Project Summary The safety of the United States food supply system can be enhanced by research and capacity building during case investigations, including chemical, microbiological, pathological, or other complex analyses to help determine cases of potential adulteration or contamination of animal foods or animal drugs. This project seeks to enhance the veterinary diagnostic capacity of Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL), South Dakota by; (1) surveillance of animal food and veterinary infections, (2) increasing animal pathogen typing and tracking capacity through whole genome sequencing based testing, (3) coordinating with other veterinary diagnostic laboratories to improve the national food safety system by supporting research and capacity building during case investigations, (4) maintaining accreditation (AAVLD, ISO/IEC 17025) or adopt other quality system comparable to international standards, and (5) supporting training, quality assurance processes, proficiency exercises, and data sharing to support development of veterinary diagnostic laboratories.