Amount of lipolytes and proteolytes in food of animal origin

Proteolytic and lipolytic enzymatic activities of microorganisms are the mo st important cause for food spoilage and a limited shelf life. Until now th e determination of the total aerobic count is the base of shelf life evalua tions. Our investigations show the proportion of proteolytes and lipolytes to the total germ count in different kinds of food (milk and milk products, meat products and fish) which is in part surprisingly high. Results were o bserved on different media - proteolytic germs were counted on protein cont aining agar (casein, meat protein, fish protein) and lipolytic organisms on fat containing agar (tributyrin, olive oil, butterfat). Using the predicti ve microbiology and the knowledge about the activity of microbial enzymes u nder different milieu conditions in food the results give an important tool for a better shelf life evaluation.