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:
This webinar outlines the concept, design and execution of appropriate validation strategies and procedures intended to mitigate microbiological hazards in Low-Water Activity Foods. In the context of FDA regulations, low-water activity foods (LWAF) are those products with a water activity (aw) of less than 0.85. For many decades, these products were believed to present a low microbiological hazard risk. Various food related illness outbreaks, starting with a massive outbreak of salmonellosis due to peanut butter consumption in 2008-2009, raised awareness of the risk resulting from extended survival of pathogens in these products even in the absence of active growth. Original airdate August 23, 2022.
The Stakeholder Program on Infant Formula and Adult Nutrition is an AOAC group dedicated to approving methods for testing the formulation and purity of infant formulas and nutritional products. Eurofins has always played a large role in SPIFAN, and continues to contribute new methods and expertise. Infant formula manufacturers can turn to Eurofins for all SPIFAN testing needs.
Some minerals are found to interfere with vitamin K2 shelf-life stability in nutraceuticals. Watch our video case study to learn how Eurofins Craft Technologies assists clients experiencing formulation challenges.
Products marketed for bodybuilding, energy enhancement, and weight loss are sometimes adulterated with anabolic agents, stimulants, or pharmaceuticals. The industry has found that more than 14% of these supplements are adulterated. Find out more why adulteration in sports nutrition is so prevalent and what can be done to help prevent adulteration in your products.
A new study published in JAMA Ophthalmology has found that lutein and zeaxanthin may be better alternatives to beta-carotene for supporting those inflicted with Age-Related Eye Disease (AREDS). This additional information may mean more lutein and zeaxanthin supplements on the market and more testing needed to verify suppliers.
Which food labeling rule applies to your food product? Learn more about USDA and FDA Food Labeling guidelines, coverage, and differences.
Watch this webinar to learn more about Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Proteins, what they are, and how they can be analyzed. The webinar will provide some background on HMOs and cover an analytical method that is capable of quantifying up to six different HMOs within infant formula and adult nutritionals and will focus on the most prevalent human milk proteins targeted for infant formula, and how modern proteomics tools are used to address the challenges of targeted protein analysis in protein rich matrices such as infant formula.
In 2016, the FDA updated the Daily Value (DV) and Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for several nutrients, including Vitamin E. The RDIs are published by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of α-Tocopherol, as it is the only form of Vitamin E maintained in the blood and has biological activity. Thus, Vitamin E per NLEA regulations (or mg label claim) is defined as milligrams α-Tocopherol. Review this fact sheet for more information about reporting Vitamin E per the regulations.
What is food chemistry and how it is important in the food industry? Learn more about the basics of this food science discipline and the main components that are studied and testing for food ingredient an product quality and safety.
Watch this webinar to gain an understanding of the difference between the USDA and FDA labeling regulations. Also, learn which products fall into which regulation.
