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:
Air, gas, water, and ice used in manufacturing processes must be properly maintained and regularly tested in order to ensure compliance with regulations and safety for consumers. Our webinar aims to clear the mystery surrounding these standards and regulations. Viewers will learn how to navigate the appropriate requirements while protecting their customers.
Fingerprinting Fruits Using Coumarins & Psoralens, Authentication Tool for Meyer Lemons
This poster describes some of the work Eurofins has conducted on procedures to help control the quality of agave syrups.
Originally showcased at the 2016 annual AOAC meeting, this poster presents data for the “new” variety that will be valuable to anyone who buys or uses this type of fruit for processing.
Join our webinar speakers as they tackle one of the leading causes of recalls – the presence of undeclared food allergens!
This Proposition 65 Guide will help food, ingredient, and supplement companies navigate the regulatory and testing challenges that Proposition 65 presents when selling products into the state of California.
Although many genera of bacteria produce lactic acid as a primary or secondary end-product of fermentation, the term Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) is conventionally reserved for genera in the order Lactobacillales. LAB have many applications in food production and spoilage, all of which apply when considering when and how to test for lactic acid bacteria in food.
This Eurofins SFA case study highlights their investigative capabilities and work with legal and insurance claims. Here they take you on a guided case study, where they investigate an allergen claim originating in a restaurant.
Whether it’s a finished food item or a component of pharmaceuticals, identifying suspect batches of any product is an important part of the quality control process. In this webinar, Michael Dziewatkoski of Eurofins gives you the inside look into analysis of foreign materials along with actual case studies.
In this webinar, Doug Marshall, Chief Science Officer at Eurofins Microbiology discusses an approach to zone 1 testing that recommends non-direct-contact surfaces simultaneously for pathogens and indicators, then building a correlation between quantitative indicator count and Salmonella or Listeria prevalence. Dr. Marshall will share insights on how companies are employing this approach, including exploration of the various philosophical and scientific rationales for zone 1 pathogen testing.
