Matís
Contact
Research Group Leader
birgir@matis.is
The report summarizes a summary section, action plan, discussions and conclusions, and an overview of opportunities from the final report of the Arctic Bioeconomy project.
The report contains the executive summary, action plan, discussions and conclusions and overview of opportunities identified in the final report of the project Arctic Bioeconomy.
The fish species Sebastes marinus or redfish as it is called in everyday speech was the subject of this project where the goal was to find the cause and solve the problem of spotting fresh redfish fillets. These spots that form on fresh redfish fillets are yellowish and form within five days of processing the fillets, which creates problems due to their transport time and reduces their quality due to visual effects. The research carried out in the project covers the five days that the spot takes to form. In experiments to prevent the formation of stains, fresh redfish fillets were packed in a foam box where a mat on the bottom released carbon dioxide during the simulated transport and on the other hand the fillets were packed one by one in vacuum-packed containers. was also a mat under which emitted carbon dioxide. The results were that this packaging of the fillets prevented the oxidation of lipids in the flesh, but both the visual effect and the texture of the fillets deteriorated. Another experiment was performed where a redfish was bled as soon as it was taken on board the fishing vessel and compared with a redfish that came ashore unbleached (as usual) over a five-day period. The results were that the spots were less noticeable in the fish that had been bled on board the fishing vessel. The end result was that the probable cause of these yellowish spots that form on fresh redfish fillets is related to the breakdown of pigments that contain iron such as hemoglobin and myoglobin.
The species Sebastes marinus, commonly known as redfish, is the subject of a series of experiments aimed at determining the cause and mitigation of the appearance of yellowish stains on the surface of processed fillets. These detract from the visual quality and occur within five days of processing, thus precluding their transport to customer by sea and reducing their potential value. An investigation of progression described the appearance of the staining over a five day period. An attempt to prevent the staining was carried out by packing the fillets in two forms of modified atmosphere, one where the fillets were maintained in standard boxes with the addition of carbon dioxide releasing pads, and one where the fillets were individually sealed in vacuum bags with carbon dioxide releasing pads. It was found that the packaging prevented oxidation of lipids in the muscle but the visual and textural quality was greatly reduced. A further investigation monitored the appearance of stains in fish that had previously been bled at sea. It was found that the yellowish stains were less apparent in the bled fish compared to those that had not been bled. In addition, the textural quality was again reduced suggesting this may be a most suitable method for improving the quality such that the fresh fillets may be transported by sea. It is proposed that the likely cause is related to the breakdown of ironcontaining pigments such as haemoglobin and myoglobin.
Report closed until 01.12.2016
The aim of this project was to promote the increased utilization of raw materials from catfish processing by developing food from low-value or worthless fish meat. A business plan was made for dried / baked cod skins that would be sold in supermarkets for Icelanders and also as food souvenirs for tourists. A recipe and method were developed so that cod skins could be eaten as a snack or snack similar to Icelanders consuming dried fish. Skin taste tests were performed and a consumer survey was conducted. The result was that the final product of the project was an exciting product that would appeal to people, but when consumed, it was rather dry and unexciting. In addition, the shelf life was short.
The aim of this project was to increase the use of raw materials from fish processing plants through the development of low price or worthless fish skin. A business plan was made for dried / baked fish skin to be sold in supermarkets in Iceland but also for fish skin as food souvenirs. A recipe was developed with a method to make it possible to consume dried fish skin as a snack like Icelandic people like to eat dried fish. The taste was tested and also how this product appeals to people. The result of the project was the final product was an exciting but when people tasted it they thougt it was rather dry an uninteresting. Furthermore the shelf life was short for this type of product.
Contact
Sviðsstjóri rannsókna
jonas@matis.is
A conference titled “Coastal fisheries and coastal communities in the N-Atlantic” was held on September 27th 2014 in connection with the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition www.icefish.is, which took place in Kópavogur, Iceland on September 25-27. The motivation for the conference is that coastal fisheries and coastal communities in the N-Atlantic are currently faced with numerous operational and social challenges, but at the same time new opportunities have arisen. Some of these challenges and opportunities are specific to each country and some are common to the area as a whole. The aim of the conferences was to identify these challenges and opportunities, and to discuss how they can be addressed at national and / or cooperative Nordic level. The conference was attended by fifty stakeholders from seven N-Atlantic countries. At the conference, representatives from Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland and Newfoundland had presentations on the coastal fishing sector and the coastal communities in their countries. They also deliberated on the future prospects of the traditional fishing villages, taking into consideration current trends and upcoming opportunities. These country profiles were followed by a presentation on a Nordic research project that is set to examine wages in the Nordic coastal sectors and to compare them with other professions. The last presentation of the conference was aimed at comparing operational environment in the coastal sector in Iceland and Norway, as Icelandic fishermen working in Norway introduced their experience in running their business in Norway as opposed to Iceland. The planned agenda included a presentation from the chairman of the Icelandic Regional Development Institute, which had intended to deliberate on the institute's strategy to support regional development. But he unfortunately had to cancel with only a few hours advance, which made it impossible to find a replacement. Following is a short summary of each presentation, but pdf versions and video recordings along with numerous other supporting material is available at the project's web-page www.coastalfisheries.net.
The aim of this project was to come up with a proposal for the preparation of standard product descriptions for Icelandic seafood so that it would be possible to better analyze the products that are exported. It is essential that everyone has a similar understanding of the terms used to describe products. The available information on fishing and exports and status were reviewed, and a glossary with pictures was prepared. A way was set up to create a standard method for creating product descriptions, and subsequently a proposal was made for how information on the exported products can be increased.
The aim of the project was to standardize product description for Icelandic seafood products, as it is very important to have the possibility to analyze the export, value and quantity. Same understanding of the meaning of the words used is necessary. Information about catch and export were analyzed and a dictionary for the various products were made. A new idea for standardizing product description was introduced as well as a new system for registration of exported seafood products.
In recent years, methods have been developed to isolate bioactive substances from seaweed and they have been successfully developed into traditional face creams. The goal of this project was to create a new skin product that contains these new powerful bioactive ingredients with targeted activity against the aging of the skin. The project completed the development of a new product, a powerful eye cream that is specially designed to work on the skin around the eyes and contains bioactive substances made from Icelandic seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus) along with other very powerful and active selected ingredients, eye cream that has have been fairly well received and are considered to have good activity.
In the past years, new methods to isolate bioactive ingredients from seaweed have been developed and used for cosmetic day cream with good results. In this project a new cosmetic product was developed. This product is a bioactive ultra rich eye cream that is designed and developed to aid in the maintenance of the skin around the eyes. Among its carefully selected and effective constituents are bioactive ingredients, which are extracted from Fucus vesiculosus harvested on the clean shores of Iceland. The product has received good remarks and got positive remarks.
Report closed until 01.11.2016
The aim of the project was to develop and set up a new processing process to produce high-quality bioactive surimi products from underutilized and cheap raw materials. There is a great shortage of high quality surimi in the world and also a very growing demand for products with bioactivity and health benefits. Therefore, there is a great opportunity now for Iceland to gain a foothold in this market. In the project, the process was maximized and the properties of the product were measured and confirmed by customers. New methods and mixtures were developed to produce a new product, a bioactivator, with a focus on products that can contribute to improved consumer health. It is now possible to start surimi production, which can lead to more jobs, increased diversity in the production of seafood in Iceland and an increase in foreign exchange earnings.
The overall objective of this project was to develop and commercialize a highly novel protein recovery process to produce high value and high quality bioactive surimi and surimi seafood products from low value and underutilized Icelandic raw materials. On world bases, there is a need for high quality surimi and furthermore an increasing demand for bioactive and “health‐ promoting” products. In the project the process was optimized, product properties measured and confirmed by future byers. It is now possible to start production in Iceland on bioactive surimi that will lead to increased value, more jobs and various new products from the Icelandic fishing industry.
Report closed until 01.11.2016
Contact
Project Manager
thora.valsdottir@matis.is
This report describes the collection of information on methods for assessing the main quality aspects of raw materials, the processing and processing of gillnets and their control for human consumption. Sampling and measurements of raw materials and processed products were then carried out to test and evaluate the relevant methods. The report is part of the Belt Algae Food Development project, which aims to acquire knowledge and skills in the handling and processing of algae and to demonstrate the potential for value creation from it.
Methods were evaluated for measuring the main quality indicators of sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) as raw material for food applications.
Contact
Regional Manager
gunnar.thordarson@matis.is
About 10 thousand tons of raw materials are transported from the northern Westfjords for processing elsewhere. Most of that catch is exported ungutted, so it is not only filleting processing that loses raw materials, but also parties that produce products from by-products, such as head drying and liver producers. The idea of forcing a party to gutt and possibly head catches is therefore tempting. The conclusion of this project, however, is that this is very inefficient and the overall effect will be negative. First, the gutting coefficients in the Westfjords are such that fishing companies would lose quotas with a gutting obligation. Secondly, buyers in the south of the country, who process fresh fish for flight, are willing to pay an additional 20 ISK / kg for fish that reaches trucks that leave at 15:00 according to schedule. If fish are gutted after landing, it is impossible to bring them catch for this transport and that fish will wait for transport until the next day. Fish that goes directly for transport has arrived at a processing house in the southwest area at about 04:00 and has been gutted for processing starting at 07:00. The fish is then ready for flight, which in some cases leaves around Keflavík Stadium around noon. This is therefore an economical arrangement that maximizes value creation in the fisheries sector in Iceland.
About 10 thousand tons of whole round fish are trucked from northern Westfjords to fish processors in south / west region of Iceland. Most of the fish is exported un ‐ gutted and therefore it is not just the filleting factories missing raw materials, but also those producing side product like cod heads drying and liver canning. The concept idea of this project was to force vessels owners and fish markets to head and gut the fish before trucing and looked like a tempting idea. However, the outcome of this work is that this would be inefficient and the overall effect will be negative. Firstly, the gutting standard given by the Icelandic authority is 16% but the average radio in Westfjords is only 12%, so the vessel owners would lose the difference in quota. Secondly the customers in the south / west are willing to pay extra 20 kr / kg for fish reaching the scheduled truck leaving the area at 15:00. If the fish would be headed or / and gutted it would not be ready for trucking, and be leaving the day after. Fish going straight from vessel at the harbor for trucking will be delivered in a fish plant in the south west at around 04:00 following morning. It will be ready for filleting at 07:00 and can be exported by airfreight around noon. Here is an advantageous arrangement case that maximizes value for the fisheriesin Iceland.
Contact
Regional Manager
gunnar.thordarson@matis.is
Five studies were conducted by a research team (supercooling team) in the summer of 2014 to test the effect of supercooling on the processing and product quality of whitefish. This project was based on foreign scientific research on supercooling, which was carried out in laboratories, while the research of the supercooling team was carried out under processing conditions. The results of the research team indicate even more activity than the basic research on which it was based. The main drawbacks were that with supercooling immediately after bleeding and gutting, death stiffness can be significantly delayed, but no damage processes begin until it is completed. It is known that the main reasons for release are rapid death stiffness as the flesh tears with a rapid contraction that clashes with the fish's bone marrow. Fish is 800 times more sensitive than meat and therefore it can withstand very little damage during handling. The results of the supercooling team's research show that during supercooling, the flesh hardens without freezing and withstands all treatments much better, such as filleting, peeling and trimming. Not only is there a difference in the appearance of super-chilled fillets compared to traditional ones, but the proportion of those who went for the most expensive packages was significantly higher. An experiment was carried out at Íslandssaga in Suðureyri and the result was that the increased value due to supercooling was around ISK 900,000 per day. When processing super-chilled fillets for fresh fish export, they were returned in packages at -0.8 ° C while traditional processing was at +2 to + 5 ° C. Freezing part of water in fillets (5‐30%) builds up a high cooling energy that maintains a low temperature throughout the processing (filleting, skinning and trimming). The results of the research team are that with supercooling on board a fishing vessel down to -1 ° C immediately after bleeding and gutting, the use of ice becomes unnecessary for storage in trains and warehouses on land. Trains and cold rooms will be operated at 11 ° C, which is sufficient to maintain supercooling for a long time. Attempts were made to store cod under these conditions for eight days, and the results of research showed that its quality during processing at Fisk Seafood was high and better than with traditional processing.
Five studies were conducted by a research team (superchill ‐ team) in the summer of 2014 to test the effects of superchilling on production and quality of whitefish. This project was based on published studies on superchilling, conducted in laboratories, but the superchill ‐ team conducted their study at industrialized conditions. Conclusion of the research team suggests greater functionality than the scientific researches it was based on. The main conclusion are that super ‐ chilling right after bleeding and gutting can significantly delay rigor mortis, but no spoilage take place before that process. It is well known that the main reasons for gaping in fish fillets are the contraction and relics causing by rigor mortis. Fish is 800 times more sensitive than meat, so it is perishables against handling in processing lines, like filleting, skinning and trimming. One finding in these research is that by super chilling the fish before the process, the flesh is more stiff without being frozen, and can withstand handling in processing much better. The super chilled product is not only looking better compared to the traditional product, but the proportion of more valuable products were significantly higher. A research made in the freezing plant Icelandic Saga in Sudureyri, gave a result were increased value due to super cooling was about 900 thousand ISK per day. In the same trial a temperature for fresh packed fillets for the British market, the product temp for super chill were ‐0,8 ° C, but the traditional product were packed at +2 to +5 ° C. Freezing part of the water content of the fish, around 5‐30%, builds up a massive cooling energy that keeps low temperatures throughout the processing (filleting, skinning and trimming). Results of the research team were thatsuper ‐ cooling fish on board a fishing vessel, down to ‐1 ° C immediately after bleeding and gutting make the use of ice in fish hold redundant. The fish hold need to be run at ‐1 ° C which is sufficient to maintain the super ‐ cooling for a long time. The research team kept whole cod without ice for eight daysin container and ‐1 ° C, with demanding result and extremely good product quality, significantly better than the traditional process.
Report closed until 01.11.2016