United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Glossary
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS):

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

agency that provides standardization, grading, and market news services for certain

commodities, such as fruits, vegetables,

livestock, poultry, and seed.

Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection

(AQI): An Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS) safeguarding

program designed to prevent the introduction of harmful plant and animal pests and

diseases, such as noxious weeds, insects,

fungi, and parasites, into the United States.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS): The USDA agency that protects

American agriculture by providing leadership in ensuring the health and care of animals and plants.

Area freedom: An international trade policy

that allows distinct areas within a country or

region that are free of a specified plant pest

or disease to export related commodities

even if the rest of the country remains

quarantined.

Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC):

An international organization established in

1989 to promote open trade and economic

cooperation in the Pacific Rim.

Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora

glabripennis): A destructive insect pest that

kills hardwood trees. The beetle bores into

healthy hardwoods, feeds on living tree

tissue during the fall and winter, and

emerges through a hole about the size of

a dime during the spring. The boring

eventually kills the tree.

Biological control: Control methods that

use predators, parasites, and pathogens—

instead of chemicals or cultural practices—

to combat plant pests.

Biotechnology: The application of biological

science to manipulate deoxyribonucleic acid

(DNA) to improve old organisms or create

new ones, such as plants with better disease

resistance, crop yield, and nutrition.

Bioterrorism: The use of living agents, such

as a manmade or natural disease pathogens,

to attack people, animals, and plants.

Bluetongue: A serious viral disease in animals characterized by swelling and sloughing, especially about the mouth and tongue.

Boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis

Boheman): A serious insect pest that feeds

on cotton. APHIS has been working to

eradicate this pest from the United States

since 1978.

Botany: The study of plants.

Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB): This

APHIS Veterinary Services unit implements

the provisions of the Virus–Serum–Toxin Act

to assure that pure, safe, potent, and effective

veterinary biologics are available for the

diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of

animal diseases. CVB is located in Ames, IA.

Citrus canker: A highly contagious disease

of citrus caused by the bacterium

Xanthomonas axonopodis pathovar citri.

This bacterium causes dieback, defoliation,

severely blemished fruit, reduced fruit

quality, and premature fruit drop.

Classical swine fever (CSF): A highly

contagious, deadly disease of swine, also

known as hog cholera.

Closing the Los Angeles Area Marketplace

Pathway (CLAMP): A program created to

reduce the amount of agricultural goods

smuggled into major international ports

located in California.

2 Glossary
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex):

A subsidiary of the United Nations’ Food and

Agriculture Organization created to facilitate

world food trade by establishing international standards based on accepted scientific

knowledge.

Contagious equine metritis (CEM): 

A transmissible, exotic, venereal disease of

horses, commonly associated with infertility.

Convention on International Trade in

Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna

(CITES): A treaty that regulates the international commercial trade of endangered and

threatened plants and animals, and products

derived from them, and monitors trade

involving species that may become extinct in

the near future.

Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey

(CAPS): A program through which the

Federal Government works with States to

conduct ongoing surveys for foreign plant

pests and diseases. Information collected in

the surveys is maintained in a nationwide

database.

Ecology: The study of the relationships

between organisms and their environments.

Emergency Management Operations Center

(EMOC): The APHIS facility used to manage

pest and disease outbreaks from the

Riverdale, MD, headquarters.

Emergency Programs (EP): The APHIS

Veterinary Services staff that manages

foreign animal disease outbreaks.

Entomology: The study of insects.

Environmental assessment (EA): A concise

public document that provides sufficient

evidence and analysis for determining

whether to prepare an environmental impact

statement.

Environmental impact statement (EIS): 

A detailed statement discussing the potential

impact a proposed action may have on the

environment. The EIS details any adverse

environmental effects that cannot be avoided

should the proposal be implemented and any

alternatives to the proposed action.

EXCERPT: A database maintained by APHIS

and Purdue University that allows Plant

Protection and Quarantine officers, State and

county officials, and members of the agricultural industry to access export information.

Florida Interdiction and Smuggling Team

(FIST): A program created to reduce the

amount of agricultural goods smuggled into

major international ports in Florida.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

A subsidiary of the United Nations that works

to raise levels of nutrition and standards of

living, to improve agricultural productivity,

and to better the conditions of rural populations. FAO achieves this through providing

development assistance, information and

support services, advice to governments, and

a forum for international cooperation.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

A Department of Health and Human Services

agency that sets Federal standards and

regulations for the safety and effectiveness 

of foods, drugs, medical devices, cosmetics,

and products (like microwaves) that emit

radiation. FDA also regulates feed and drugs

for pets and farm animals.

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS):

The USDA agency that ensures commercially

supplied meat, poultry, and egg products are

safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and

packaged.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD): A highly

contagious and economically devastating

disease of cattle and swine characterized by

fever and blisterlike lesions on the tongue

and lips, in the mouth, on the teats, and in

between the claws.

Glossary 3
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS): USDA’s

lead agency for international activities,

including trade negotiations, promotion of

U.S. agricultural products abroad, and the

collection of statistics and market

information.

Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic

Laboratory (FADDL): This Veterinary

Services laboratory is used for the diagnosis

and study of foreign animal diseases. FADDL

is located on Plum Island, NY.

Free Trade Areas for the Americas (FTAA):

An agreement signed by the United States

and 33 leaders from Central and South

America and the Caribbean that makes a

joint declaration of their commitment to

hemispheric economic and trade integration

by 2005.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT): A multilateral agreement, established in the wake of World War II, that laid

down rules for international trade.

Genetically modified organism (GMO):

A living organism that has been altered by

manipulating its deoxyribonucleic acid

(DNA) for the purpose of improving an old

organism or creating a new one.

Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar): A devastating insect pest that feeds on leaf foliage.

There are two strains of this moth, the

European and the Asian. Both are very

destructive and can cause great damage to

ecosystems within the United States by

defoliating thousands of acres of forests.

Harmonization: Establishment, recognition,

and application of phytosanitary measures by

different countries based on common

standards.

International Plant Protection Convention

(IPPC): A subsidiary of the United Nations

Food and Agriculture Organization focused

on preventing the spread of plant-borne diseases and pests and developing science-based

plant quarantine requirements for international trade.

International Regulation Retrieval System

(IRRS): A database maintained by Veterinary

Services that lists the animal health requirements of foreign countries.

International Services (IS): The division of

APHIS that works outside the United States

to keep agricultural pests and diseases from

entering the country, to facilitate agricultural exports, and to bring agricultural trade

into harmony with agricultural health

worldwide.

Invasive species: Animals, plants, and

pathogens non-native to a country or region

that threaten native forms of life in that

region.

Karnal bunt: A disease of wheat caused by

the fungus Tilletia indica Mitra, also known

as Neovossia indica. The disease reduces

crop yield and reduces the marketability of

the grain.

Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) (Ceratitis

capitata): A destructive insect pest that

feeds on many fruits, including citrus. The

female Medfly attacks ripening fruit, piercing

the soft skin and laying eggs in the puncture.

The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed inside

the fruit pulp.

Moscamed: Cooperative program between

the governments of the United States,

Mexico, and Guatemala. The program 

works to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit

fly from Mexico and to maintain a barrier in

Guatemala to halt the pest’s northern spread.

4 Glossary
Multilateral: Trade discussion involving

multiple countries that provides a forum to

discuss ongoing negotiations, trade disputes,

phytosanitary standards, and other issues

related to trade.

National Agricultural Pest Information

System (NAPIS): A database that holds

survey information collected in the CAPS

program. Information in this database can be

accessed from anywhere in the country by

authorized users.

National Animal Health Monitoring System

(NAHMS): A Veterinary Services program

started in 1983 to gather information on the

state of animal health in the United States.

National Center for Import and Export

(NCIE): A Veterinary Services staff that

develops zoosanitary protocols that allow the

safe import of animals and animal products.

This staff also negotiates protocols that will

allow the entry of U.S. agricultural products

into foreign countries.

National Veterinary Services Laboratories

(NVSL): The only Federal facility in the

United States engaged in the diagnosis of

animal diseases, both domestic and foreign.

NVSL also provide consultation, reagents,

and training for foreign governments.

NVSL’s facilities are located in Ames, IA, and

Plum Island, NY.

North American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA): A multilateral trade pact between

the United States, Canada, and Mexico that

went into effect in January 1994.

North American Plant Protection

Organization (NAPPO): A regional planthealth organization created in 1976 to share

information and cooperate in advancing

common regional goals.

Noxious weed: A nonindigenous weed

species that can upset the balance among

native plant species within natural and

agricultural ecosystems.

Office International des Epizooties (OIE):

The world’s oldest international veterinary

organization, formed in 1924 to develop and

maintain a worldwide animal disease reporting network and to facilitate world trade by

minimizing the risk of spreading livestock

diseases.

PANAFTOSA: An organization of South

American countries created to eradicate footand-mouth disease from the continent.

Pest risk analysis (PRA): The process of

evaluating biological and other scientific and

economic evidence to determine whether a

pest should be regulated and the strength of

any phytosanitary measures to be taken

against it.

Phytosanitary: Pertaining to plant health.

Phytosanitary certificate: A document

required to accompany certain agricultural

exports that is issued by Federal, State, or

county officials and verifies the shipment is

free from quarantined plant pests and

pathogens.

Phytosanitary Issues Management (PIM)

Team: An APHIS team that has the primary

responsibility for planning, coordinating,

and helping to resolve phytosanitary and

biological issues that impede trade.

Phytosanitary measure: Any legislation,

regulation, or official procedure intended to

prevent the introduction and/or spread of

plant pests.

Pink hibiscus mealybug (Maconellicoccus

hirsutus Green): A serious agricultural pest

that attacks more than 200 varieties of

plants. The pest sucks the juice from the

host plants while injecting toxic saliva. This

action can lead to the death of a plant.

Plant pathology: The study of plant diseases.

Glossary 5
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ):

The division of APHIS charged with protecting the Nation’s agricultural resources from

the spread of plant pests and diseases.

Preclearance: The inspection and treatment

of foreign agricultural commodities prior to

their export to the United States to prevent

harmful exotic pests and diseases from being

transported here.

Quarantine pest: A pest of potential economic importance to an area but not yet

present there, or present but not widely

distributed and being officially controlled.

Regional Emergency Animal Disease

Eradication Organization (READEO): A task

force consisting of Veterinary Services

employees, State veterinarians, military support personnel, industry liaisons, and representatives from other units within USDA.

This task force is specially trained to handle

outbreaks of foreign animal diseases.

Regionalization: An international trade

policy that allows distinct areas within a

country or region that are free of a specified

animal disease to export related commodities

even if the rest of the country remains

quarantined.

Smuggling Interdiction and Trade

Compliance (SITC): A program created by

APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine in

response to the growing volume of smuggled

agricultural products. Operating at a number

of national ports, the program ensures compliance with U.S. agricultural import laws.

Trade Support Team (TST): A unit of APHIS’

International Services that provides analytic

and strategic guidance to help establish new

markets for U.S. exports while protecting the

United States’ agricultural resources.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS): The

Department of the Interior agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats.

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR): The

official who leads U.S. delegations in negotiating trade agreements and resolving trade

disputes.

Veterinary biologics: Vaccines, bacterins,

diagnostics, etc., used to prevent, treat, or

diagnose animal diseases. These products

generally work through an immunological

method or process.

Veterinary Services (VS): The division of

APHIS whose mission is to protect and

improve the health, quality, and marketability of our Nation’s animals, animal products,

and veterinary biologics.

World Trade Organization (WTO): An entity

created to establish and arbitrate the rules of

trade between nations. It acts as an impartial

body for settling disputes. It was formed in

1995 as a successor to the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Zoology: The study of animals.

Zoosanitary: Pertaining to animal health.

6 Glossary
The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination in all its

programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or

family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons

with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of

program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact

USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil

Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD).

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
United States

Department of

Agriculture

Animal and Plant

Health Inspection

Service

Miscellaneous 

Publication No. 1580

Issued September 2001