The AFSIS program hold hundreds of definitions covering the terms used throughout.
Here is a small sample:
Hazard characterization: The quantitative and or qualitative evaluation of the nature of the adverse effects associated with biological, chemical and physical agents, which may be present in food. For chemical agents, a dose - response assessment should be performed. For biological or physical agents, a dose -response assessment should be performed if the data are obtainable.
Bound Residue: Residues derived from the covalent binding of the parent drug or a metabolite of the drug and a cellular biological soluble or insoluble macromolecule. These residues are not extractable from the macromolecule by exhaustive extraction, denaturation or solubilization techniques. They do not result from the incorporation of metabolized, radiolabelled fragments of the drug into endogenous compounds, or the same macromolecule by normal biosynthetic pathways.
Maximum Residue Limit for Veterinary Drugs (MRLVD): Is the maximum concentration of residue resulting from the use of a veterinary drug (expressed in mg/kg or mg/kg on a fresh weight basis) that is recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission to be legally permitted or recognized as acceptable in or on a food. It is based on the type and amount of residue considered to be without any toxicological hazard for human health as expressed by the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), or on the basis of a temporary ADI that utilizes an additional safety factor. It also takes into account other relevant public health risks as well as food technological aspects. When establishing an MRL, consideration is also given to residues that occur in food of plant origin and/or the environment. Furthermore, the MRL may be reduced to be consistent with good practices in the use of veterinary drugs and to the extent that practical analytical methods are available.
Milk: Exclusively the normal mammary secretion obtained from one or more milkings without either addition thereto or extraction therefrom. The term may be used for milk treated without altering its composition, or for milk the fat content of which has been standardized under domestic legislation. The term may also be used in association with a word or words to designate the type, grade, origin and/or intended use of such milk or to describe the physical treatment or the modification of composition to which it has been subjected, provided that the modification is restricted to an addition and/or withdrawal of natural milk constituents. In international trade, the origin of the milk shall be stated if it is not bovine.
Temporary Acceptable Daily Intake (TADI): Used by JECFA when data are sufficient to conclude that use of the substance is safe over the relatively short period of time required to generate and evaluate further safety data, but are insufficient to conclude that use of the substance is safe over a lifetime. A higher-than-normal safety factor is used when establishing a temporary ADI and an expiration date is established by which time appropriate data to resolve the safety issue should be submitted to JECFA.
Validated Method: An analytical method which has been subjected to a multi-laboratory study for accuracy, precision, reproducibility performance and ruggedness. Concise written procedures for sample selection, preparation and quantitative analysis are provided for inter-laboratory quality assurance and consistency of results, on which an appropriate regulatory method of analysis can be established.
Veterinarian Client-Patient Relationship: The relationship is recognized when the livestock enterprise, premises and husbandry practices are known to the veterinarian as a result of a recent professional visit to the site and the veterinarian is available for emergency on site consultation and is responsible for preventative medicine programmes.