Category: News

The first Icelandic food craft championship is over. This time the competition was open to all the Nordic countries and took place The Nordic House November 13th.

Matís and New Nordic food II were responsible for this competition. 

In parallel with the competition, a conference was held where it was possible to learn about how our cousins in the Nordic countries have supported and marketed food production from the region. The conference was sponsored by Íslandsstofa, Icelandair, The Nordic House and The milk collection.

Competitors were from all the Nordic countries and 110 products were registered. 
Competed in 8 different categories.

Here is a list of winners:

Dairy products:

Gold     Arla Unika, Sirius (cheese), Denmark
Silver   The Blind Cow, Blue Monday (cheese), Norway
Bronze  Skärvångens bymejeri, Rosalina (cheese), Sweden

Meat products:

Gold     Sjónarsker, Klettur (dry spiced, salted and smoked thigh muscle), Iceland
Silver   Bjarteyjarsandur, Birch-smoked blueberry muscle, Iceland
Bronze  Bjärhus gårdsbutik, Bjärhus ölpinne (dried raw sausage), Sweden

Fish products:

Gold     Leif Sørensen, Fish chips, Faroe Islands
Silver   Sunshine, Mackerel Pate, Iceland
Bronze  Sunshine, Hot smoked mackerel, Iceland

Berries, fruits and vegetables:

Gold    Útoyggjafelagið, Meadowsweet syrup, Faroe Islands
Silver  Útoyggjafelagið, Rhubarb juice, Faroe Islands
Silver  Holt og heiðar, Rhubarb jam with vanilla, Iceland

Baking:

Gold   Cum Pane organic baking workshop, Fröknäcke (crispbread), Sweden  

Sourdough baking:

Gold    Sandholt, Smoked pumpkin bread, Iceland
Silver  The Coocoo's Nest, Súrdeigsbrauð, Iceland

Innovation in food crafts:

Gold    Örtagård Öst, Sliced marmalade, Sweden
Silver  Urta Islandica, SPRETTUR-energy and endurance herbal tea for athletes and mountaineers, Iceland

Salt:

Gold    Saltworks, Birch smoked salt, Iceland
Silver  Norður & Co, Norðursalt - Icelandic flake salt, Iceland

For further information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís.

In recent times, the demand for sustainable utilization and minimization of environmental impact in food production has increased significantly in markets that are important for our Icelandic fresh fish products.

Requirements for the sustainable utilization of fish stocks have been met with environmental certificates, but information on the overall environmental impact of Icelandic seafood and comparisons with competitive products has been lacking. Therefore, several companies in the production, distribution and marketing of fresh cod fillets joined forces and had a Life Cycle Assessment performed on their products. The results of the study show that the environmental impact of fresh Icelandic cod fillets is relatively low compared to our main competitors in the fisheries sector and much lower than from meat products.

Products from four manufacturers and from seven different fishing vessels sold in the UK and Switzerland were studied and the results compared with comparable research conducted in other parts of the world. There are some differences in the footprint of individual vessels according to size, fishing gear, quota status and fishing pattern, but the average results of the study show that the footprint of fresh cod necks is about 0.8 Kg CO2 equivalent / Kg necks when the catch has been processed. Transport by ship to the UK or Switzerland adds little to the infestation, but if the products are transported by air, the infestation can be tripled, as can be seen in the attached picture.

If these results are compared with the results of similar research from elsewhere, it can be seen that the footprint of Icelandic cod saddles transported by air to the UK is comparable to Norwegian cod and salmon that have been transported by van to Central Europe. If, on the other hand, the saddles are sent by ship, the Icelandic fish comes out much better than the Norwegian one. If the cod necks are compared with other protein sources from the animal kingdom, it can be seen that Icelandic cod has a very limited footprint.

The results of this study have been published in the form of a report, in addition to which a booklet has been published with the main results. Can be accessed the report and the booklet on the websites of Matís and AVS, but the project was funded by AVS.

Further information Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís.

The Icelandic championship in food crafts took place yesterday and last night. A large number of products were included in the competition and it was the unanimous opinion of all those involved that food innovation is very bright not only in Iceland but in all the Nordic countries.

The results will be announced at 15 today at the Nordic House and we encourage everyone to come and see the fruits of small-scale food production and food innovation at its best in the Nordic countries.

Pictures of some products from yesterday's competition

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Food crafts | Artisan Food Food crafts | Artisan Food.

Last September, Matís hosted a conference on marine settlements, small boat fishing and regional development on the North Atlantic. The conference was held in connection with the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition and the Icelandic Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The conference was sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers, but in addition to Matís, a number of people were involved in the preparation and implementation of the conference. These include national associations of small boat owners in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, as well as researchers and private companies in these same countries.

Report from the conference

All presentations at the conference are now available at project website, both in pdf format and video recordings. It has also been published report with all the presentations of the conference and a booklet with excerpts from all the presentations.

Further information Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís.

Now it's finally here Arctic Bioeconomy of the project. The project concludes with a conference on the Nordic bioeconomy with an emphasis on Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and many interesting speakers will speak at the conference. Among them is Inunnguaq Hegelund, who is well known to Icelanders from the shows The pleasures of the north which was recently shown on RÚV.

The bioeconomy involves the sustainable utilization of natural resources and it can therefore be said that the Icelandic economy is to a large extent dependent on the bioeconomy.

In light of the importance of the sea and ocean-related activities, there are unique opportunities for discussion, development and increased value creation in this field for Iceland and Icelanders.

Increased economic growth based on the sustainable utilization of organic resources and innovation aimed at increased value creation is the main theme of the conference and a special light is directed at the ocean's resources in this connection.

At the conference, dr. dr. Christian Patermann gives a lecture entitled "Europe route to the Bioeconomy, challenges and perspectives for the Nordic Union“.

Paterman is a big name in the field of bioeconomy, but he is the former director of the DG Research European Commission, Biotechnology, Agriculture, Food Research at the EU and considered the "father" of the bioeconomy in Brussels.

Date: November 11th
Location: The Nordic House, Sturlugata 5

Agenda

Conference facilitator: Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, Matís

13:00 - 13:40 Europe route to the Bioeconomy, challenges and perspectives for the Nordic Union, Dr.dr. Christian Patermann, key note speaker

13:40 - 14:00 Main results of Arctic Bioeconomy - lessons learned and the way forward
Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir, Research group leader, Matís   
      
14: 00– 14:15 Trends in the Blue Bioeconomy: A Faroese Case Study
Dr. Unn Laxá, Research Project Manager

14:15 - 14:30 Business opportunities and rural development in the Greenlandic Bioeconomy
Inunnguaq Hegelund, chef at Hotel Arctic in Greenland

14:30 - 14:50 Access to plant varieties in Arctic agriculture
Dr. Svein Ø. Solberg, Senior Scientist, Nordic Genetic Resource Center

14:50 - 15:20 Coffee break

15:20 - 15:40 Bioeconomy in the Nordic countries, strategy, opportunities and needs
Dr. Lene Lange, Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Chemistry, Aalborg University, Denmark

15:40 - 16:00 European Bioeconomy - opportunities and challenges
Dr. Hörður G. Kristinnsson, Director of Research, Matís

16:00 - 17:00 Panel discussion
Panel leader:
Þorsteinn Tómasson, Director Public Science Administration (ret.), Iceland

Amalie A. Jessen, Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting and Agriculture, Greenland
Dr.dr. Christian Patermann, Director (ret.) European Commission, Germany
Dr. Lene Lange, professor, Aalborg University, Denmark
Kjartan Hoydal, Nordic Marine Think Tank, Faroe islands
Dr. Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, Iceland
            
For further information Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir at 858-5113.

Next week will certainly be a festival for the people of the Nordic countries, and especially for those who are interested in the Nordic bioeconomy, which includes food and food production.

It is safe to say that rarely have so many events related to Nordic co-operation taken place in Iceland in one and the same week. Most of these events are related to the Icelandic Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, but 2014 is Iceland's year in that presidency.

Below you can see the events that are available. The raisin in the sausage end is the Food Market of the Cage, which will be held on the weekend of 15 and 16 November.

• November 10 and 11 - final meeting in Arctic Bioeconomy but the meeting is held at Matís (closed meeting).
  
• November 11 - Nordic Vision Workshop
  
• November 11 - 13:00 - 17:00 „Arctic Bioeconomy - Focus on West-Nordic Countries"- a conference held at the Nordic House.
  
• November 11 - 9:00 - 16:00 „BoMin"(" Children and food so into the Nordic countries "/" New Nordic food, project food and children). -> more information here.
  
• November 12 - 8:30 - 17:30 Field trip related to the Food Craft Competition.
  
• November 12 and 13 - 8:00 - 19:00 Nordic Bioeconomy and Regional Innovation.
  
• November 13 - 9:00 - 16:00 The Food Crafts Conference, which is held at the Nordic House.
  
• November 14 - 9:00 - 15:00 Food craft course and lectures at Matís.

All events related to the Food Craft are open to everyone (the field trip, the conference and the food craft courses).

• November 15 and 16 - The Cage Food Market - products from the Food Craft Competition will be on display.

For further information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís.

Norway has been successful in researching the full utilization of herring. The research has been going on for three years and the result is that what is left after filleting can be used in only 17 different products. In Iceland, research on this is also underway at Matís.

A report in the Norwegian fisheries magazine FiskeribladetFiskaren says that the study aimed to create more income for pelagic processing in Norway for its products through increased processing for human consumption.

"We look at these by-products as raw materials for fishmeal production as they are now. Norwegians have been trying to make products for human consumption from the by-products. We have been looking at these too, whether they go to fishmeal production or for human consumption. The price of fishmeal is amazingly high and the utilization of this herring raw material is very high in both flour and fish oil. However, this high price will not last forever and that is why we are also looking at ways to increase food processing, "says Sigurjón Arason, chief engineer at Matís.

He says that the big difference in the situation is that Norwegians have many times more money to invest in research.

"Their research fund is called FHF. As our AFS fund decreases from year to year, the FHF (Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund) is constantly expanding. The situation is very unequal in this respect. We have come a long way in cooperating with the companies in the country. It has been our strength as Icelanders that the companies have been diligent in participating in the development. "

Sigurjón says that Icelanders are far from exhausted from the opportunities that lie in further utilization of the marine catch. There is less than ISK 1 billion unused.

At its peak, around ISK 300 million was spent on research from the ACP Fund. The Norwegian FHF Fund provides NOK 215 million for research in 2014, compared to NOK 185 million in 2013, which is close to ISK 5 billion.  

For further information Sigurjón Arason, chief engineer at Matís.

The interview with Sigurjón Arason first appears in Fish news.

Conference on the Nordic bioeconomy focusing on Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

A conference will be held at the Nordic House on 11 November at 13:00 - 17:00. The conference is sponsored by The Nordic Council of Ministers Arctic Co-operation Program, NKJ (Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural and Food Research), AG-Fisk (Working Group for Fisheries Co-operation), SNS (Nordic Forest Research) and NordGen (the Nordic Genetic Resource Center), and is part of the project "Arctic bioeconomy".

The conference is held in English and is open to everyone.

Agenda

• 13:00 - 13:40
  Europe route to the Bioeconomy, challenges and perspectives for the Nordic Union -
  Dr.dr. Christian Patermann, keynote speaker
  
• 13:40 - 14:00
  Main results of Arctic Bioeconomy - lessons learned and the way forward -
  Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir, Research Group Leader, Matís   
      
• 14: 00– 14:15
  Trends in the Blue Bioeconomy: A Faroese Case Study -
  Dr. Unn Laksá, Research Project Manager, Synthesis
  
• 14:15 - 14:30
  Business opportunities and rural development in the Greenlandic Bioeconomy -
  Inunnguaq Hegelund, Chef at Hotel Arctic in Greenland
  
• 14:30 - 14:50
  Access to plant varieties in Arctic agriculture -
  Dr. Svein Ø. Solberg, Senior Scientist, Nordic Genetic Resource Center
  
• 14:50 - 15:20
  Coffee break
  
• 15:20 - 15:40
  Bioeconomy in the Nordic countries, strategy, opportunities and needs - Dr. Lene Lange, Professor, Department of Biotechnology and Chemistry, Aalborg University, Denmark
  
• 15:40 - 16:00
  European Bioeconomy - opportunities and challenges -
  Dr. Hörður G. Kristinsson, Director of Research, Matís
  
• 16:00 - 17:00  
  Panel discussion

The keynote speaker, dr. dr. Christian Patermann is a former director of the DG Research European Commission, Biotechnology, Agriculture, Food Research and the "father" of the Brussels bioeconomy. He was also a member of the 1st German Bioeconomy Advisory Council.

For further information Sigrún Elsa Smáradóttir, director of Matís.

Varsha Ajaykumar Kale will defend her doctoral dissertation in pharmacology on Monday 3 November. The ceremony takes place in the Celebration Hall of the University of Iceland and starts at 13.00.

The thesis is entitled: "Bioactive sulphated polysaccharides from the sea edema Cucumaria frondosa and enzymes that convert such biomaterials.“ – „Bioactive sulfated polysaccharides from the sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa and enzymes active on this class of biomolecules. "

Opponents are dr. Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir, professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, University of Iceland, and dr. Maher Abou Hachem, Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

Supervisors in the project were dr. Sesselja Ómarsdóttir, Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland, dr. Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson, Director of Matís and Professor at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, and dr. Ólafur H. Friðjónsson, project manager at Matís. In addition to them, the doctoral committee included dr. Elín Soffía Ólafsdóttir, professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland, and dr. Jóna Freysdóttir, professor at the same department.

Dr. Már Másson, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Iceland, will chair the ceremony.

Abstract

In Asia, there is a long tradition of consuming sea urchins and they are also used in folk medicine. A variety of bioactivity of sea urchin polysaccharides has been described. In this project, polysaccharides were isolated from the flesh of the sea urchin Cucumaria frondosa. The sulfated polysaccharides were divided into three components, FCF-1, FCF-2 and FCF-3. The components all contained different polysaccharides both in terms of molecular weight and chemical composition. Analysis of the molecular structure of the sulphated polysaccharide in the highest component of FCF-3 showed that it was fucosylated chondroitin sulphate (FuCS). Immunogenic, antioxidant and glucose-cleaving effects of polysaccharides were screened in vitro. Mitochondrial cells matured in the presence of the polysaccharide FCF-1 secreted significantly less of all measured messengers. Coexistence of angiocytes matured in the presence of FCF-1 and allogeneic CD4-positive T cells showed that angiocytes promoted Th17 cell differentiation by increasing their IL-17 secretion. In vitro studies showed that the FCF-3 polysaccharide had some antioxidant effect and a strong suppressive effect on α-glucosidase activity, but less suppressive effect on α-amylase activity compared to acarbose sugar used as a positive control. Bacteria contain a variety of biocatalysts that break down and convert polysaccharides. Such bacteria were isolated after in situ enrichment on the shore and the shoreline on a diet containing chondroitin sulfate from shark and sea urchin cartilage. The genomes of several bacteria isolated after enrichment of chondroitin sulphate medium were sequenced and the genes of numerous glucose-cleaving enzymes were identified. Three types of enzymes were produced in E. coli by genetic engineering, viz. chondroitin lysase and sulphatase from Arthrobacter strain and two recently described α-L fucosidases from the bacterium Litorilinea aerolinea. The properties and activity of the enzymes on natural substrates were evaluated. Together, the fucosidase, sulphatase and chondroitin lyase could degrade fucosylated chondroitin sulphate from the C. frondosa sea ore.

That November 13th The next "Icelandic Championship in Food Crafts" (ÍM in Food Crafts) will be held next. This time the competition will be open to all the Nordic countries and will take place in The Nordic House.

Conference - Courses - Lectures

Matís and New Nordic food II invite small producers from all the Nordic countries to take part in the competition.

In parallel with the competition, a conference will be held, which is open to everyone, where it will be possible to learn about how our cousins in the Nordic countries have supported and marketed food production from the region, see the conference agenda for more information here. The conference is sponsored by Íslandsstofa, Icelandair and The Nordic House.

Around the competition will be offered field trip, where small producers in the capital area and in the South will be visited. Half a day will also be offered course and short lectures for small producers and others interested in food production. This training is offered by the project "Innovation in the Bioeconomy" which is part of the Nordic Bioeconomy (Nordbio) which is part of the Icelandic Presidency's program of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Registration for the competition, the conference and the courses takes place here.

Registration ends November 6.

For further information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir at Matís.

Agenda

November 12
Field trip

Visit to small producers in the capital area and in the south. Here can be seen the program.

November 13th
Icelandic championship in food crafts - competition open to all Nordic countries

Small producers from all the Nordic countries are welcome to take part in the competition.

Conference -open to the public

Lecturers from all the Nordic countries will give good examples of how successful it has been to support small producers and market their products. Here can be seen the program.

Both events will be held in The Nordic House.

November 14
Courses and lectures

Various interesting courses and lectures for small producers and others interested in food production will be held at Matís. See more here.

November 15-16

Food market The cage, held in Harpan