This study was undertaken to evaluate various indicators for the prediction of the microbial quality of pork and beef loins during cold storage at 0 and 4 degrees C under aerobic conditions. Fresh loins of beef and pork were packaged aerobically and stored at 0 +/- 1 degrees C for 22 days and at 4 +/- 1 degrees C for 12 days or until the total plate counts (TPCs) for these loins exceeded 10(8) CFU/ml. During storage, samples were taken periodically for the measurement of TPCs, psychrotrophic bacterial counts, amine contents, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) values, thiobarbituric acid values, D-glucose contents, L-lactate contents, pH, and electrical conductivity. Correlation coefficients were ca. 0.90 for all indicators except pH and conductivity. However, VBN and D-glucose contents showed the best correlation with bacterial counts at both temperatures for both beef and pork. Therefore, VBN and D-glucose could potentially be used as indicators in predicting the microbial quality of beef and pork during chilled storage under aerobic conditions.