The Bacterial Production of Glutamic Acid in Stored Comminuted Beef

S ummary . In meat stored at 4, 9 and 15°, the free glutamic acid produced from the deamidation of glutamine resulted from bacterial activity, meat glutaminase playing little or no part. The percentage of glutaminase active bacteria increased from 40 in fresh meat to 100 after storage for 65 h at 15°; Pseudomonas‐Achromobacter spp. predominated after 41 h at 15°. The glutaminase of a typical pseudomonad was optimally active at 36° and at pH 5 and appeared to be constitutive in nature.