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J. David Legan

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J. David Legan, PhD

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:



As probiotic consumption rates continue to grow, stakeholders are demanding more information about the quantity, quality, and identity of organisms in probiotic products. Increasingly, flow cytometry is being used to address manufacturers’ and consumers’ demands, and has shown promise in rapidly providing precise quantitative and qualitative probiotic information.




This poster describes some of the work Eurofins has conducted on procedures to help control the quality of agave syrups.


Salmonella depends on an effective food safety program supported by robust Salmonella detection methods. Our objective is to explore recovery of Salmonella from a background of probiotic cultures and demonstrate and validate as effective, sensitive method for detecting Salmonella in probiotic cultures to protect public health.


Originally showcased at the 2016 annual AOAC meeting, this poster presents data for the “new” variety that will be valuable to anyone who buys or uses this type of fruit for processing.


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.


Collecting environment samples in an aseptic manner is critical to ensuring the quality of the testing results. Eurofins Microbiology has updated our guide to effective environmental swabbing.


Eurofins’ Pesticide Residue Monitoring Plan provides an understanding of how to implement a pesticide residue monitoring plan.


Eurofins Nutrition Analysis Center has released the inaugural Nutrition Labeling Guide. The guide encompasses NLEA requirements and more.


Eurofins’ Arsenic Testing Guide provides awareness of arsenic in food and the importance of detecting both inorganic and organic forms.


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https://www.eurofinsus.com/food-testing