J. David Legan, PhD
Director of Science
David earned his Ph.D. in Food Technology from the University of Reading in the UK by modeling the ecology of mixed microbial populations, and then moved to Campden BRI in a variety of microbiological food safety research and client service roles. During that time, he was project lead for the Bacillus component of the UK’s pathogen modeling program. He moved again to Nabisco Research in New Jersey where he ran the corporate microbiology lab and developed a program of preservation technology development and microbial modeling. After the Kraft Foods acquisition, he moved to Chicago to work on Food Safety and Preservation research, and through modeling and validation studies:
- Optimized Oscar Mayer’s use of lactate and diacetate and their naturally cultured alternatives as Listeria-control agents in Ready to Eat meats
- Specified process conditions central to Oscar Mayer’s commercial launch of High Pressure Pasteurization of naturally cured RTE meats
David had responsibility for the Kraft cultures R&D group, developed a partnership to explore microwave sterilization leading to several patents, and led a program that developed an internal proprietary natural antimicrobial commercialized in several Kraft products. Technologies from his group supported approximately $4 billion in annual sales.
After years as a microbiology "client", he is now back in the "provider" role as Director of Science at Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories, Inc., by way of the Covance Food Solutions group based in Madison, WI, which he joined in 2016. In this role, he ensures appropriate method validation, explores new testing technologies, and fields multiple complicated food microbiology questions.
Products that his team has evaluated or developed and launched include:
- The 3M MDS platform in the Madison microbiology laboratory
- Flow cytometry for enumeration of probiotics
- Strain-level confirmation of probiotic identification using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
- Next-generation sequencing using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies GridION sequencing platform for microbial identification and microbiome analysis
Below are resources from David:
Developing a new animal veterinary product is a complex, time-consuming process. What should you expect from the development process? What does the typical timeline look like? Get the answers to these questions and more in Part 2 of our Ask an Expert series on developing new veterinary products.
Developing a new animal veterinary product is a complex, time-consuming process. What should be your key considerations? What about guidelines and regulatory bodies? Get the answers to these questions and more in Part 1 of our Ask an Expert series on developing new veterinary products.
What is spectroscopy? What is the difference between NIR vs. Mid IR? What are the benefits of NIR vs traditional wet chemistry? The team at Eurofins QTA answers these questions and more in this edition of our Ask An Expert blog about infrared spectroscopy.
Gummy supplements continue to trend among consumers, but this matrix can be challenging to test. How does Eurofins address these challenges? Read about the answer from Jeff Stassi, Sr. Analytical Services Manager with Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, WI.
Is stability testing required for infant formula? Tammy Olson, Stability Manager at Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, WI discusses this topic in this short video. Eurofins publishes our Ask an Expert Series weekly on our social media platforms.
How can FT-IR be used for identifying foreign material in my product? David Riggs, President of Eurofins SF Analytical discusses this topic in this short video. Eurofins publishes our Ask an Expert Series weekly on our social media platforms.
How often does infant formula require testing? Keren Breiterman of Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, WI discusses this topic in this short video. Eurofins publishes our Ask an Expert Series weekly on our social media platforms.
How do you determine the identity of a unknown material I found in my product? Patricia Quinn from Eurofins SF Analytical in New Berlin, WI discusses this topic in this short video. Eurofins publishes our Ask an Expert Series weekly on our social media platforms.
Why was the genus Lactobacillus reclassified? Andrzej Benkowski, Technical Leader from Eurofins Microbiology in Madison, WI discusses this topic in this short video. Eurofins publishes our Ask an Expert Series weekly on our social media platforms.
Is "not detected" the same as "absent"? David Legan, Ph.D. from Eurofins Microbiology in Madison, WI discusses this topic in this short video.
