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:
How is protein quality determined and how is protein content assessed for food labeling? What is an Amino Acid Score? These questions are all answered in our blog about how PDCAAS shapes nutritional claims.
There are many ways to sell and distribute authorized food packaging materials on the US market. One pathway for introducing new food contact substances to the U.S. market is by submitting a Food Contact Notification (FCN) to the FDA for premarket approval. Watch our webinar exploring the FDA’s authorization process for new food contact substances, focusing on migration testing and safety evaluation. Originally Aired on June 4, 2025
The Scoop Podcast returns with season 2! In this first episode of the new season, host Keren Breiterman, explores the essential role of vitamins in infant formula and their impact on early development with Staff Scientist Dan Hengst.
Compendial methods used for detecting sulfur dioxide and sulfites are prone to challenges, including false positives in sulfur-rich matrices. Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing Madison, Inc. offers a solution. Click to read about the innovative LC-MS method for determining sulfur dioxide and sulfites in food products.
The FDA’s guidance to control the amount of lactose in food and supplements states lactose must not be present, so manufacturers are dependent upon the level of detection for analytical methods. Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing Madison, Inc. has recently optimized our High-Performance Anion Exchange Chromatography method for low lactose determination to improve upon the accuracy and specificity obtained across a variety of different product types when quantifying at low concentrations.
Watch this on-demand webinar to gain an understanding of the requirements of CA Bill AB 899, learn how to navigate testing, and hear some answers to commonly asked questions. Original airdate May 30, 2024.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 6 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guests Ed Ladwig, President, Ian Laessig, Business Unit Manager, and Marisa Feller, Business Unit Manager, Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing Madison discuss vitamin and nutrient testing in infant formula samples.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 5 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guest Justin Heller, Lead Technical Scientist at Eurofins SFA Micro in Horsham, PA, we discuss microbiology testing in infant formula including Cronobacter and what to look for in a microbiology lab.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 4 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guest Tammy Olson, Stability Program Manager at Eurofins Food Chemistry Testing in Madison, Wisconsin talk about shelf-life studies for infant formulas.
Join host Keren Breiterman, for episode 3 of The Scoop Podcast. In this episode, Keren and guests Dan Merkel, President of Product Safety Labs and Satish Patel, Business Development Director at Product Safety Labs, discuss Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) studies, for infant formula companies.
