J. David Legan

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:

Determination of Active Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) in Dietary Supplements and Ingredients by Reverse-phase Liquid Chromatography: Single-laboratory Validation

This study seeks to develop and validate a method for identifying and quantifying four bioactive forms of vitamin B12 (adenosylcobalamin, cyanocobalamin, hydroxocobalamin, and methylcobalamin) from dietary ingredients and supplements, as a consensus quality control protocol for dietary supplement labeling and manufacturing.

Keywords: Scientific Research Nutritional Ingredients Supplements Vitamins

Why Eurofins? Stability and Shelf Life Services

The Eurofins network of laboratories has multiple laboratories that have been specifically outfitted to meet customer's needs for shelf life and product stability testing.

Keywords: Video Shelf Life Food Supplements

Recall Risk Reduction with Allergen Monitoring

Join our webinar speakers as they tackle one of the leading causes of recalls – the presence of undeclared food allergens!

Keywords: Webinar Allergens Food Ingredients Supplements

Prop 65 Guidance White Paper

This Proposition 65 Guide will help food, ingredient, and supplement companies navigate the regulatory and testing challenges that Proposition 65 presents when selling products into the state of California.

Keywords: Scientific Research Contaminants Regulatory Food Beverages Supplements Prop 65

Zone One Testing: Do You Dare?

In this webinar, Doug Marshall, Chief Science Officer at Eurofins Microbiology discusses an approach to zone 1 testing that recommends non-direct-contact surfaces simultaneously for pathogens and indicators, then building a correlation between quantitative indicator count and Salmonella or Listeria prevalence. Dr. Marshall will share insights on how companies are employing this approach, including exploration of the various philosophical and scientific rationales for zone 1 pathogen testing.

Keywords: Webinar Environmental Microbiology Food Supplements Dmarshall