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:
Watch this on-demand webinar to learn about the significant organic food industry growth. The webinar provides an overview of the impact of SOE on certified entities, and a discussion on how to build risk management systems to meet regulatory and consumer expectations for your products' organic integrity. Original airdate April 19, 2023.
Is your risk assessment complete?
E.coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Vibrio, etc. The long list of bacterial pathogens have become common to those managing & developing food safety plans. However, when sitting down for your review of hazards in your HACCP & HARPC plans, it can be easy to forget that bacteria aren’t the only microbes associated with food. In fact, a large share of foodborne illness are caused by viral threats.
Learn how infrared spectroscopy can unleash the power of quality data for your operations. Original airdate April 26, 2023.
In this webinar Dr. Demarco, Associate Scientific Director of Eurofins Microbiology, discusses problems from the perspective of the spice manufacturer, rapid and conventional cultural methods most commonly used when testing for pathogens in spices, issues with testing methods and most commonly used approaches to circumvent them, as well as opportunities for improvements. Original airdate April 27, 2023.
Managing food safety & quality in fruit & vegetable processing is challenging and extremely dynamic; variable supply chains, seasonal quality issues, minimal pathogen mitigations, and short shelf-life often leaves little time to make critical decisions.
Implementing an Effective Listeria Control Plan for Fresh Produce
Do you work with animal veterinary products? Join Kari Nichols and Leo Schilling as they help you navigate the process for animal veterinary product development. Original airdate March 29, 2023.
Are you incorporating novel or upcycled protein materials in your products? If so join Mollie Van Alst for this webinar to learn more about the determination of protein and carbohydrates from that material. Original airdate March 30, 2023
In this webinar FREMONTA & Eurofins discuss cloth sampling method validation for microbial testing on beef trim. Original airdate November 10, 2022.
In this webinar attendees will learn why choosing the right method means accurate results and accurate label claims, and understand which methods to choose for Howaru strain identification and enumeration tests. Original airdate October 25, 2022.
