# FDA Recall Monitor: Drug, Food & Device Recall Alerts (`centorprat/fda-recall-monitor`) Actor

Watch FDA recalls (drug, food, device) for your firms, brands, products or ingredients. Each run pulls recent recalls from keyless openFDA, keeps those matching your terms, and - remembering the last run - flags only what is NEW. Schedule it + set a webhook for Slack/email recall alerts.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/centorprat/fda-recall-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Centor Prat](https://apify.com/centorprat) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.50 / 1,000 watch runs

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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 Monitor: Drug, Food & Device Recall Alerts

**Watch FDA recalls for the firms, brands, products or ingredients you care about — and get alerted only
when something NEW is recalled.** Each run pulls recent recalls from the keyless openFDA enforcement feeds
(drug, food, device), keeps the ones matching your watch terms, and — because it remembers what it saw
last time — flags just the new ones. Schedule it and point `webhookUrl` at Slack/Discord/email (via Make
or Zapier) to turn it into a standing recall alarm. Works as a one-shot lookup too.

> 📋 **Factual public records.** Every row is an official FDA enforcement/recall report, reported
> verbatim (firm, product, reason, classification, dates). No scoring, no editorializing.

### ⚡ What makes it a *monitor*, not just a lookup

Most recall actors dump the feed every time. This one **diffs against the previous run**: on the first run
it quietly sets a baseline (so you aren't spammed with history), and on every run after it surfaces — and
webhooks — **only recalls that are new since last time**. Set a schedule once; hear about it only when it
matters.

### 🔔 How alerting works

- **`webhookUrl`** — when a run finds new recalls, it POSTs `{ "newRecalls": N, "recalls": [...] }` to your
  URL. Wire that into **Slack, Discord, email, SMS** via Make/Zapier, or your own endpoint.
- **Schedule** — add an Apify Schedule (e.g. every hour / every morning) so it keeps watch unattended.
- Apify can also email you on run events — but the webhook carries the actual new-recall payload.

> An Actor runs in Apify's cloud, not on your machine, so there's no desktop pop-up — the webhook + a
> schedule is the cloud-native equivalent, and it reaches Slack/phone/inbox wherever you are.

### 📥 Input

```json
{
  "watchTerms": ["peanut", "Acme Foods", "valsartan"],
  "productTypes": ["drug", "food", "device"],
  "classifications": ["Class I", "Class II"],
  "onlyNew": true,
  "webhookUrl": "https://hook.make.com/..."
}
```

Leave `watchTerms` empty to track **all** recalls in the window. `classifications` filters by severity
(Class I = most serious). `sinceDays` sets the look-back (default 90).

### 📤 Example output (real run, trimmed)

A newly-detected recall for a watch on `["insulin"]`:

```json
{
  "isNew": true,
  "productType": "drug",
  "recallNumber": "D-0806-2026",
  "classification": "Class II",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "recallingFirm": "Baxter Healthcare Corporation",
  "reason": "CGMP Deviations",
  "reportDate": "2026-09-09",
  "matchedTerms": ["insulin"]
}
```

The first run instead writes a baseline marker (`"baseline": true`, how many recalls are now tracked), so
the run is self-explaining and no false "new" alerts fire for pre-existing recalls.

### 💰 Pricing (pay-per-event)

- **Watch run — $0.01** per run (the fetch + diff).
- **New recall alert — $0.02** per newly-detected recall. Quiet runs cost only the base; you pay the
  premium exactly when it catches something.

### 💡 Use cases

- **Food brands / importers / grocers & marketplaces:** know within the hour if a product or supplier you
  carry is recalled.
- **Pharmacies / distributors / hospitals:** watch drug & device recalls for your formulary or vendors.
- **QA / regulatory / compliance:** a standing Class I/II alarm across your brand and ingredient list.
- **Agents:** callable as an MCP tool — give it watch terms, get back only what's new.

### 🔑 Keyless & agent-callable

No API keys, no accounts, no paid child Actors — just public FDA (openFDA) enforcement data.

### 🚀 Ready-made tasks (one click)

- [Food Recall Alert Monitor (FDA)](https://apify.com/centorprat/fda-recall-monitor/examples/food-recall-alert)

### 🤖 For AI agents (MCP)

```
https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,centorprat/fda-recall-monitor
```

Loads as `centorprat--fda-recall-monitor`. Claude Code:

```
claude mcp add apify -- npx -y @apify/actors-mcp-server --actors centorprat/fda-recall-monitor
```

# Actor input Schema

## `watchTerms` (type: `array`):

Alert when a recall mentions any of these, e.g. \["peanut"], \["Acme Foods", "valsartan"]. Matched against firm, product, reason, brand/generic names. Leave empty to track ALL recalls in the window.

## `productTypes` (type: `array`):

Which FDA recall feeds to watch. All are keyless.

## `classifications` (type: `array`):

Class I = most serious, II, III. Leave empty for all classes.

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

On: each run returns only recalls not seen on the previous run (ideal for scheduled alerting). Off: returns every matching recall each run.

## `sinceDays` (type: `integer`):

How far back to pull recalls each run.

## `persistState` (type: `boolean`):

Stores the recalls seen this run in a named key-value store so the next run can tell what is new. Keep on for monitoring; turn off for a stateless one-shot query.

## `maxPerType` (type: `integer`):

Cap per feed per run.

## `webhookUrl` (type: `string`):

If set, NEW recalls are POSTed here as JSON when a run finds any - wire it to Slack/Discord/email via Make or Zapier.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "watchTerms": [
    "peanut"
  ],
  "productTypes": [
    "drug",
    "food",
    "device"
  ],
  "classifications": [],
  "onlyNew": true,
  "sinceDays": 90,
  "persistState": true,
  "maxPerType": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `recalls` (type: `string`):

Matching FDA recalls, newest first, each flagged isNew. Fields: product type, recall number, classification (Class I/II/III), status, recalling firm, product description, reason, dates, distribution, brand/generic names, and which watch terms matched. First run writes a baseline marker; later runs emit only new recalls when onlyNew is on.

# 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 = {
    "watchTerms": [
        "peanut"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("centorprat/fda-recall-monitor").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 = { "watchTerms": ["peanut"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("centorprat/fda-recall-monitor").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 '{
  "watchTerms": [
    "peanut"
  ]
}' |
apify call centorprat/fda-recall-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/DmfXJfzF7Z3uvBTgM/builds/N7Q0JJyjT5jViP1sT/openapi.json