# FDA Recalls Scraper: Food, Drug and Device Recalls (`my_agent_c/fda-recalls-scraper`) Actor

Get FDA recall reports for food, drugs and medical devices from openFDA: firm, product, reason, class, status and dates. Filter by keyword, recall class and report date, and run a monitoring mode for new recalls.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/my_agent_c/fda-recalls-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [My Agent C](https://apify.com/my_agent_c) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.10 / 1,000 recalls

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

## FDA Recalls Scraper

Get FDA recall reports for food, drugs and medical devices: the recalling firm, product, reason, recall class (Class I is the most serious), status and dates. Filter by keyword, class and report date, and run it on a schedule to catch new recalls.

- **Three recall types:** food, drug and medical device.
- **Filters:** keywords in the product or reason, recall class, and reported since a date.
- **Monitoring:** turn on "Only new recalls" and schedule a run.

### How to use it

1. Pick a recall type, then add keywords or a class if you want a narrower list.
2. Optional: paste a free openFDA key from open.fda.gov/apis/authentication to raise your daily limit.
3. Run it, then download the recalls as JSON, CSV or Excel, or use the API.

#### Input example

```json
{
  "dataset": "food",
  "keywords": ["milk", "peanut"],
  "classification": "Class I",
  "reportedSince": "2026-01-01",
  "maxRecords": 200
}
```

### Good to know

- **Official data.** openFDA publishes recall reports as public domain (CC0). No sign-in is needed.
- **Reports, not final decisions.** openFDA says its data is unvalidated, so check the source before acting on a recall.
- **Daily limit.** Without a key the limit is shared with other users on the same network, so add your free key for reliable runs.
- **Cost.** Each recall costs $0.0001, so 1,000 recalls cost $0.10, plus $0.005 per run.
- **Cost limit.** If you set a maximum cost for a run, the scraper stops cleanly when it reaches it.

### FAQ

**Why does a run return nothing?** The search has no matches (openFDA answers 404 for that), or the recalls are older than your start date.

### Pricing

FDA Recalls Scraper uses pay per event. You pay $0.005 to start a run and $0.0001 for each recall, so 1,000 recalls cost about $0.105. There is no monthly fee. Set a maximum cost on a run and it stops cleanly when it reaches it.

### Use cases

- Get an alert when a food, drug or device recall matches your products or suppliers.
- Track Class I recalls, the most serious kind, across all three categories.
- Build a compliance or quality log of recalls by firm and reason.
- Research recall trends by product type over time.

### Use it from Python or JavaScript

Every Apify actor has an API. Replace the token with yours from the Apify Console.

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("My_agent_C/fda-recalls-scraper").call(run_input={
  "dataset": "food",
  "keywords": ["milk", "peanut"],
  "classification": "Class I",
  "reportedSince": "2026-01-01",
  "maxRecords": 200
})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
```

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('My_agent_C/fda-recalls-scraper').call({
  "dataset": "food",
  "keywords": ["milk", "peanut"],
  "classification": "Class I",
  "reportedSince": "2026-01-01",
  "maxRecords": 200
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

You can also run it on a schedule, send results to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make or n8n, or call it from an AI agent through the Apify MCP server.

#### More questions

**How do I get FDA recall data?** Pick food, drug or device, add optional keywords, class and a start date, and run the actor. It reads the official openFDA enforcement data.

**What do Class I, II and III mean?** Class I is the most serious: a reasonable chance of serious harm. Class II is less serious, and Class III is unlikely to cause harm.

**Can I monitor new FDA recalls automatically?** Yes. Turn on Only new recalls and schedule a daily run. Each run returns only recalls you have not received before.

### More scrapers by the same author

- [Shopify Products Scraper: Prices, Stock and Change Feed](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/shopify-products-scraper)
- [Product Hunt Launches Scraper: New Launches Feed](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/product-hunt-launches-scraper)
- [Hacker News Stories Scraper: Top, New and Show HN](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/hacker-news-stories-scraper)
- [SEC EDGAR Filings Scraper: 8-K, 10-K and Insider Forms](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/sec-edgar-filings-scraper)
- [Bluesky Posts Scraper: Public Posts by Account](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/bluesky-posts-scraper)
- [Greenhouse Jobs Scraper: Open Roles by Company](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/greenhouse-jobs-scraper)
- [GLEIF LEI Company Search: Legal Entity Records](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/gleif-lei-companies-scraper)
- [OpenAlex Works Scraper: Research Papers by Topic](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/openalex-works-scraper)
- [Companies House Company Search: UK Register](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/companies-house-companies-scraper)
- [Remote Jobs Scraper: Remote OK and Jobicy Listings](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/remote-jobs-scraper)
- [Ashby and Lever Jobs Scraper: Open Roles by Company](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/ashby-lever-jobs-scraper)

Found a problem or want a field added? Open an issue on the Issues tab. Replies usually come within a day.

# Actor input Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Food, drug or medical device recalls.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Only recalls whose product or reason contains one of these words (not case sensitive).

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

Class I is the most serious. Leave on Any for all classes.

## `reportedSince` (type: `string`):

Only recalls reported on or after this date.

## `apiKey` (type: `string`):

A free key from open.fda.gov/apis/authentication raises the daily limit. Without one the limit is shared with everyone on the same network.

## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`):

How many recalls to return in one run, up to 5,000.

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

Skip recalls this Actor already returned to you in earlier runs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "dataset": "food",
  "classification": "",
  "maxRecords": 200,
  "onlyNew": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `recalls` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (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("my_agent_c/fda-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("my_agent_c/fda-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 my_agent_c/fda-recalls-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,my_agent_c/fda-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/zgzpdVUCO1AMdK0bc/builds/KQYZ4mmVEui7AK1k2/openapi.json