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:

Microbiological Indicator Testing: Overview, Considerations, and FAQ

Eurofins’ laboratories are frequently asked questions about microbial indicator testing. This whitepaper will attempt to answer the most common questions and give an overview of the uses and benefits of testing for microbial indicators.

Keywords: Blog Microbiology Indicator Organism Testing DLegan

Microbiological Shelf-life and Product Spoilage: Achieving Objectives and Investigating Failures

This white paper will provide a brief overview of both prevention and investigation of spoilage. By focusing on principles, it will not be able to answer every question, but rather will illustrate questions to ask during product design and failure investigations.

Keywords: Scientific Research Microbiology Shelf-life Food Beverages Dairy Meat DLegan

Microbiological Specifications in Food Operations

Microbiological specifications are tools used to help manage risk in a food business. A specification defines the limits of acceptable and unacceptable conditions at important decision points in the manufacturing and distribution continuum, from ingredient specifications to final product specifications. In this white paper we will explore the types, uses, and creation of microbiological specifications.

Keywords: Scientific Research Microbiology Food DLegan

Applications of DNA Sequencing in Food Microbiology

This poster demonstrates how DNA sequencing can be an important tool in quality control, presumptive confirmations, and environmental monitoring.

Keywords: Scientific Research Microbiology Genomics Dlegan Mbrown