Icelandic participants from Matís and University of Iceland, are from the Faroe Islands, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands.

The inaugural meeting of the project was held in Copenhagen on Friday 6 February. and as a result, Matís will advertise for applicants for the doctoral student position.

Further information can be obtained from Sigríður Sigurðardóttir, sigridur.sigurdardottir@matis.is

The incidence of Salmonella contamination in poultry products in Iceland has fallen sharply in recent decades and it is now the case that infection in poultry products on the Icelandic market is rare and much lower than is known in most countries in the world. 

This good situation can be attributed to the good results that have been achieved through the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, ie. poultry farmers, slaughter license holders, regulators, governments and consumers to ensure that contaminated products are not distributed. As an indication of the good results that have been achieved in terms of both Campylobacter and Salmonella contamination in chicken products on the market, it can be mentioned that the extensive monitoring carried out by Matís and Matvælastofnun (MAST) in 2012-2013 did not show any samples with Salmonella or Campylobacter.

About Matís laboratory

Due to the planned designation of Matís laboratory as a reference laboratory for various food pathogens, it was recently launched. year of preparation for the installation of specialized measurement methods for the diagnosis of these bacteria. Special emphasis has been placed on developing a method for measuring so-called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacteria, which cause the most dangerous infections caused by bacteria from the pathogenic E. coli bacteria. In recent years, several cases of the disease have been caused by this bacterium in Iceland, and there is certainly a need to study the spread of this dangerous disease in animals, products and the environment.

In recent years, Matís Laboratory has specialized in quality and safety measurements for the pharmaceutical industry. These have primarily been microbiological measurements of synthetic drugs, raw materials for pharmaceuticals and environmental samples from the pharmaceutical manufacturing environment. Many of the methods used in this connection are specialized for the pharmaceutical industry and in many cases the laboratory has had to implement these methods specifically to meet the requirements. The knowledge that has been created at the laboratory in this connection has proved to be extremely valuable and the pharmaceutical industry in Iceland and related activities is now extremely important for the laboratory's activities.  

For further information Franklin Georgsson, Head of Measurement and Communication at Matís.