# FDA Drug Recall Scraper — Compliance & Safety Data (`fervent_bus/fda-drug-recall-scraper`) Actor

Scrape FDA drug recall records from openFDA enforcement database. Get recall classification (Class I/II/III), recalling firm, product description, reason for recall, distribution pattern, dates, brand/generic names. No API key needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fervent\_bus/fda-drug-recall-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Archit Khurana](https://apify.com/fervent_bus) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Drug Recall Scraper

> Extract US FDA drug recall records from the official openFDA enforcement database — no API key required.

### Overview

The **FDA Drug Recall Scraper** pulls recall enforcement data directly from the US Food and Drug Administration's [openFDA API](https://open.fda.gov/apis/drug/enforcement/). It returns structured, clean JSON with firm names, classification, reason for recall, product descriptions, distribution patterns, dates, and more.

**Perfect for:**

- Pharmaceutical compliance teams monitoring competitor recalls
- Healthcare legal & regulatory analysts
- Medical sales intelligence and lead generation
- Supply chain risk management
- Public health researchers
- AI agents doing drug safety research

### What data you get

Each record includes:

- `eventId` — FDA event identifier
- `recallingFirm` — Company issuing the recall
- `classification` — Class I (life-threatening), Class II (moderate risk), or Class III (low risk)
- `productDescription` — Full product description
- `reasonForRecall` — Why the product was recalled
- `distributionPattern` — Where the product was distributed (e.g. "Nationwide")
- `recallInitiationDate` — When recall started
- `status` — Ongoing, Terminated, or Completed
- `brandName` / `genericName` — Drug names (when available from openFDA)
- `city`, `state`, `country`, `postalCode` — Firm location
- `voluntaryMandated` — Whether firm-initiated or FDA-mandated
- `fdaSourceUrl` — Link to FDA safety page
- `scrapedAt` — ISO timestamp of scrape

### Example input

```json
{
  "classification": "Class I",
  "productType": "Drugs",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "recallingFirmSearch": "",
  "fromDate": "2023-01-01",
  "toDate": "2024-12-31",
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

### Example output

```json
{
  "eventId": 87234,
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "classification": "Class I",
  "productType": "Drugs",
  "recallingFirm": "Acme Pharma Inc.",
  "city": "Chicago",
  "state": "IL",
  "country": "United States",
  "productDescription": "Metformin HCl Extended-Release Tablets, 500 mg",
  "reasonForRecall": "Presence of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) impurity",
  "recallInitiationDate": "20230315",
  "distributionPattern": "Nationwide",
  "voluntaryMandated": "Voluntary: Firm initiated",
  "brandName": "Glucophage",
  "genericName": "metformin",
  "scrapedAt": "2024-08-16T12:00:00+00:00"
}
```

### Use cases / queries this actor ranks for

- "fda drug recall data api"
- "fda enforcement database scraper"
- "pharmaceutical recall list download"
- "openfda recall scraper no api key"
- "drug recall monitoring tool"
- "fda class i recall data export"
- "pharmaceutical compliance data collection"
- "medical product recall history csv"
- "fda drug enforcement records B2B"
- "drug recall alert automation AI agent"

### Works with AI agents

This actor is compatible with Claude, ChatGPT, and any MCP-enabled agent for drug safety research, regulatory compliance checks, and pharmaceutical lead generation.

### Tags

`fda`, `drug-recall`, `pharmaceutical`, `compliance`, `government-data`, `healthcare`, `regulatory`, `openFDA`, `enforcement`, `safety`

# Actor input Schema

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

Filter by FDA recall classification. Class I = dangerous/defective. Class II = may cause temporary adverse effects. Class III = unlikely to cause harm. Leave blank for all.

## `productType` (type: `string`):

Filter by product type.

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

Filter by recall status.

## `recallingFirmSearch` (type: `string`):

Search for recalls by a specific company name (partial match). E.g. 'Pfizer' or 'Johnson'.

## `fromDate` (type: `string`):

Filter recalls initiated on or after this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. E.g. 2023-01-01

## `toDate` (type: `string`):

Filter recalls initiated on or before this date. Format: YYYY-MM-DD. E.g. 2024-12-31

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

Maximum number of recall records to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "classification": "",
  "productType": "Drugs",
  "status": "",
  "recallingFirmSearch": "",
  "fromDate": "",
  "toDate": "",
  "maxResults": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `eventId` (type: `string`):

No description

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

No description

## `recallingFirm` (type: `string`):

No description

## `productDescription` (type: `string`):

No description

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

No description

## `reasonForRecall` (type: `string`):

No description

## `scrapedAt` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "maxResults": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fervent_bus/fda-drug-recall-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 = { "maxResults": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fervent_bus/fda-drug-recall-scraper").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 '{
  "maxResults": 10
}' |
apify call fervent_bus/fda-drug-recall-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

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/Ana58eVv39VIRLV94/builds/ZNyFqrI09oIgJppjd/openapi.json