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 is excited to announce a new service for pesticide testing, tailored to the produce industry, with custom service to the west coast growing regions.
January 2024: Eurofins is pleased to announce Trish Hook as Technical Business Manager at Eurofins SF Analytical & S&N Labs West.
December 1st, 2023
Eurofins is excited to announce Nick Johnson has joined the team as the Regional Sales Manager at Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories in Tustin, California.
November 2023
Eurofins is pleased to announce the appointment of Justin Eason as the new Business Unit Manager for our North Carolina laboratory.
October 3rd, 2023
Eurofins is excited to announce that Dr. Cris Amarillas has joined the team as the Chief Science Officer, Botanicals.
Eurofins SFA SN Special Analysis West is pleased to announce the relocation of its DEA/GLP-compliant facility from a legacy facility at 2021 E. 4th St, Santa Ana, CA to a new, 3,800+ square foot state-of-the-art facility located at 2841 Dow Avenue, Tustin, CA
To support compliance with state regulations, Eurofins SF Analytical now offers a validated GC-MSMS method for the analysis of 1,4-dioxane with a reporting limit of 1 ppm. The method has been validated for use in solids, surfactant-containing solids, liquids, surfactant-containing liquids, solvent-based liquids, and oil-based liquids.
April 10, 2023 - Eurofins Microbiology Laboratory, Inc. in Mounds View, MN is proud to announce both its new partnership with Rheonix and new offering of the Rheonix Listeria PatternAlert™ assay for Listeria presumptive samples. The Listeria PatternAlert™ assay enables rapid identification of recurring patterns of Listeria contamination across locations and time.
Eurofins' Lafayette, Colorado pilot plant, operated by The National Food Lab, is excited to announce a significant upgrade to its beverage canning capabilities, providing three times the daily production of high-quality beverages at an affordable price. This upgrade will take effect immediately, allowing businesses to take advantage of the expanded canning services and their benefits.
Eurofins is proud to offer a new service as part of its dairy testing portfolio. The Eurofins team has developed and validated a method to detect recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST) in liquid milk products.
