# Health Canada Drug & Recall Lookup (DIN, Brand, Ingredient) (`green_trousers/canada-drug-recall-lookup`) Actor

Batch-check Canadian drugs and recalls: look up DINs, search Health Canada's Drug Product Database by brand or ingredient, and search all official Government of Canada recalls (food, drugs, devices, vehicles, consumer products). Pay only for lookups that find data. Works for AI agents too.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/green_trousers/canada-drug-recall-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Omar Prime](https://apify.com/green_trousers) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 lookups

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

## Health Canada Drug & Recall Lookup (DIN, Brand, Ingredient)

Batch-check Canadian drugs and recalls in one run, straight from official Government of Canada open data:

- **DIN lookup:** brand, company, marketing status, active ingredients and strengths, dosage form, route, schedule and ATC class from Health Canada's Drug Product Database.
- **Drug search:** find every Canadian product by brand name (Ozempic) or active ingredient (semaglutide), optionally only those currently marketed.
- **Recall search:** match words against all Government of Canada recalls and safety alerts (CFIA food, drugs and health products, medical devices, consumer products, Transport Canada vehicles), newest first.

Built for pharmacy, telehealth, retail and procurement teams, and for **AI agents**: it runs as a normal batch Actor, so agents can call it with Apify's per-request agentic payments. Want it as a live MCP server instead? Use [Canada Drugs & Recalls MCP Server](https://apify.com/green_trousers/canada-drug-recall-mcp).

### Input

```json
{
  "dins": ["02471469"],
  "drugSearches": ["Ozempic"],
  "searchBy": "brand",
  "recallSearches": ["peanut", "insulin pump"],
  "recallCategory": "any",
  "recallsSince": "2026-01-01",
  "maxResultsPerSearch": 10
}
```

### Output

One item per lookup:

```json
{
  "type": "din",
  "query": "02471469",
  "found": true,
  "results": [{
    "din": "02471469",
    "brand_name": "OZEMPIC",
    "company": "NOVO NORDISK CANADA INC",
    "status": "Marketed",
    "active_ingredients": [{ "name": "SEMAGLUTIDE", "strength": "1.34 MG" }],
    "schedules": ["SCHEDULE D", "PRESCRIPTION"],
    "source": "https://health-products.canada.ca/dpd-bdpp/info?lang=eng&code=..."
  }]
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event: **$0.01 per lookup that finds data** (1,000 lookups = $10). Lookups that find nothing, or fail, are free.

### Notes

Data comes from Health Canada's public Drug Product Database API and the Government of Canada recalls open-data feed (updated daily). This is reference data, not medical advice.

# Actor input Schema

## `dins` (type: `array`):

8-digit Drug Identification Numbers. Each DIN is one lookup.

## `drugSearches` (type: `array`):

Brand names (e.g. Ozempic) or ingredients (e.g. semaglutide), depending on 'Search drugs by'. Each search is one lookup.

## `searchBy` (type: `string`):

Whether drug searches match brand names or active ingredients.

## `marketedOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Skip products that are cancelled or dormant in Canada.

## `recallSearches` (type: `array`):

Words to match in Government of Canada recalls, e.g. peanut, insulin pump, crib, Ford F-150. Each search is one lookup.

## `recallCategory` (type: `string`):

Limit recall searches to one agency or product type.

## `recallsSince` (type: `string`):

Only recalls updated on or after this date, YYYY-MM-DD.

## `includeArchived` (type: `boolean`):

Also search recalls Health Canada has archived.

## `maxResultsPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

Cap on products or recalls returned per search.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "dins": [
    "02471469"
  ],
  "drugSearches": [],
  "searchBy": "brand",
  "marketedOnly": true,
  "recallSearches": [
    "peanut"
  ],
  "recallCategory": "any",
  "includeArchived": false,
  "maxResultsPerSearch": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "dins": [
        "02471469"
    ],
    "recallSearches": [
        "peanut"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("green_trousers/canada-drug-recall-lookup").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 = {
    "dins": ["02471469"],
    "recallSearches": ["peanut"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("green_trousers/canada-drug-recall-lookup").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 '{
  "dins": [
    "02471469"
  ],
  "recallSearches": [
    "peanut"
  ]
}' |
apify call green_trousers/canada-drug-recall-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/3Ng7L996fi121X2G6/builds/CLenqxBJ1eY9IGXng/openapi.json