# FDA Recalls Scraper - Food, Drug & Device (`benthepythondev/openfda-scraper`) Actor

Scrape FDA recall / enforcement reports for food, drugs or medical devices: recall number, classification, status, product description, reason for recall, recalling firm, distribution, dates and location. Fast and reliable via the public openFDA API. For product-safety monitoring.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/benthepythondev/openfda-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ben](https://apify.com/benthepythondev) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Other, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).


# README

## 💊 FDA Recalls Scraper

Scrape **FDA** recall / enforcement reports for **food, drugs or medical devices** — recall number, classification, status, product description, reason for recall, recalling firm, distribution, quantity, dates and location. Powered by the public openFDA API, so it's fast and reliable: no browser, no login, no API key.

Built for product-safety monitoring, compliance, supply-chain risk and research. Export to JSON/CSV/Excel, run on a schedule, call via API, or connect to Make, Zapier or n8n.

### 🔎 What is the FDA Recalls Scraper?

Choose a dataset (food, drug or device recalls), optionally filter by keyword or classification, and it returns matching recall reports as structured rows — so you can monitor what's being recalled and why, in real time.

#### What data does it extract?

- **Recall number**, **status** and **classification** (Class I/II/III)
- **Product description** and **reason for recall**
- **Recalling firm**, brand and manufacturer
- **Distribution pattern** and **product quantity**
- **Code info** and voluntary/mandated flag
- **Initiation / report / termination dates**
- **City, state and country**

### ⬇️ Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `dataset` | string | `food-recalls`, `drug-recalls` or `device-recalls`. |
| `search` | string | Optional keyword/firm, e.g. `salmonella`. |
| `classification` | string | Optional class, e.g. `Class I`. |
| `maxResults` | integer | Max recalls to return. Default `50`. |

#### Example input

```json
{
  "dataset": "food-recalls",
  "search": "listeria",
  "maxResults": 100
}
````

### ⬆️ Output

One record per recall:

```json
{
  "recall_number": "F-1234-2026",
  "product_type": "Food",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "classification": "Class I",
  "product_description": "Brand X frozen vegetables, 12 oz bag",
  "reason_for_recall": "Potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination",
  "recalling_firm": "Acme Foods Inc.",
  "brand_name": "Brand X",
  "distribution_pattern": "Nationwide",
  "product_quantity": "10,500 cases",
  "voluntary_mandated": "Voluntary: Firm initiated",
  "recall_initiation_date": "20260415",
  "report_date": "20260501",
  "city": "Springfield",
  "state": "IL",
  "country": "United States",
  "query": "listeria"
}
```

### 💡 Use cases

- 🛡️ **Product-safety monitoring** — watch recalls in your category in real time.
- ✅ **Compliance** — keep a record of relevant recalls for audits.
- 🔗 **Supply-chain risk** — flag recalls from suppliers and brands you rely on.
- 🤖 **Automation** — push new recalls to Slack/email via Make/Zapier/n8n.

### ❓ FAQ

**Do I need an API key or login?** No — it uses the public openFDA API.

**Food, drugs and devices?** Yes — set `dataset`.

**Can I filter by reason or firm?** Yes — use `search`.

**What are Class I/II/III?** FDA severity classes — Class I is the most serious.

**Are dates included?** Yes — initiation, report and termination dates.

**How does pricing work?** Pay per recall returned. No subscription.

**Is it legal?** openFDA is public US government data. Use responsibly and within openFDA's terms.

### ⚙️ How it works

The scraper calls the openFDA enforcement endpoints directly and returns clean rows — no browser and no key. It paginates through results, normalizing each recall into consistent fields (classification, reason, firm, dates, location) so you get a tidy table. Runs are fast and dependable, which is why the actor keeps passing its daily health check. The same input shape works for a quick check or a full historical pull — only `maxResults` changes.

### 👥 Who uses FDA recall data?

Recall data is valuable to quality and compliance teams, retailers, importers, insurers and researchers. A grocery chain watches food recalls in its categories; a pharmacy monitors drug recalls; an importer tracks device recalls from its suppliers; a researcher studies recall trends over time. Because every record is plain JSON with consistent fields, it drops straight into a spreadsheet, database, BI tool or alerting workflow with no custom parsing.

### 📤 Export, schedule & integrate

Every run is saved to a dataset you can export to **JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS**, or pull through the **Apify API**. Wire it into **Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack** or your **own database**, run it on a **schedule** (hourly, daily or weekly) to catch new recalls, and call it from AI agents through the **Apify MCP server**.

### 💡 Tips for best results

- Run all three datasets to cover food, drugs and devices.
- Filter by `classification: Class I` to focus on the most serious recalls.
- Schedule a daily run and diff the output to get a recall alert feed.
- Use `search` with a supplier or brand name to monitor your supply chain.

### ❓ More FAQ

**How fresh is the data?** It is fetched live on each run — schedule runs to catch new recalls.

**Can I get more results?** Yes — raise `maxResults`; it paginates automatically.

**Can I run it automatically?** Yes — use Apify Schedules (cron).

**Which export formats?** JSON, CSV, Excel, XML and RSS, plus the Apify API.

**Can AI agents use it?** Yes — via the Apify API and MCP server.

### 🔗 You might also like

- [PubMed Papers Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/pubmed-papers-scraper) — biomedical citations.
- [SEC EDGAR Filings Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/sec-edgar-filings-scraper) — company filings.
- [Food Product Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/open-food-facts-scraper) — barcode & nutrition data.

***

**Keywords:** fda recalls scraper, openfda api, food recalls, drug recalls, device recalls, product safety, recall monitoring, fda enforcement, compliance data, supply chain risk, recall alerts, fda data, class i recall, health data

# Actor input Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Which recalls to scrape.

## `search` (type: `string`):

Keyword/firm to filter, e.g. 'salmonella', 'listeria'.

## `classification` (type: `string`):

Recall class, e.g. 'Class I', 'Class II', 'Class III'.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum recalls to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "dataset": "food-recalls",
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "dataset": "food-recalls"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("benthepythondev/openfda-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "dataset": "food-recalls" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("benthepythondev/openfda-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "dataset": "food-recalls"
}' |
apify call benthepythondev/openfda-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=benthepythondev/openfda-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "FDA Recalls Scraper - Food, Drug & Device",
        "description": "Scrape FDA recall / enforcement reports for food, drugs or medical devices: recall number, classification, status, product description, reason for recall, recalling firm, distribution, dates and location. Fast and reliable via the public openFDA API. For product-safety monitoring.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "IqrdtAdxJQvzYeHiD"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/benthepythondev~openfda-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-benthepythondev-openfda-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/benthepythondev~openfda-scraper/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-benthepythondev-openfda-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/benthepythondev~openfda-scraper/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-benthepythondev-openfda-scraper",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "dataset": {
                        "title": "Dataset",
                        "enum": [
                            "food-recalls",
                            "drug-recalls",
                            "device-recalls"
                        ],
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Which recalls to scrape.",
                        "default": "food-recalls"
                    },
                    "search": {
                        "title": "Search (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Keyword/firm to filter, e.g. 'salmonella', 'listeria'."
                    },
                    "classification": {
                        "title": "Classification (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Recall class, e.g. 'Class I', 'Class II', 'Class III'."
                    },
                    "maxResults": {
                        "title": "Max results",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 1000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Maximum recalls to return.",
                        "default": 50
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```