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:
Eurofins DQCI Announces Partnership with Southeast Milk, Inc. (SMI) to Assume Operational Responsibility of Belleview, Florida Site. Read more about this partnership in this press release.
August 2nd, 2021, Eurofins SFA GMP Microbiology, Horsham, PA: The Eurofins Microbiology Lab in Horsham, PA is relocating to a new, state-of-the-art facility. This press release gives more information about the lab's new location and its operations.
Eurofins Scientific was founded in 1987 with four employees to market a ground-breaking testing technology using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance to detect whether sugar had been added during the winemaking process to increase alcohol content. In the following years, the patented SNIF-NMR® technology was used to verify the origin and purity of several types of food and beverages and identify sophisticated fraud not detectable by other methods.
Eurofins Craft Technologies Offers Vitamin K-1 & K-2 Testing to Support Trending Immunity Foods & Supplements.
Eurofins now offers validated methods for chondroitin testing on sports nutrition and joint health supplements.
For ethanol and IPA-based hand sanitizers to be effective as disinfecting agents, they must contain at least 60% ethanol or 70% IPA by volume. Eurofins SF Analytical is pleased to offer two new test offerings to meet client demand for alcohol content in disinfecting products, including hand sanitizer.
Eurofins breaks ground on new facility in Madison, WI. The new lab is scheduled to open in February 2021.
Southern Hemp Marketplace (SHM), LLC., announced that Eurofins Quality Trait Analysis (QTA) will join its first-ever International Hemp Auction and Market (IHAM) as the official lab analysis partner. This partnership yields rapid transparency for buyers of hemp and CBD products with regards to potency, profiles and purity.
Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), a global scientific leader in bioanalytical testing, announces the successful closing of the transaction to acquire Covance Food Solutions from LabCorp (LH: NYSE), a leading global life sciences company. Covance Food Solutions provides product integrity, food safety, product development and consulting solutions for end-use segments that span the life cycle of food, beverage and dietary supplement products.
Eurofins Scientific is set to open a new state-of-the-art food testing laboratory complex in Fresno, CA in summer 2018.
