Which statement describes the USDA APHIS role in animal health and disease traceability (ADT)?

• A. Oversees animal disease traceability and related surveillance.
• B. Regulates dairy pasteurization.
• C. Oversees pesticide residues.
• D. Sets food labeling standards.

Answer: (A)

APHIS leads animal health protection through overseeing animal disease traceability and the related surveillance that supports rapid detection and control of outbreaks. This program tracks where animals originate and where they move, using identifiers for premises and, in many cases, individual animals, and it coordinates with state and tribal animal health officials, veterinarians, and producers. The goal is to have timely, accurate movement and health information to trace disease sources and routes of spread, enabling swift interventions.

Dairy pasteurization is primarily regulated by FDA (and state authorities for some activities), pesticide residues are regulated by EPA with enforcement influenced by FDA/USDA, and labeling standards are set by FDA (with meat/poultry labeling partly governed by USDA). These functions are outside APHIS’s mandate, which is why the described role is the one that correctly reflects APHIS involvement.