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:
Eurofins SFA is excited to now offer a new FD&C Dye Screen. The FDA approved nine artificial dye molecules for use in foods, drugs, and cosmetics (with some limitations), in addition to a variety of naturally sourced colorants.
Eurofins SFA is excited to offer a new IgG protein analysis that provides improved sensitivity, better accuracy, and faster turnaround time relative to ELISA or alternative techniques offered. The analysis is performed according to AOAC 2010.01.
Food fraud, also known as economically motivated adulteration, is widespread worldwide. Food fraud involves deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients or food packaging, labeling, product information or false or misleading statements made about a product for economic gain. Food fraud can adversely impact consumer health, product quality, and brand reputation.
Learn more about the similarities and differences between the terms: fraud, defense, authenticity, and adulteration when it comes to foods, ingredients, and supplements.
What really is dietary fiber according to the most recent FDA regulations? This blog will help break down the FDA’s most recent definition of fiber as well as provide examples of ingredients used in the industry today.
Your goal is to manufacture a safe product that meets the claims on your label.
How are you ensuring that your finished product will do this?
Proactively, or retroactively?
Putting a proactive plan in place to assess ingredient safety and quality is key to producing finished products that meet all of your quality standards. Having a partnership with an accredited, independent (third-party) laboratory just in case something goes wrong is a must.
Validation of aseptic fillers intended for the production of low-acid, shelf-stable products is a core requirement of the FDA’s low-acid canned food (LACF) regulations (21CFR113 and 108.35). Microbiological challenges of the aseptic zone and packaging material sterilization cycles are important components of the validation process. These challenges are often conducted at the production site using non-pathogenic surrogate organisms that mimic the resistance of the pertinent target pathogen. This presentation will provide a brief history of the use of such surrogates for the validation of low-acid aseptic fillers along with the approach we have used to qualify the surrogates as adequate for the intended technology.”
New options for sweetening low-sugar foods have entered the market. Testing of sweetener ingredients and the finished product is key.
While many vitamins are traditionally sourced from animal products, plant-based vitamin sources are a growing trend. Learn more about this new trend and what this means in regard to testing your products.
Method validation, method verification and fitness for purpose all seem similar, but each requires a distinct level of evaluation and different considerations. Learn more about their similarities and differences in this article.
