[Germ reduction in technical enzyme preparations with special regard to gamma irradiation]

For toxicological and hygienic reasons, the use of enzymes as technical additives is not admitted in various food industries if the germ counts of the preparations to be used exceed the respective tolerance values. In this connection, the authors report some results from attempts to reduce the germ content of a protease preparation, especially by gamma radiation. A gamma ray dose of I Mrad permitted to obtain germ-free preparations without considerable loss of enzyme activity.