# FDA Drug Recalls, Safety Enforcements & NDC Scraper (`litezero/fda-drug-recalls-scraper`) Actor

Extract official FDA enforcement reports, drug recall actions, Class I/II/III hazard classifications, recalling pharmaceutical firms, NDC product codes, and recall reasons from openFDA.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/litezero/fda-drug-recalls-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [LiteZero](https://apify.com/litezero) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, AI, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.05 / 1,000 item scrapeds

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 Drug Recalls, Safety Enforcements & NDC Alert Scraper

Extract real-time US FDA drug recall enforcement reports, pharmaceutical safety actions, lot numbers, product descriptions, and severity classifications directly from the official [openFDA](https://open.fda.gov) database.

***

### ⚡ Key Capabilities

- **Official openFDA Integration**: Direct access to verified federal enforcement actions and drug recall records with 100% accuracy.
- **Classification & Severity Filtering**: Filter by Class I (dangerous or defective, risk of death), Class II (temporary health problems), or Class III (unlikely adverse consequences).
- **Status & Scope Tracking**: Track active/ongoing recalls vs completed/terminated actions, including recall distribution patterns across states or nationwide.
- **NDC & Pharmaceutical Identifiers**: Normalized mapping of National Drug Code (NDC), manufacturer names, generic names, and dosage routes.
- **Pay-Per-Result Pricing**: Only pay **$1.50 per 1,000 recall records** retrieved.

***

### 📊 Comparison with Alternatives

| Feature | 💊 FDA Recalls Scraper | Manual FDA Website Search | Enterprise Pharma Feeds |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| **Automation** | Batch API calls & webhooks | Manual PDF / table review | $5,000+ annual subscriptions |
| **Data Format** | Clean JSON / CSV / Excel | HTML tables | Proprietary XML |
| **Real-Time Alerts** | Scheduled monitoring | None (must check manually) | Daily digest emails |
| **Pricing** | **$1.50 / 1,000 records** | Time-intensive manual labor | Expensive recurring contracts |

***

### 📥 Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|:---:|:---:|---|
| `searchQuery` | `string` | `""` | Keyword to search in product descriptions or reasons for recall. |
| `classification` | `string` | `"all"` | Filter by severity: `Class I`, `Class II`, `Class III`, or `all`. |
| `status` | `string` | `"Ongoing"` | Filter by status: `Ongoing`, `Completed`, `Terminated`, or `all`. |
| `maxItems` | `number` | `50` | Maximum number of recall reports to retrieve. |

***

### 📤 Output Sample

```json
{
  "recallNumber": "D-321-2016",
  "eventId": "73291",
  "classification": "Class II",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "recallingFirm": "Pharma Med Inc.",
  "productDescription": "Progesterone 100 mg/mL in Corn Oil Injection, 2 mL vials, Lot #48291",
  "reasonForRecall": "Lack of Assurance of Sterility",
  "distributionPattern": "Nationwide within the USA",
  "productType": "Drugs",
  "voluntaryMandated": "Voluntary: Firm Initiated",
  "recallInitiationDate": "2026-02-15",
  "openfda": {
    "brandName": ["Progesterone"],
    "genericName": ["PROGESTERONE"],
    "manufacturerName": ["Pharma Med Inc."],
    "productNdc": ["12345-678"],
    "route": ["INTRAMUSCULAR"]
  },
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-03T08:00:00.000Z"
}
```

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Keywords to search in product descriptions or reasons for recall (e.g. 'injection', 'metformin', 'sterile'). Leave blank for all recent.

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

Filter by recall severity: Class I (most severe), Class II, Class III, or all.

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

Filter by recall status (Ongoing, Completed, Terminated, or all).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of recall reports to retrieve.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "classification": "all",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("litezero/fda-drug-recalls-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("litezero/fda-drug-recalls-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 '{}' |
apify call litezero/fda-drug-recalls-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,litezero/fda-drug-recalls-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/nMPAH5c9lJeQgRKwx/builds/ygvQzK1Ogtu9xrI9j/openapi.json