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:
Are you incorporating novel or upcycled protein materials in your products? If so join Mollie Van Alst for this webinar to learn more about the determination of protein and carbohydrates from that material. Original airdate March 30, 2023
Manufacturers and marketers of dietary supplements often have questions about what testing is required for Supplement Facts labels. This white paper is intended to provide information to help companies make informed choices about the testing and claims made on dietary supplements.
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.
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.
As exponential growth of plant-based foods continues, so does research and innovation with plant proteins. But what is the difference between proteins from plants versus animal sources? What challenges do scientists need to overcome? Learn more in the article!
