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 document describes the nutrition and supplement facts labels changes.
In this three-part series Dan Berg, Food Scientist, Analytical Services Manager at Eurofins talks through some of the more complicated issues and some related manners to consider for manufacturers in their efforts to meet the current regulations for Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts panels. In this first part of the 3 part series, he discusses RACCs (Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed), Dietary Fiber, and Added Sugars.
In this three-part series Dan Berg, Food Scientist, Analytical Services Manager at Eurofins talks through some of the more complicated issues and some related manners to consider for manufacturers in their efforts to meet the current regulations for Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts panels. In this second part of the three part series, he discusses vitamins (A, D, E, and Folic Acid/Folates).
In this three-part series Dan Berg, Food Scientist, Analytical Services Manager at Eurofins talks through some of the more complicated issues and some related manners to consider for manufacturers in their efforts to meet the current regulations for Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts panels. In this the final part of the three part series, he discusses other related rules.
In this blog post Andrew Ward discusses using a 3rd party inspection partner to ensure that quality of the products that a buyer is purchasing. Do you have a 3rd party inspection partner?
Your CBD and hemp-derived multiple-use cosmetic and personal care products that contain preservatives need to be tested to assure the preservation, or antimicrobial action is adequate to fight the introduction of microorganisms.
Food fraud has been a topic that continues to be of high interest. Below are the top risks that should be considered when developing your food fraud plan.
Check out this informative email exchange between Keren Breiterman and Darryl Sullivan about trends in the Infant Formula testing space.
If you are seeking your initial GFSI benchmarked certification and aren’t sure if you are ready, a pre-assessment audit is a great tool to verify your readiness.
Read this article to learn more about hemp contaminant testing and how you can be prepared to correctly test your hemp-derived products.
