💊 FDA Data Scraper — openFDA Recalls, Adverse Events & Drug Labels API

Scrape FDA drug, device and food data straight from the official openFDA API — drug recalls, drug adverse events (20M+ records), drug labels, device recalls, device adverse events (24M+ records), 510(k) clearances and food recalls. This FDA data scraper needs no login and no API key, and one run can return tens of thousands of structured records ready to export to JSON, CSV or Excel.

Because it reads the official openFDA API, results are reliable and don't break with website redesigns. Use openFDA's powerful search syntax to filter by recalling firm, classification, date range and more, and schedule the Actor to keep an always-current FDA enforcement and safety feed.

✨ What this Actor does / Key features

• Official openFDA API — 100% reliable, never blocked, no fragile HTML parsing.
• No API key, no login — just configure and run.
• Nine FDA datasets — drug recalls, drug adverse events, drug labels, device recalls, device adverse events, device 510(k) clearances, food recalls, food adverse events and animal & veterinary adverse events.
• Massive scale — 20M+ drug adverse events, 24M+ device adverse events; tens of thousands of records per run.
• Powerful filtering — use openFDA search syntax to filter by recalling_firm, classification, report_date ranges and any other field.
• Adjustable run size — set maxRecords to cap the run or 0 to pull everything available for the query.
• Structured, export-ready output — flat JSON records, perfect for JSON, CSV, Excel, databases or BI tools.
• Built for scheduling — recalls and adverse events update constantly; run on a schedule for a fresh feed.

🔍 Input

Field	Type	Description
dataset	string (enum)	Which openFDA dataset to scrape: drug/enforcement (drug recalls), drug/event (drug adverse events, 20M+), drug/label (drug labels), device/recall, device/event (device adverse events, 24M+), device/510k (510(k) clearances), food/enforcement (food recalls), food/event (food adverse events), animalandveterinary/event. Default drug/enforcement.
searchQuery	string	Optional openFDA search filter, e.g. classification:"Class I", recalling_firm:pfizer, or report_date:[20260101+TO+20261231]. Leave empty for all records.
maxRecords	integer	Maximum records to save. 0 = all available for the query (up to ~26,000 per query — narrow with searchQuery for more). Minimum 0.

🚀 Example input

{
  "dataset": "drug/enforcement",
  "searchQuery": "classification:\"Class I\"",
  "maxRecords": 10000
}

Pull all device recalls for a specific firm:

{
  "dataset": "device/recall",
  "searchQuery": "recalling_firm:medtronic",
  "maxRecords": 0
}

🚀 How to use

1. Pick a dataset — choose from the dataset dropdown (drug recalls, drug/device adverse events, drug labels, device 510(k) clearances, food recalls, and more).
2. Add a filter (optional) — narrow the pull with searchQuery using openFDA syntax, e.g. classification:"Class I" or recalling_firm:pfizer.
3. Set the run size — maxRecords caps the run; set 0 to pull everything available for your query.
4. Click Start — the Actor calls the official openFDA API and streams structured records into the dataset.
5. Export — download as CSV, JSON, Excel or XML, or pull via the Apify API / webhooks / Google Sheets.

No code, no API key and no login required.

📦 What you get (output)

Each item in the dataset is one FDA record. Output is flat, structured JSON. The fields below are the common enforcement/recall fields surfaced across datasets; the exact fields available depend on the chosen dataset.

Field	Description
_dataset	The openFDA dataset this record came from (e.g. drug/enforcement).
recalling_firm	Name of the firm that initiated the recall.
product_description	Description of the recalled or reported product.
reason_for_recall	Stated reason for the recall.
classification	FDA recall classification (Class I, II or III).
status	Recall status (e.g. Ongoing, Completed, Terminated).
city	City of the recalling firm.
state	State of the recalling firm.
country	Country of the recalling firm.
recall_number	FDA's unique recall identifier.
report_date	Date the recall was reported.
recall_initiation_date	Date the recall was initiated.
product_type	Product type (Drugs, Devices, Food, etc.).
scrapedAt	ISO timestamp of when the record was scraped.

Example output record

{
  "_dataset": "drug/enforcement",
  "recalling_firm": "Example Pharma Inc.",
  "product_description": "Example Drug 10mg Tablets",
  "reason_for_recall": "Failed dissolution specifications",
  "classification": "Class I",
  "status": "Ongoing",
  "city": "Trenton",
  "state": "NJ",
  "country": "United States",
  "recall_number": "D-1234-2026",
  "report_date": "20260115",
  "recall_initiation_date": "20260108",
  "product_type": "Drugs",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-05-15T08:30:00.000Z"
}

💡 Use cases

• Product-liability & drug-injury law firms — monitor recalls and adverse events at scale to identify cases.
• Pharma & medical-device safety teams — track competitor recalls and adverse-event reports.
• Compliance & regulatory teams — maintain an always-current FDA enforcement feed for your product categories.
• Health-tech companies & researchers — build research datasets from FDA's open data.
• Insurers & risk analysts — quantify recall frequency and severity by firm, product type and classification.
• Journalists & watchdogs — surface Class I recalls and safety trends as they're reported.

❓ FAQ

Do I need an FDA or openFDA API key?

No. The Actor uses the public openFDA API, which is accessible without an API key, account or login. You can optionally add a free openFDA key for higher rate limits, but it is not required.

Is it legal to scrape FDA data?

Yes — openFDA is the FDA's official open-data API, intended for public programmatic access. You are responsible for how you use and present the data.

Which FDA datasets can I scrape?

Nine: drug recalls (enforcement), drug adverse events (20M+), drug labels, device recalls, device adverse events (24M+), device 510(k) clearances, food recalls, food adverse events, and animal & veterinary adverse events.

How much data can I get in one run?

Tens of thousands of records. openFDA caps a single query at roughly 26,000 records — to extract more, split your work with narrower searchQuery filters (e.g. by date range or firm) across multiple runs.

How do I filter FDA recalls or adverse events?

Use the searchQuery field with openFDA's search syntax. Examples: classification:"Class I", recalling_firm:pfizer, report_date:[20260101+TO+20261231]. Leave it empty to pull everything.

How fast is it and does it get blocked?

It's fast and reliable — because it uses the official API there are no captchas or anti-bot blocks. Cost depends only on the Apify compute used.

Can I schedule it and what export formats are supported?

Yes. Schedule it on Apify to keep recalls and adverse events continuously up to date. Results export to JSON, CSV, Excel or XML, or via the Apify API.

⏰ Scheduling & integration

Schedule this Actor on Apify to run daily for an always-fresh FDA recalls and adverse-events feed. Export results to JSON, CSV or Excel, pull them through the Apify API, or connect the dataset to Google Sheets, webhooks or your compliance and analytics pipelines.

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Changelog

2026-06-05

• 🛡️ Reliability fix: results are no longer dropped by strict output validation — runs now complete cleanly even at high volume (thousands of results).
• ⚡ Stability & performance hardening; fresh rebuild.

• 2026-06-01 — Maintenance & reliability pass: pulled the latest source and rebuilt the Actor on the current base image; build verified.

• 2026-05-25 — Maintenance & reliability pass: pulled the latest source and rebuilt the Actor on the current base image; build verified.

• 2026-05-20 — Maintenance pass: reviewed the input schema and default values for a smooth one-click start, and rebuilt the Actor on the latest base image.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-01.

📝 Changelog

2026-06-04

• Verified live & refreshed build — reliability/maintenance pass.