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:
Watch this on-demand webinar to gain an understanding of the requirements of CA Bill AB 899, learn how to navigate testing, and hear some answers to commonly asked questions. Original airdate May 30, 2024.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 6 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guests Ed Ladwig, President, Ian Laessig, Business Unit Manager, and Marisa Feller, Business Unit Manager, Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing Madison discuss vitamin and nutrient testing in infant formula samples.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 5 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guest Justin Heller, Lead Technical Scientist at Eurofins SFA Micro in Horsham, PA, we discuss microbiology testing in infant formula including Cronobacter and what to look for in a microbiology lab.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 4 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guest Tammy Olson, Stability Program Manager at Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, Wisconsin talk about shelf-life studies for infant formulas.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 3 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guests Dan Merkel, President of Product Safety Labs and Satish Patel, Business Development Director at Product Safety Labs, discuss Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) studies, for infant formula companies.
Join host Keren Breiterman and guest Cosmin Beliciu, Project Leader at the National Food Lab, for episode 2 of The Scoop Podcast. During this episode, Cosmin shares his expertise on infant formula formulation and scale-up.
Join host Keren Breiterman for episode 1, as she discusses more details about The Scoop podcast series, where we discuss all things testing, regulatory, and go-to-market when it comes to Infant Formula. Keren gives thoughts on the Infant Formula industry as it stands today in the US, and speaks about some of the guests who will be joining her.
Join Eurofins Senior Staff Scientist, Lukas Vaclavik, for a discussion about per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the food industry. Original airdate July 19, 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
Ethylene oxide is gaining attention in the food regulatory space. EtO was banned as a food fumigant in 1991 in the EU. While ethylene oxide is not banned for use in foods in the United States, it is important to understand the allowed tolerances in the US and EU, especially as regulations continue to evolve and online sales contribute to increasing overseas exports. This article outlines the uses and toxicity of EtO, US and EU regulations, and EtO analysis at Eurofins.
