# FDA Recall Tracker - Drug, Device & Food Recalls (openFDA) (`calculating_kitchen_h0b/fda-recall-tracker`) Actor

Search and monitor FDA drug, medical device and food recalls in one run. Filter by company, keyword, Class I/II/III, status, state and date. Clean normalized JSON/CSV.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/calculating_kitchen_h0b/fda-recall-tracker.md
- **Developed by:** [Andres Barcelo](https://apify.com/calculating_kitchen_h0b) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Automation, Open source
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$2.00 / 1,000 recall records

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## FDA Recall Tracker - Drug, Device & Food Recalls (openFDA)

Search and monitor **all three FDA enforcement (recall) databases - drugs, medical devices and food - in one run**, with one clean, normalized output format. Filter by company, product keyword, severity class, status, US state and date window. No API key required.

### Use cases

- **Supplier & brand monitoring**: schedule daily/weekly runs for your suppliers' names and get new recalls by webhook, email or Slack
- **Retail / e-commerce compliance**: catch recalled products in your catalog (keyword: product name, NDC, brand)
- **Pharma, medtech and food-safety research**, competitive intelligence, journalism, insurance and legal research
- Feed AI agents / MCP clients with structured recall data

### Input

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `categories` | `drug`, `device`, `food` (any combination) |
| `firm` | Recalling company, e.g. `Pfizer` |
| `keyword` | Word in product description or recall reason, e.g. `listeria`, `insulin` |
| `classification` | Class I (most serious), II, III or any |
| `status` | Ongoing, Completed, Terminated or any |
| `reportedWithinDays` | Only recalls reported in the last N days |
| `state` | Firm's US state code |
| `maxResults` | Total cap (split across categories) |

```json
{"categories":["food"],"keyword":"listeria","classification":"Class I","reportedWithinDays":90,"maxResults":100}
```

### Output

```json
{"category":"food","recallNumber":"F-1234-2026","classification":"Class I","status":"Ongoing","recallingFirm":"Example Foods Inc",
 "state":"CA","productDescription":"Ready-to-eat salad ...","reason":"Potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination",
 "distribution":"Nationwide","recallInitiationDate":"2026-09-02","reportDate":"2026-09-17","openfda":{}}
```

Dates are ISO formatted. Export to JSON, CSV, Excel, or connect via API, webhooks, Zapier, Make.

### Pricing

Pay per result - you are charged only for recall records returned.

### Notes

Data source: openFDA enforcement reports (public domain US government data, updated weekly by FDA). Not affiliated with or endorsed by the FDA. Do not rely on openFDA for medical decisions.

# Actor input Schema

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Which openFDA enforcement datasets to search.

## `firm` (type: `string`):

Company name, e.g. 'Pfizer'.

## `keyword` (type: `string`):

Word in the product description or recall reason, e.g. 'insulin', 'listeria'.

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

Class I = most serious.

## `status` (type: `string`):

Recall status.

## `reportedWithinDays` (type: `integer`):

Only recalls whose FDA report date is in the last N days. Great for scheduled monitoring.

## `state` (type: `string`):

Two-letter state code, e.g. CA.

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

Maximum recalls returned in total.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "drug",
    "device",
    "food"
  ],
  "keyword": "listeria",
  "classification": "any",
  "status": "any",
  "reportedWithinDays": 90,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

FDA recalls records in the default dataset (overview view).

# 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 = {
    "categories": [
        "drug",
        "device",
        "food"
    ],
    "keyword": "listeria",
    "reportedWithinDays": 90
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("calculating_kitchen_h0b/fda-recall-tracker").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 = {
    "categories": [
        "drug",
        "device",
        "food",
    ],
    "keyword": "listeria",
    "reportedWithinDays": 90,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("calculating_kitchen_h0b/fda-recall-tracker").call(run_input=run_input)

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

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

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "categories": [
    "drug",
    "device",
    "food"
  ],
  "keyword": "listeria",
  "reportedWithinDays": 90
}' |
apify call calculating_kitchen_h0b/fda-recall-tracker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,calculating_kitchen_h0b/fda-recall-tracker"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/5fwbqTQHnR6ScZ501/builds/XAs47iKF5WHmKkFW4/openapi.json