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Douglas L. Marshall

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Douglas L. Marshall, PhD, CFS

Douglas L. Marshall, PhD, CFS

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Marshall is Chief Scientific Officer with Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories, Inc., a division of the global life sciences company Eurofins Scientific.  He is co-founder and Director of the Food Safety Institute, LLC, an integrated consulting and analytical services company affiliated with the Eurofins network of companies.  He is Technical Director for the Refrigerated Foods Association and Microbiology Task Force Chair for the American Spice Trade Association.  His former positions include the following:

  • Associate Dean and Professor of Public Health, College of Natural and Health Sciences, University of Northern Colorado
  • Adjunct Professor with the Colorado School of Public Health and Colorado State University
  • Professor of Food Science, Nutrition, and Health Promotion at Mississippi State University
  • Assistant Professor of Food Science at Louisiana State University
  • Contributing Editor for the peer-reviewed scientific journal Food Microbiology
  • Four consecutive terms on the editorial board of the Journal of Food Protection

He is a frequent volunteer and consultant to trade associations, NIH, WHO, FAO, USDA, and other government agencies and private companies.  His research and expertise has been featured in popular press venues such as Consumer’s Reports, Fine Cooking, USA Today, Fitness, Health, Men’s Health, Chemtech, Nature Science Updates, and ASM Journal Highlights.  He is a frequently invited speaker and a prolific book chapter writer. With over 250 publications, over 300 invited presentations, and over 100 workshops delivered, his scientific research and outreach interests focus on improving the microbiological quality and safety of foods, with emphasis on meat, poultry, seafoods, and produce.  Among these was the completion of the 4 volume Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering, which he Co-Edited.  He has been the recipient of a number of awards for his scholarly efforts including the Mississippi Chemical Corporation Award of Excellence for Outstanding Work, the International Association for Food Protection Educator and Harold Barnum Industry Awards.  He is a Fellow and former member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Food Technologists, inaugural Chair of the International Food Science Certification Commission, and former member of the Board of Directors of the American Spice Trade Association. 

On a personal note, early in his career he served as a deck hand on an Alaskan fishing vessel (well before Deadliest Catch) and prefers to spend his free time lost on a trail in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Below are resources from Douglas:



Andrzej Benkowski, Technical Manager, Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories Inc, is one of the authors of this article from Frontiers in Microbiology, discussing enumeration techniques for probiotic and postbiotic analytical methods.


In a recent webinar, experts answered some FAQs about probiotic enumeration, with a focus on the applications of flow cytometry to probiotic products. This blog provides an overview of the questions and answers, including the benefits of flow cytometry, how it compares to plate counts, and considerations for testing.


This is a follow up on our very successful previous webinar session where we discussed what is flow cytometry, advantages and disadvantages of flow cytometry, and marketplace examples and investigative case studies. Original airdate August 8, 2023.


Flow cytometry provides rapid, accurate, and powerful results for probiotic brands and manufactures. This case study demonstrates how flow cytometry can assist with low-cell count investigations by reveling the number of live, injured, and dead cells.


Probiotic enumeration is a key component of a probiotic testing scheme. Traditional plate count methods can provide inaccurate results, especially considering non-culturable cells. This case study demonstrates how flow cytometry can determine an accurate cell count, even of non-culturable, live cells.


Combining multiple strains of bacteria in a single probiotic product is a popular way to increase its health benefits. Flow cytometry provides a method for enumerating individual strains or species with accurate total bacteria counts. This case study demonstrates how flow cytometry can assist with multi-species enumeration when plate count methods provide low counts.


Microencapsulated cells provide a way to introduce probiotics into new products, like drinks. However, plating methods often fail to recover live cells in this form. Flow cytometry provides rapid, accurate, and powerful results for the enumeration of microencapsulated probiotics. This case study demonstrates how flow cytometry can assist with microencapsulated enumeration in a drink product.


Postbiotics are increasing in popularity, but are difficult to enumerate with traditional plating methods. Flow cytometry provides an avenue for measuring the dead or inactive cells in postbiotic products. This case study demonstrates how flow cytometry can assist with postbiotic enumeration when plate methods result in low cell counts.


This webinar discusses what is flow cytometry, advantages and disadvantages of flow cytometry, and marketplace examples and investigative case studies. Original airdate June 27, 2023.


In this webinar we review the call to action from the FDA, provide an overview of the technology of whole genome sequencing. Discuss the benefits of whole genome sequencing, and review the ways that Eurofins is ready to support your testing needs. Original Air Date May 18, 2023



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