# US FDA Recalls Monitor - Food, Drugs & Devices (`plainfetch-data/us-fda-recalls`) Actor

Every FDA recall (food, supplements, drugs, medical devices) from openFDA enforcement reports in one clean schema. Filter by date, Class I/II/III, keyword, firm and the US states it shipped to. For retailers, pharmacies, distributors, compliance and news teams.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/plainfetch-data/us-fda-recalls.md
- **Developed by:** [Plainfetch](https://apify.com/plainfetch-data) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## 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

## US FDA Recalls Monitor: Food, Drugs & Medical Devices

Every FDA recall (food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, animal food, drugs and medical devices) from the official **openFDA enforcement reports**, in **one clean schema** across all three product types. Filter by:

- report date or "last N days",
- **Class I / II / III**,
- keyword (listeria, salmonella, undeclared peanut, sterility…),
- recalling firm,
- **the US states the product shipped to**. Each row has a parsed `distributedToStates` list plus a `nationwide` flag.

Built for grocery and pharmacy retailers, distributors, restaurant groups, compliance teams, journalists, law firms and AI agents. Schedule it daily to get a "new recalls that hit my states" feed.

### What one row looks like

```json
{"recallNumber":"F-0123-2027","productType":"food","classification":"Class I","status":"Ongoing","reportDate":"2026-10-14","recallingFirm":"Example Foods LLC","productDescription":"…","reasonForRecall":"Potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination","distributedToStates":["CA","NV","TX"],"nationwide":false,"fdaEventUrl":"https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/index.cfm?Event=99872"}
```

### Examples

- Daily Class I alert for Texas and California: `{"daysBack":1,"classifications":["Class I"],"distributedToStates":["TX","CA"]}`
- Listeria and salmonella food recalls this year: `{"productTypes":["food"],"reportDateFrom":"2026-01-01","keywords":["listeria","salmonella"]}`
- Medical-device recalls by one firm: `{"productTypes":["device"],"firmContains":"Medtronic","daysBack":365}`

### Notes

- Dates are the FDA **enforcement report** dates. The FDA publishes these weekly, so a recall can appear a few days after the firm's press release.
- State matching parses the FDA's free-text distribution pattern. "Count nationwide recalls as matching" is on by default.
- Without a key, openFDA allows about 1,000 requests a day per IP, and one run uses about 1 request per 1,000 rows. Add a free openFDA key if you run large backfills.

### How to use it

Pick the product types, a date window and any filters (class, keyword, firm, states), then click **Start**. Download the dataset as CSV, Excel or JSON, or connect it to Google Sheets, Slack or a webhook with Apify integrations.

### Input

| Field | Name | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| `productTypes` | Product types | array | Which FDA enforcement reports to include. |
| `daysBack` | Last N days | integer | Recalls reported in the last N days. Ignored if 'Report date from' is set. |
| `reportDateFrom` | Report date from (YYYY-MM-DD) | string | Start of the FDA report-date window. |
| `reportDateTo` | Report date to (YYYY-MM-DD) | string | End of the window (default today). |
| `classifications` | Classification | array | Class I = most serious (risk of serious harm or death). |
| `keywords` | Keywords | array | Match in product description or reason, e.g. listeria, salmonella, peanut, insulin pump, sterility. |
| `firmContains` | Recalling firm | string | Only recalls by this firm (FDA full-text match). |
| `distributedToStates` | Distributed to US states | array | Two-letter codes, e.g. TX, CA. Parsed from the FDA distribution pattern text. |
| `includeNationwide` | Count nationwide recalls as matching | boolean | When filtering by state, keep recalls distributed nationwide. |
| `status` | Status | string | Recall status filter (empty = any). |
| `maxItems` | Max items | integer | Upper bound on rows. |
| `apiKey` | openFDA API key (optional) | string | Free key from open.fda.gov raises the daily request limit. Not needed for normal runs. |

### Output fields

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `recallNumber` | FDA recall number |
| `productType` | food, drug or device |
| `classification` | Class I, II or III |
| `status` | Ongoing, Completed, Terminated |
| `reportDate` | FDA enforcement report date |
| `recallInitiationDate` | Date the firm started the recall |
| `classificationDate` | Date FDA classified it |
| `terminationDate` | Date terminated, if any |
| `recallingFirm` | Firm |
| `firmCity` | Firm city |
| `firmState` | Firm state |
| `firmCountry` | Firm country |
| `productDescription` | Product description incl. sizes/UPC |
| `reasonForRecall` | Reason |
| `productQuantity` | Quantity recalled |
| `codeInfo` | Lot / expiry codes |
| `distributionPattern` | FDA distribution text |
| `distributedToStates` | US state codes parsed from distribution text |
| `nationwide` | Distributed nationwide |
| `voluntaryMandated` | Voluntary or FDA mandated |
| `initialFirmNotification` | How customers were notified |
| `eventId` | FDA recall event ID |
| `brandName` | Brand (drugs, from openFDA) |
| `genericName` | Generic name (drugs) |
| `productNdc` | NDC codes (drugs) |
| `deviceName` | Device name (devices) |
| `deviceClass` | Device class (devices) |
| `fdaEventUrl` | FDA recall event page |
| `source` | Data source |

### Use it from the API

Run it from your own code with the Apify API (replace `$APIFY_TOKEN` with your own token):

```
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/plainfetch-data~us-fda-recalls/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"productTypes":["food"],"classifications":["Class I"],"daysBack":7}'
```

It also works with the Apify Python and JavaScript clients, Make, Zapier, n8n and MCP-based AI agents.

### FAQ

**Where does the data come from?**
The official openFDA enforcement-report endpoints for food, drugs and devices. Each row links to the FDA recall event.

**How do I get only the most serious recalls?**
Set `classifications` to `["Class I"]`. Class I means a reasonable chance of serious harm or death.

**Can I get a daily feed for my states?**
Yes. Use `daysBack: 1` (or 7 for weekly) with `distributedToStates`, and schedule the Actor in Apify Schedules.

**Do I need an API key?**
No. An optional free openFDA key only raises the daily request limit for large backfills.

**Why is a recall missing that was in the news today?**
The FDA adds recalls to enforcement reports weekly, so a recall can appear a few days after the firm's press release.

### Pricing

Free while in beta: you pay only your Apify platform usage. Pay-per-event pricing may be added later, with the advance notice Apify requires.

### Data source

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (https://open.fda.gov/apis/), released under CC0. openFDA terms: https://open.fda.gov/terms/. The FDA says not to rely on openFDA for medical decisions.
Plainfetch is an independent tool. It isn't affiliated with or endorsed by the FDA.

### Local development

```
pip install -r requirements.txt pytest
python -m pytest tests
python -m src   # reads storage/key_value_stores/default/INPUT.json
```

# Actor input Schema

## `productTypes` (type: `array`):

Which FDA enforcement reports to include.

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

Recalls reported in the last N days. Ignored if 'Report date from' is set.

## `reportDateFrom` (type: `string`):

Start of the FDA report-date window.

## `reportDateTo` (type: `string`):

End of the window (default today).

## `classifications` (type: `array`):

Class I = most serious (risk of serious harm or death).

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

Match in product description or reason, e.g. listeria, salmonella, peanut, insulin pump, sterility.

## `firmContains` (type: `string`):

Only recalls by this firm (FDA full-text match).

## `distributedToStates` (type: `array`):

Two-letter codes, e.g. TX, CA. Parsed from the FDA distribution pattern text.

## `includeNationwide` (type: `boolean`):

When filtering by state, keep recalls distributed nationwide.

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

Recall status filter (empty = any).

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

Upper bound on rows.

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

Free key from open.fda.gov raises the daily request limit. Not needed for normal runs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "productTypes": [
    "food",
    "drug",
    "device"
  ],
  "daysBack": 30,
  "includeNationwide": true,
  "maxItems": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One row per FDA recall, newest first per product type.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

SUMMARY record: row counts per product type and the filters used.

# 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 = {
    "productTypes": [
        "food",
        "drug",
        "device"
    ],
    "daysBack": 30
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("plainfetch-data/us-fda-recalls").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 = {
    "productTypes": [
        "food",
        "drug",
        "device",
    ],
    "daysBack": 30,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("plainfetch-data/us-fda-recalls").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 '{
  "productTypes": [
    "food",
    "drug",
    "device"
  ],
  "daysBack": 30
}' |
apify call plainfetch-data/us-fda-recalls --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,plainfetch-data/us-fda-recalls"
        }
    }
}
```

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/chBRmxqwrm4a0bw2Y/builds/JS9M9EbjAlJMOSwUa/openapi.json