J. David Legan

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:

Pre-Assessment Audit Blog

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.

Keywords: Blog Regulatory GFSI Auditing

How to Accelerate Audits with GFSI’s Recent Benchmarking Changes

Watch this Eurofins and SafetyChain webinar to understand which aspects of your audit process can be conducted remotely, how to get started, and how to gain access to the technology that simplifies the process.

Keywords: Webinar Regulatory Auditing GFSI SafetyChain

GFSI Updates Benchmarking Requirements and Allows Partial Remote Audits

Recently, GFSI updated its stance on the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in the audit process and is now allowing part of its certification audits to be conducted remotely. Read our summary of the chronology leading up to this change and what it means for food and beverage manufacturers.

Keywords: Blog Regulatory Auditing GFSI

Is a Pre-Assessment Audit Right For You?

If you are seeking your initial GFSI benchmarked certification and aren’t sure if you’re ready, a pre-assessment audit is a great tool to verify your preparedness. You can think of a pre-assessment as a “practice audit” that will provide an expanded review of your facility’s program and procedures as they relate to the audit scheme.

Keywords: Blog Regulatory Food GFSI Auditing

Comparing GFSI Schemes

How do you decide which GFSI scheme is right for your operation? We explain the requirements, audit styles, and other deciding elements of the SQF, BRC, and FSSC 22000 schemes in a comparison table.

Keywords: Infographic Regulatory GFSI

Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Internal Audit Program

Learn more about the Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Internal Audit Program.

Keywords: Webinar Regulatory GFSI Auditing