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:
In this webinar attendees will learn about the technical, instrument, and regulatory considerations for chromatographic method feasibility, development, optimization, verification, validation also method transfer considerations. Original airdate October 20, 2022.
This webinar will provide insights on how a manufacturer validates Bioengineered removal processes and verify compliance with the rule. Original airdate September 15, 2022.
During this webinar, Dr. Katerina Mastovska and Dr. Lukas Vaclavik will discuss the importance of third-party testing to ensure your products are safe, compliant with applicable regulations, and trustworthy for consumers! Chemical safety and authenticity of dietary supplements and ingredients used in their production are of paramount importance when it comes to the protection of consumers’ health and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Reliable testing performed by a qualified and experienced laboratory that covers all relevant residues and contaminant groups plays a key role in ensuring the above. Original airdate September 13, 2022.
This webinar outlines the concept, design and execution of appropriate validation strategies and procedures intended to mitigate microbiological hazards in Low-Water Activity Foods. In the context of FDA regulations, low-water activity foods (LWAF) are those products with a water activity (aw) of less than 0.85. For many decades, these products were believed to present a low microbiological hazard risk. Various food related illness outbreaks, starting with a massive outbreak of salmonellosis due to peanut butter consumption in 2008-2009, raised awareness of the risk resulting from extended survival of pathogens in these products even in the absence of active growth. Original airdate August 23, 2022.
This webinar discusses the risks of foreign materials in food, beverages, ingredients, dietary supplements, and ways to mitigate risks in your supply chain and production process. Also, analytical techniques for foreign material, unknown object isolation, and positive identification. Original airdate August 17, 2022.
This webinar aims toward detailing the issue of high acid products, assisting with the categorization of these products, and providing strategies for managing products that fall under the acidified food category but do not receive a full thermal process. Original airdate August 10, 2022.
Learn about frequent causes of off-flavor, off-odor, and flavor scalping in packaged foods, beverages, and pet food products, including analytical techniques ranging from GCMS to ICP to LCMSMS for troubleshooting and detection, with a focus on SPME-GC-MS analysis. Learn how improper product packaging, production, or transportation issues can cause your product to be recalled. Factors that can negatively impact flavor and aroma. The analytical techniques range from GCMS to ICP to LCMSMS for troubleshooting and detection.
The botanical supplement and cosmetic industries are rapidly changing, and the increase in consumer demand calls for upscaling raw material sourcing. This means there is higher pressure for scientifically-valid contaminant testing, including screens for pesticides and heavy metals, while maintaining a fast turn-around time. Watch this webinar to learn modern approaches to contaminant detection, with an emphasis on market trends, broad dietary supplement applications, and OTC cosmetics.
Watch this webinar to learn more about Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Proteins, what they are, and how they can be analyzed. The webinar will provide some background on HMOs and cover an analytical method that is capable of quantifying up to six different HMOs within infant formula and adult nutritionals and will focus on the most prevalent human milk proteins targeted for infant formula, and how modern proteomics tools are used to address the challenges of targeted protein analysis in protein rich matrices such as infant formula.
Watch this webinar to gain an understanding of the difference between the USDA and FDA labeling regulations. Also, learn which products fall into which regulation.
