Category: News

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

Matís has recently been working to increase the supply of accessible educational material related to the production of seafood. Some time ago, an electronic manual on the production of salted fish was published, and now a manual on drying fish is published.

Drying is one of the most important production methods for preserving food, and in Iceland this method has certainly been used since the beginning of the settlement. The knowledge and skills passed from person to person as each household had to take care of its own food production. Nowadays, this knowledge is far from being as general and it is therefore necessary to summarize the most important aspects of drying in educational books that can be used by producers, the general public in search of information or as textbooks in schools.

The making of this book was funded by Matís and the AVS Fund also supported the publication.

The book can be accessed here (best viewed in Acrobat Reader).

For further information Páll Gunnar Pálsson at Matís. 

Continuous growth has characterized fish production over the past five decades, with an emphasis on fish production for human consumption. Fish consumption increases from year to year and improved storage methods make it possible for fresh fish to enter more and more markets and access to it will be better. This is certainly an opportunity for Icelanders.

Fish production for human consumption has increased by an average of 3.2% per year in recent decades, while population growth has reached 1.9%. Consumption of fish is also steadily increasing, as in 1960 the average consumption was 9.9 kg per year but in 2012 the fish consumption had doubled and the average consumption was 19.2 kg worldwide.

The reason for the increased consumption of fish is due to improved storage methods, which make it possible to distribute fresh fish over a larger area than has previously been possible. The growing middle class has also had a say, as it is accompanied by higher average wages and urbanization, both of which have an effect on fish consumption. Fish consumption is on average higher in the developed countries of the world, as it is more dependent on location and seasonal fluctuations elsewhere. It is estimated that 16.7% of the animal protein consumed in the world is from fish, which indicates that fish consumption will increase even further in the future.

Fish production will undoubtedly contribute to this development as aquaculture has grown by an average of 6.2% per year from 2000 to 2012 or from 32.4 million tonnes to 66.6 million tonnes. Only 15 countries carry 92.7% of world fish production. The largest producers are China and India, as well as Brazil and Vietnam. This huge increase in aquaculture has created millions of jobs and in 2012, 4.4% of all those working in agriculture in the world worked in aquaculture, 90% of fish processing workers in the world are women. The FAO estimates that fisheries and aquaculture provide 10-12% of the world's livelihoods.  

China is by far the largest fish exporter in the world today and the third largest importer after the United States and Japan. The European Union, on the other hand, is the largest market for imported fish and fishery-related products. Developing countries have been hit hard by the recent weather, with fish exports accounting for 54% of all fish exports in 2012.

According to the FAO, China's 14 million people work in the fishing industry, representing 25% of all those working in the industry worldwide. Since 1995, however, the number of people working in the industry worldwide has decreased significantly, despite the fact that more and more is being produced through mechanization, which has led to efficiency. This is also true in Iceland, where the number of fish processing jobs has decreased by 30% from 1995 - 2012. In Japan, the number of jobs in industry has decreased by 42% in and by 49% in Norway. This is due to improved production processes and technological advances that have largely replaced manpower.

But despite some declines in the number of employees in the industry in recent years, it is clear that the opportunities are there if the will is there, as there is no indication that fish consumption will do anything but increase in the coming years. In this connection, it is worth noting that the focus on the earth's bioeconomics fisheries-related activities can take advantage of that attention for growth, especially in countries where the raw material is procured in a sustainable manner and its processing is in accordance with social responsibility requirements. opportunity.

Related material

• ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/STAT/summary/a-0a.pdf
• http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i2727e/i2727e01.pdf

For further information Arnljótur Bjarki Bergsson at Matís.

Recently, the collaborative project "Equal distribution of salt in salted fish muscles" was completed, which was supported by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund (R 052-10). The research project was carried out in collaboration with the Icelandic Saltfish Producer (ÍSF), the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Clermont-Ferrand in France and Matís. 

The main goal of the project was to reduce the frequency of defects in wet-processed salted fish due to the distribution of salt and water around the muscle and to develop a product that is suitable for new markets with the help of the latest technology.

Icelandic salted fish products have long been sought after and prominent in foreign markets. This strong position can be traced to the great development of processing and processing in recent years, which have completely changed all handling of production. Wet-processed salted fish has been the product that has yielded the highest relative export value of marine products, but the vast majority of salted products exported from Iceland are produced with this new processing method. Most of these products were exported to Spain, where wet-processed salted fish is popular and the market share of Icelandic products is good there.

It is important to maintain a good market position in existing markets and to ensure Icelandic producers the advantage they have had over products from Norway and the Faroe Islands, but also to enter new markets by developing new products that suit the relevant market. However, there are other needs in the Portuguese and Brazilian markets, where the demand for dried salted fish is higher. These markets are large and it is therefore desirable for Icelandic producers to increase their share in these markets. For this, however, further process control of drying and dehydration needs to be worked on, based on the salting methods used in Iceland. It can be estimated that the best processing and processing processes, from raw materials to final products, can promote a quality product that is suitable for this new market for Icelandic salted fish products. There have also been regular complaints about acid-salted saddles that can be traced to the distribution of salt around the muscle.

The project paid special attention to the distribution of salt and water throughout the salted fish muscle and how different treatments affect this delicate balance and the quality of the final product. One of the aims of the project was to find a reason for the aforementioned defects and to prevent their formation through improved methods of action. The latest technological advances in food research (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) were used, as well as traditional chemical and physical property measurements in order to gain the best possible understanding of the effects of different treatment and processing methods on the quality of salted fish products. The MRI technology provides an insight into the structure of the muscle and the distribution of water and salt around it graphically. One of the main advantages of this technology is that it has no effect on the samples and the samples are therefore undamaged after analysis. In addition, more detailed quantitative measurements of the effects of processing methods on the mobility and distribution of salt and water, inside and outside muscle cells, were performed using NMR technology.

The results of the project gave a good insight into how different processing methods affect the distribution of salt in the fish muscle and at the same time the quality of the final product. Furthermore, the results of the project underline that MRI and NMR technology are powerful methods for evaluating the processing properties of products, as well as for maximizing the effectiveness of processing methods.

Figure 1. Flat salted fish 

Figure 2. NMR measurement equipment

Figure 3. Cross section with NMR

For further information Magnea G. Karlsdóttir at Matís.

The 27th volume of the international scientific journal Icelandic Agricultural Sciences has now been published and all the articles that appear there are also accessible on the journal's website, www.ias.is.

The issue contains nine articles by selected domestic and foreign scholars who cover a wide range of topics, as well as an editorial. First of all, there is a review article on the immune response in cod, but such basic knowledge is very important if we are to succeed in developing a profitable cod farm in Iceland. The publication also contains remarkable articles on research on the cold adaptation of winter wheat, assessment of the primary productivity of Icelandic grassland by remote sensing, research on listeria infection in horses, measurements of the physical and chemical properties of upwelling and dust pollution in Iceland, genetic analysis of Icelandic horse history and soil structure. fertilizer phosphorus in fields in Iceland, pollen research to explain the vegetation history of birch and its mixing with mountain kills from the end of the Ice Age in Iceland, and finally a study of the root growth of Icelandic birch.

The editors of IAS would like to draw your attention to the publication and encourage the staff of publishing houses and other scholars and women to familiarize themselves with these new articles.

More about the publication of IAS

This year, the publication received a total of 55 manuscripts for publication. The number of manuscripts submitted, mainly from Asia, does not fall within the geographical focus of the publication (northern or other cool regions) and is therefore rejected immediately. This year there were a total of 39 scripts. The other 16 manuscripts were submitted for professional peer review and at that stage 5 manuscripts were dropped and it can be said that this is a very high percentage (31%), but shows that the professional peer review is well done. Two manuscripts received this year have now been peer-reviewed and are expected to appear in the next issue.

IAS is open access and is published once a year and only has peer-reviewed scientific articles in English. It is one of the first-class scientific publications (ISI) and as such it now received for the third year in a row food from the Tomson Reuters Web of Knowlgede. For the first two years, the assessment factor (ISI Impact Factor) was 0.562 and 1.750, which is a very good result, but it fell to 0.071 this year. This great variability can be explained by the fact that the ISI assessment coefficient is only based on citations to articles from the last two years, and since we only publish very few articles each year, the assessment coefficient can fall to a very low number if few articles are quoted. The publication is also published rather late in the year and it also reduces the likelihood of a high assessment coefficient and increases the variability, as the coefficient builds them almost exclusively in one year. The editors would therefore like to bring the publication forward to reduce these fluctuations.

The editorial board has now concluded an agreement that all articles published hereafter in IAS will have so-called doi numbers, but such electronic reference numbers are becoming a requirement for all first-class scientific publications.

This year's issue is a total of 125 pages and contains several articles that are much longer than the set criteria. This significantly increases costs for publishers. To counter this trend, the editors have now decided to set a maximum length of 12 pages for general articles that authors can have published free of charge, but charge a fee of € 250 (about ISK 40,000) for each page in excess of that length. This fee is almost equal to the actual cost of publishing each page of the publication.

This can be found in more detail in the Instructions to Authors on the publication's website (www.ias.is).

We accept manuscripts for articles throughout the year and publish them online as soon as they are ready for publication. As several manuscripts are already being processed, it can be expected that the first articles in issue 28/2015 will be published online at the beginning of next year.

The publication is available from: Margrét Jónsdóttir, AUI, Keldnaholt, 112 Reykjavík (margretj@lbhi.is).

Publishers

• Icelandic Farmers' Association
• Hólar University
• Agricultural University of Iceland
• State Land Reclamation
• Matís
• Forestry Research Station, Mógilsá
• University of Iceland Laboratory of Pathology, Keldur
• Veiðimálastofnun

Editorial Board IAS

• Þorsteinn Guðmundsson (editor in chief)
• Bjarni Diðrik Sigurðsson
• Sigurður Ingvarsson

Editorial Board IAS

• Bjarni Kristófer Kristjánsson
• Edda Oddsdóttir
• Guðmundur Halldórsson
• Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir
• Jón Ólafsson
• Ólöf Sigurðardóttir
• Ægir Þór Þórsson

The experience of the last decade shows that knowledge is one of the most valuable tools that the Icelandic fisheries sector has at its disposal to increase the utilization and value of marine products. Successful collaboration between researchers and fisheries companies has resulted in a significant increase in value and improved quality of Icelandic seafood.

Matís' experts, in close collaboration with companies, have worked to strengthen knowledge of Icelandic seafood with the aim of increasing value creation in the fisheries sector. HB Grandi is one of the many companies with which Matís has had a successful collaboration. Experience and knowledge in the utilization of resources and the production of marine products is reflected in HB Grandi's work, where great emphasis is placed on advanced technology in fishing and processing and the continuous development of production. "Cooling of redfish in processing and transport" is one of the research projects that Matís and HB Grandi have been working on. The aim of this project was to present improvements in procedures and handling in the processing and transport processes of redfish to ensure the production of safe, high-quality products.

Research on redfish has so far been limited in terms of processing properties, quality and utilization. It is not possible to transfer the acquired knowledge about processing possibilities, for example cod, directly to the redfish due to differences in the chemical composition of muscles, fish size, lifestyle and other factors. Because of this difference, it is important to identify and improve the weakest link in the redfish value chain on its way from fishing through processing to the consumer.

Exports of fresh redfish fillets have been carried out almost exclusively by air, as it has not been possible to ensure a sufficiently long shelf life to utilize other modes of transport, such as shipping. Longer shelf life can be achieved by, among other things, improved handling on board, improved cooling on board and during processing, supercooling during storage and the use of air-conditioned packages. Increased research into shelf life and handling in the production of fresh redfish fillets, which gives the highest prices in the markets, can increase the amount of fresh fillets exported and thus increase the value of redfish production. Research shows that the shelf life of fresh fish can be extended with aerated storage conditions and good temperature control during storage and transport of fresh fish products.

In a collaborative project between Matís and HB Grandi, this way of extending the shelf life of fresh redfish products was extremely interesting. In this light, many embodiments of storage conditions were studied in connection with other factors influencing the processing of redfish. In addition to the importance of continuous cooling, the results indicated that a shelf life of up to 3 days can be achieved with ventilated packaging. With a 2-3 day increase in shelf life, product prices increase directly, as foreign buyers can then have the product on sale for longer and are consequently willing to pay higher product prices.

This project has given us increased knowledge of the processing effects and other handling of redfish throughout the entire value chain of final quality, which will contribute to the increased value of Icelandic redfish products. The knowledge that has been created in this project will also support further research and contribute to improved quality of fish products.

For further information Magnea G. Karlsdóttir at Matís.

In an interview published in Morgunblaðið today, Kristín Ingólfsdóttir welcomes the fact that the University of Iceland should be on the list of the 400 best universities in the world. There is UI in 251.-275. seats along with more universities. It is good to say that in the interview, the rector mentions several partners that she believes have a lot to do with this success. Matís is one of them.

The interview in Morgunblaðið, taken by Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson, can be found here.

About the collaboration between UI and Matís

The University of Iceland and Matís have had a successful collaboration for a long time on teaching, but Matís employees have traditionally taught at the University of Iceland and will continue to do so. Both parties have built up extensive knowledge in food science, biotechnology, genetics and other disciplines. For example, employees who work at both Matís and the University of Iceland have published almost 90 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals in the past. three years and during the same period, 10 students have defended their doctoral dissertations and 15 master's students graduate where the projects have been carried out in collaboration between Matís and the University of Iceland. Today, eight doctoral students and 19 master's students at the University of Iceland are working on their research projects with Matís. In addition, Matís and UI have applied for and are together in several international projects.

For further information Guðjón Þorkelsson, Head of Education and Food Production.