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 covers food safety product categories and the impact of ingredients required to improve microbial stability on product acceptance. Original airdate May 21, 2024.
This webinar focuses on the principles and theory of food spoilage, within the context of how these concepts can help you better understand what to do when things go wrong (spoil) and design a product in a way to prevent spoilage in the first place. Original airdate May 8, 2024.
This case study details how Eurofins The National Food Lab was able to assist a start-up company in developing a shelf-stable Ready to Drink product with a high active concentration.
The research and development team of Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories, Inc. set out to better
understand STEC growth on lettuce by designing an experiment to observe the limits of detection by
real-time PCR using bacteria that were cold-stressed against those grown under non-stressed conditions. This white paper explains further.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors drug manufacturers' compliance with its current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations in order to ensure the quality of drug products. These regulations are designed to assure products are safe for use and contain the ingredients, strengths, and efficacies of claims made by the product. Learn what tests your OTC products need to be compliant.
Besides flavor, salt is commonly used as a preservation ingredient to bind available water and help lower the water activity. It helps create conditions that are hard for pathogens to grow in. Learn more how the addition of salt in a smoked salmon product is not very straightforward with removing pathogen risk.
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.
High-Pressure Processing is a food processing technology that enables food safety while maintaining food quality. Learn how this high-pressure technology contributes to food science and testing to help support HPP processing and HPP food safety.
Carotenoids (like beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and astaxanthin) are of great interest in the food, animal feed, and dietary supplement industries for a variety of reasons. However, due to many factors, their stability in product formulations can be challenging. Find out more!
Is stability testing required for infant formula? Tammy Olson, Stability Manager at Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, WI discusses this topic in this short video. Eurofins publishes our Ask an Expert Series weekly on our social media platforms.
