Departments
The quality and safety of foods, consumers and consumption trends, processing and development and aquaculture are the points IFL currently emphasises most.
IFL's expertise is very broad, being based on processing technology for marine catches, development of new products, feed and feed technology for aquaculture and quality and safety of marine catches, with respect to both microorganisms and chemicals.
To make research as purposeful as possible and to utilise the expertise of the IFL scientists in the best possible way, the Research Division is divided into four departments that specialise in research and development in the following areas:
Environment and quality
Increasing the quality and safety of marine catches, emphasising the interplay of the environment and products. Researching the part played by organic and inorganic trace substances. Developing methods to evaluate quality, such as by colour, smell and physical characteristics.
Consumers and safety
Increasing the quality and safety of marine catches, emphasising shelf life with respect to spoilage and disease-causing microbes. Developing fresh-food methods and procedures for evaluating cleaning and the use of cleaning substances. Investigating microorganisms in marine catches and using molecular biology to trace the origin of microbes.
Processing and development
Developing new products from marine catches, emphasising biotechnology, improved yield and added value of marine catches in close collaboration with the fisheries sector. Researching proteins and their processing from marine catches. Developing new processing methods, new technologies and evaluating their impact on the production of seafood products. Acquiring knowledge about traceability and technology.
Aquaculture
Promote and strengthen aquaculture of marine species, with main emphasis on feed for selected species. Projects with emphasis on the effects of feed and feeding on quality and yield of final products as well as the effects of feed and environmental factors on growth and survival before and during the first feeding phase.
Research is conducted at the IFL´s R&D laboratories in Reykjavik, Isafjordur and Akureyri.
