Product Recall Monitor

⚠️ Product Recall Monitor is a powerful Apify Actor designed to discover, track, and monitor Product Recall announcements from Google News. This tool provides real-time Product Recall intelligence including recall titles, affected units, companies, publication dates, and detailed information links. Whether you're managing product safety, tracking competitor recalls, or conducting compliance monitoring, the Product Recall Monitor delivers critical Product Recall alerts efficiently.

With Google News RSS integration, intelligent deduplication, unit extraction, publisher tracking, and PPE billing support, the Product Recall Monitor ensures comprehensive Product Recall discovery and analysis. It focuses on key Product Recall signals including company name, affected units, publication date, and news source, making it an essential tool for Product Recall research and product safety management.

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📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Data Source
• How It Works
• Input
• Output
• Technical Stack
• Data Fields
• Recall Types
• Use Cases
• Quick Start
• Configuration
• Performance
• Billing
• Important Notes
• Keywords
• Changelog
• Support

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🔥 Features

• Google News Integration – Real-time Product Recall news monitoring via Google News RSS.
• Keyword Search – Search Product Recall by product name or company (vehicle, medicine, food, electronics, etc.).
• Recall Discovery – Discovers newly announced Product Recall incidents.
• Title Extraction – Captures complete Product Recall announcement titles.
• Publisher Tracking – Records news source and publication for each Product Recall.
• Unit Extraction – Automatically extracts number of units affected in Product Recall.
• Date Tracking – Captures publication date for each Product Recall announcement.
• URL Capture – Provides direct links to full Product Recall articles.
• Deduplication – Removes duplicate Product Recall announcements across feeds.
• Company Identification – Identifies affected company for each Product Recall.
• Hazard Tracking – Field for recording hazard type (structure ready for expansion).
• Entity Cleaning – Removes HTML entities and formats text properly.
• Date Parsing – Converts publication dates to standardized format.
• Real-Time Monitoring – Get Product Recall alerts as they're published.
• Compliance Tracking – Monitor regulatory Product Recall announcements.
• Competitive Intelligence – Track competitor Product Recall activities.
• Safety Analysis – Analyze product safety trends via Product Recall data.
• Volume Tracking – Track volume of Product Recall announcements.
• Timeline Tracking – Build timeline of Product Recall events.
• Risk Assessment – Assess product safety risks via Product Recall data.
• PPE Billing Integration – Pay-per-event billing per Product Recall found.
• Charge Limit Handling – Respects user's maximum PPE charge limits.
• Proxy Support – Apify residential proxy support for reliability.
• Real-Time Dataset Push – Pushes results to Apify Dataset with metadata.
• Detailed Logging – Comprehensive logging of charges and progress.
• Asyncio-Friendly – Non-blocking async/await architecture.

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📊 Data Source

Google News RSS

• Authority: Official Google News aggregation
• Coverage: Global Product Recall announcements from thousands of news sources
• Data: Real-time recall news, articles, and announcements
• Updates: Continuously updated as news breaks
• Source: Public RSS feed, no authentication required
• Reliability: Highly reliable, comprehensive global coverage

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⚙️ How It Works

The Product Recall Monitor accepts a product name or company keyword to search for Product Recall announcements. It queries Google News RSS with the keyword combined with "recall" to find relevant announcements. For each result, it extracts key fields including title, publication date, publisher, and affected units. Product Recall items are deduplicated by title to avoid duplicates, then pushed to the dataset with PPE charging per recall. A completion summary is generated with total recalls found and charged.

Key Processing Steps:

1. Input Parsing – Accept product/company keyword
2. Proxy Setup – Configure Apify residential proxy
3. RSS Query – Build Google News RSS search URL
4. Feed Fetch – Query Google News RSS feed
5. XML Parsing – Extract item elements from RSS
6. Field Extraction – Extract title, link, date, source from each item
7. HTML Entity Decoding – Decode HTML entities in titles
8. Title Cleaning – Remove publisher suffix and normalize text
9. Date Parsing – Convert to standardized date format
10. Unit Extraction – Extract affected units from title
11. Deduplication – Check against previously seen titles
12. Recall Object Creation – Build structured recall object
13. Dataset Push – Push recall to Apify Dataset
14. PPE Charging – Charge per Product Recall found
15. Charge Limit Check – Stop if user limit reached

Key Benefits:

• Stay informed about Product Recall announcements immediately
• Monitor specific products or companies for recalls
• Track affected unit counts and severity
• Build historical Product Recall database
• Manage compliance and regulatory risks
• Protect customer safety via early alert

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📥 Input

The Actor accepts the following input parameters:

Field	Type	Default	Description
keyword	string	required	Product name or company name to monitor for Product Recall
useApifyProxy	boolean	true	Enable Apify residential proxies
apifyProxyGroups	array	["RESIDENTIAL"]	Proxy group configuration

Example Input:

{
  "keyword": "Ford",
  "useApifyProxy": true
}

Monitor Specific Product:

{
  "keyword": "Samsung battery"
}

Track Company Recalls:

{
  "keyword": "Tesla"
}

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📤 Output

The Actor pushes Product Recall records with the following structure:

Product Recall Record:

Field	Type	Description
title	string	Product Recall announcement headline
date	string	Publication date (YYYY-MM-DD)
publisher	string	News source/publisher name
units	string	Number of units affected in Product Recall
hazard	string	Type of hazard (reserved for expansion)
company	string	Affected company name
detail_url	string	Direct link to full article
source	string	Data source (Google News RSS)
keyword	string	Search keyword used
scraped_at	string	ISO 8601 scrape timestamp

Example Product Recall Record:

{
  "title": "Ford Recalls 102,000 Vehicles Due to Defective Seat Belt",
  "date": "2025-02-14",
  "publisher": "Reuters",
  "units": "102,000 vehicles",
  "hazard": "",
  "company": "Ford",
  "detail_url": "https://news.google.com/articles/CCAiC...",
  "source": "Google News RSS",
  "keyword": "Ford",
  "scraped_at": "2025-02-14T12:00:00"
}

Example Multiple Recalls (Batch):

[
  {
    "title": "General Motors Recalls 500K Chevy Bolt EVs Over Battery Fire Risk",
    "date": "2025-02-13",
    "publisher": "Associated Press",
    "units": "500,000 vehicles",
    "hazard": "",
    "company": "General Motors",
    "detail_url": "https://news.google.com/articles/...",
    "source": "Google News RSS",
    "keyword": "Chevrolet",
    "scraped_at": "2025-02-14T12:00:00"
  },
  {
    "title": "Honda Issues Safety Recall for 250K Civic Models",
    "date": "2025-02-12",
    "publisher": "Bloomberg",
    "units": "250,000 vehicles",
    "hazard": "",
    "company": "Honda",
    "detail_url": "https://news.google.com/articles/...",
    "source": "Google News RSS",
    "keyword": "Honda",
    "scraped_at": "2025-02-14T12:00:00"
  }
]

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🧰 Technical Stack

• Data Source: Google News RSS feeds
• HTTP Client: httpx for async HTTP requests
• XML Parsing: Regex-based XML extraction
• HTML Decoding: Python string replacement for entities
• Date Parsing: datetime for standardized formatting
• Query Building: urllib.parse for URL encoding
• Async: asyncio for non-blocking operations
• Deduplication: Set-based tracking
• Proxy: Apify Proxy with RESIDENTIAL configuration
• Logging: Apify Actor logging system
• Platform: Apify Actor serverless environment
• Billing: Apify PPE (Pay-Per-Event) system

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📊 Data Fields Explained

Recall Identification

• title: Complete Product Recall announcement title
• company: Affected company/manufacturer name
• keyword: Search term used to find recall

Scope Information

• units: Quantity of units affected
• hazard: Type/category of hazard (expansion field)

Timeline

• date: When Product Recall was announced
• scraped_at: When data was collected

Reference

• detail_url: Link to full article text
• publisher: News source
• source: Data origin (Google News RSS)

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🔄 Recall Types

The Product Recall Monitor tracks all Product Recall types:

Automotive Recalls

• Seat belt defects
• Battery fire risks
• Brake system failures
• Airbag malfunctions
• Engine problems

Consumer Product Recalls

• Choking hazards
• Electrical fire risks
• Chemical contamination
• Structural defects
• Injury risks

Food & Drug Recalls

• Contamination risks
• Allergen concerns
• Mislabeling issues
• Bacterial contamination
• Foreign object presence

Electronics & Appliances

• Fire hazards
• Electrical shock risks
• Burning risks
• Malfunction issues
• Safety defects

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🎯 Use Cases

• Product Safety Management – Monitor Product Recall for own products
• Compliance Tracking – Stay informed on regulatory Product Recall requirements
• Competitive Intelligence – Track competitor Product Recall announcements
• Risk Assessment – Assess product safety risks via Product Recall trends
• Supply Chain Management – Monitor supplier Product Recall incidents
• Quality Assurance – Improve QA based on Product Recall patterns
• Customer Communications – Proactively communicate about Product Recall risks
• Liability Management – Track Product Recall for liability assessment
• Insurance Management – Monitor Product Recall for insurance purposes
• Regulatory Compliance – Ensure compliance with Product Recall regulations
• Market Analysis – Analyze product safety trends via Product Recall data
• Crisis Management – Detect and respond to Product Recall crises
• Investor Relations – Inform investors about material Product Recall events
• Brand Protection – Protect brand reputation via Product Recall monitoring
• Historical Analysis – Build historical Product Recall database

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Prepare Input

Go to Apify Console and enter:

{
  "keyword": "Toyota",
  "useApifyProxy": true
}

2. Run the Actor

Click Start button. The Actor will:

• Connect to Google News RSS
• Search for product recalls matching keyword
• Extract recall details
• Deduplicate results
• Push to Dataset
• Charge per recall

3. Monitor Progress

Console shows:

[Google News RSS] Initializing secure search for: 'Toyota recall'
Apify Proxy integration loaded successfully.
Extracted 23 feed elements from the XML channel response.
✅ [CHARGED] Recall saved | Title: Toyota Recalls 1.5M Vehicles Due to... | Total charged: 1
✅ [CHARGED] Recall saved | Title: Toyota Safety Issue Affects 500K Models | Total charged: 2
✅ [CHARGED] Recall saved | Title: Toyota Announces Comprehensive Recall... | Total charged: 3
...
🎉 Done! Total recall records saved and charged: 23 | Keyword: 'Toyota'

4. View & Download Results

• Results Tab: All Product Recall records
• Export: JSON, CSV, Excel
• Filter: By date or publisher
• Sort: By units or date

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⚙️ Configuration

Product Monitoring

Specific product:

{
  "keyword": "iPhone 15"
}

Company-wide:

{
  "keyword": "Samsung"
}

Recall Categories

Automotive:

{
  "keyword": "Tesla Model S"
}

Consumer goods:

{
  "keyword": "Baby stroller"
}

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📈 Performance

Processing Speed

• ~10-20 seconds per search
• ~20-50 recalls per search
• RSS parsing overhead minimal
• Deduplication efficient

Resource Usage

• Memory: ~60-100MB
• CPU: ~25-35% during processing
• Network: ~2-3MB per search
• API calls: 1 per search

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💰 Billing

PPE (Pay-Per-Event) Billing

• Event Name: "scraped-result"
• Charge: 1 credit per Product Recall found
• Billing Trigger: Per unique recall record
• Typical Cost: 20-50 credits per search

Cost Examples

• 23 recalls × 1 credit = 23 credits
• 45 recalls × 1 credit = 45 credits
• 12 recalls × 1 credit = 12 credits

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⚠️ Important Notes

Legal & Compliance

• Fair Use: Respects Google News ToS and rate limits
• Attribution: Respects news source copyrights
• Accuracy: Data as reported by news sources
• Verification: Always verify with official sources
• Confidentiality: Respects news outlet guidelines

Data Quality

• Freshness: Real-time from Google News
• Completeness: Depends on news coverage
• Accuracy: Only as accurate as news sources
• Reliability: RSS feed stable and reliable
• Verification: Always verify with manufacturers

Best Practices

• Verify recalls with official manufacturer announcements
• Check NHTSA, CPSC, or relevant regulatory agencies
• Don't rely solely on news monitoring for compliance
• Cross-reference with regulatory recall databases
• Maintain historical Product Recall records
• Include recall data in compliance systems
• Document all Product Recall responses
• Follow up with regulatory agencies
• Implement corrective actions
• Communicate with affected customers

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📦 Changelog

v1.0.0 (February 2025)

Initial Release:

• Google News RSS feed integration
• Keyword-based search for product recalls
• RSS item extraction via regex parsing
• Title extraction and HTML entity decoding
• Link extraction for detail URLs
• Publication date extraction and parsing
• Publisher/source extraction
• Unit quantity extraction from titles
• Company/keyword identification
• Deduplication by title normalization
• Standardized date formatting (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Structured recall object creation
• Hazard field (reserved for expansion)
• Real-time feed monitoring
• PPE billing per recall
• Charge limit detection and stopping
• Apify proxy support
• Real-Time Dataset push
• Detailed progress logging
• Comprehensive error handling
• Asyncio executor support

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🧑‍💻 Support & Feedback

• Issues: Submit via Apify console with keyword
• Documentation: Check Actor details page
• Community: Apify forum discussions
• Feature Requests: Suggest improvements
• Bug Reports: Include keyword and error details

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💾 Apify Integration

Automatic Features

# Google News RSS query
url = f"https://news.google.com/rss/search?q={quote_plus(keyword + ' recall')}"

# Recall data push
await Actor.push_data(lead)

# PPE charging
charge_result = await Actor.charge(event_name="scraped-result")

Output Access

• Results Tab: All Product Recall records
• Export: JSON, CSV, Excel
• Filter: By publisher or date
• API: Query via Apify API

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📄 License & Legal

Terms of Use:

• Use for legitimate safety and compliance monitoring
• Respect Google News ToS and policies
• Respect news source copyrights
• Don't republish without permission
• Comply with applicable laws
• Use data responsibly for safety purposes

Disclaimer: Product Recall Monitor is provided as-is for monitoring purposes. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with Google News ToS and applicable recall regulations. Always verify recall information with official manufacturer and regulatory sources.

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🎉 Get Started Today

Deploy now for Product Recall monitoring!

Use for:

• 📊 Safety Monitoring
• 🔍 Compliance Tracking
• 💡 Risk Assessment
• 📈 Trend Analysis
• 🎯 Alert Management

Perfect for:

• Manufacturers
• Compliance Officers
• Product Managers
• Safety Teams
• Regulatory Officers

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Last Updated: February 2025
Version: 1.0.0
Status: Production Ready
Platform: Apify Actor
Architecture: Async/Await
Data Source: Google News RSS

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Your complete Apify-powered Product Recall monitoring solution! 🚀✨

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⚠️ Product Recall Excellence

This Actor is optimized for Product Recall monitoring with:

• ✅ Real-time Google News integration
• ✅ Recall news filtering
• ✅ Unit extraction
• ✅ Publisher tracking
• ✅ Date standardization
• ✅ Deduplication
• ✅ PPE billing support
• ✅ Real-time Dataset push
• ✅ Error recovery
• ✅ Production-ready code

Monitor product recalls effortlessly! 💎🚀