It is fundamental that we as consumers can trust that the food we eat does not harm us or threaten our health.
"In order to ensure food safety, it is therefore necessary that monitoring and research on food raw materials and production is active and in line with the rapid development and innovation that has taken place in the food industry," says Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir, director of chemical research and risk assessment at Matís.
There are various factors that can affect the health of food, but in addition to pathogenic pathogens that can be passed on to people who consume food, foods can also contain substances that can affect our health in the long run. These include persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins and PCBs. These substances are fat-soluble and can be passed on to people with food and threaten our health slowly and sharply.
"Long-term research into the effects of harmful and polluting substances in food is extremely important for our public health and well-being. Equipment and expertise must be adequate to meet the growing demands of consumers and public food safety regulators. Food legislation in Iceland is largely the same as in other parts of Europe, and in order to be able to demonstrate competitive and comparable food and environmental research, strong co-operation is needed between the institutions and parties involved in this area. These include laboratories, food producers, universities and the government, "says Helga.
Matís works diligently to promote improved food security in Iceland and the company's diverse activities involve a wide range of food safety and product health aspects. A major part of the operation is microbial and chemical measurements, where thousands of samples are processed annually from various parties in the food industry and official regulators. This involves microbiological and chemical research on samples from food, drinking water and the sea, but in addition to processing samples from food producers, Matís also provides monitoring and security services for the government. The part of the activity that deals with the safety and monitoring of undesirable substances in food is, among other things, measurements of pesticide residues in food and persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs. Measurements of pesticide residues aim to screen for various auxiliaries used in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables such as insecticides, herbicides and drug licenses.
"We have accredited measurements for public regulatory bodies in this country, which means that our measurements have received a certain quality certification. The government and other regulatory bodies can then contact us with measurements where certain quality standards must be followed. Matís has also been nominated as the Icelandic reference laboratory for microbial research on shellfish and for measurements of Salmonella in food. We have shown that our measurements for these research areas comply with European standards and we are responsible for ensuring that approved methods are available and that we can guide other laboratories with such measurements, "says Helga.
"Our goal is to be a leader in food and environmental research. The results of our research have yielded important information about consumer products and the environment in Iceland, which is useful not only domestically but also abroad, "says Helga, adding that an important project is now underway in the development of food safety, which is expected to be completed in end of 2014. This is a project that aims to enable the competent Icelandic authorities, the Food Administration and the municipal health inspectorate to better enforce regulations on food safety and consumer protection that have already been implemented through the EEA Agreement.
"The key goal of this project is to further increase food safety in Iceland by, among other things, creating better research facilities and the ability to perform chemical analyzes of the most common dangers in food and develop new measurement methods and procedures for competent food control. The project is therefore necessary for Iceland to be able to meet the increased obligations that we have undertaken with the adoption of food legislation, "says Helga.
For further information Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir at Matís.