FDA Recalls Scraper: Food, Drug & Medical Device Recall Alerts

Get FDA food, drug and medical device recalls as clean rows, with classification, reason, affected product, distribution and hazard tags, plus new-recall alerts.

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What it does and who it is for

This Actor reads the FDA enforcement reports (food, drug and medical device recalls) from the official openFDA API and returns one flat record per recalled product: recall number, classification (Class I, II or III), status, report and initiation dates, recalling firm and location, product description and quantity, lot and code information, recall reason, voluntary or mandated, distribution pattern, a nationwide flag and a link to the FDA record. Drug and device records also include fields such as NDC codes, active ingredients and device name when FDA provides them.

Filter by product type, classification, keyword (for example "listeria" or "undeclared peanut"), recalling firm, firm state, ongoing-only and report date range. Turn on Only new to get each recall once.

Use cases

• Food manufacturers, grocers and retailers: watch for recalls of products you stock or the ingredients you use.
• Compliance, quality and regulatory teams: track Class I recalls in your category.
• Law firms and insurers: early notice of recalls tied to a product or firm.
• Hospitals, pharmacies and distributors: monitor drug and device recalls.
• Journalists and consumer safety groups: a daily feed of new recalls.
• AI agents: answer "any new Class I food recalls for undeclared allergens this week?".

Why use this instead of the free official site or API

The underlying data is public and the official sources are free. What this Actor adds is convenience: the raw enforcement data comes back flat, filtered and ready to alert on.

What you need	Official site / API	This Actor
Searching three recall datasets	openFDA has separate food, drug and device endpoints with their own field sets	One input searches any combination and returns one common record format
Readable hazard categories	Free-text reason field	Adds hazardTags (for example undeclared ingredient or allergen) and an isNationwide flag derived from the distribution text
Query syntax	openFDA search syntax and paging limits to learn	Plain input fields: keyword, firm, state, class, dates
Only new recalls	You track recall numbers yourself	Only new mode with a named alert

If you only need a single lookup now and then, the official site is fine. If you want the same data on a schedule, as flat rows you can feed to a spreadsheet, CRM or agent, this saves the glue work.

Data fields

Field	Type	What it contains
recallNumber	text	FDA recall number, unique per product recall.
eventId	text	FDA recall event ID; one event can include several products.
productType	text	food, drug or device.
classification	text	Class I, Class II or Class III.
status	text	Ongoing, Completed or Terminated.
reportDate	date	Date of the FDA enforcement report that listed the recall.
recallInitiationDate	date	Date the firm started the recall.
classificationDate	date	Date FDA classified the recall.
terminationDate	text	Date the recall was terminated, if it has been.
recallingFirm	text	Name of the recalling company.
city	text	City of the recalling firm.
state	text	State of the recalling firm.
country	text	Country of the recalling firm.
productDescription	text	Description of the recalled product.
productQuantity	text	Quantity recalled, as stated by FDA.
codeInfo	text	Lot, batch, UPC and date code information.
reason	text	Reason for the recall.
hazardTags	text	Hazard categories derived from the reason text, joined with semicolons.
voluntaryOrMandated	text	Whether the recall was voluntary or mandated.
initialFirmNotification	text	How the firm first notified its customers.
distributionPattern	text	Where the product was distributed, as stated by the firm.
isNationwide	boolean	true when the distribution text indicates nationwide distribution.
brandNames	text	Brand names (drug records).
genericNames	text	Generic names (drug records).
activeIngredients	text	Active ingredients (drug records).
ndcCodes	text	National Drug Code(s) (drug records).
manufacturerNames	text	Manufacturer names (drug records).
route	text	Route of administration (drug records).
deviceName	text	Device name (device records).
medicalSpecialty	text	Medical specialty (device records).
productCode	text	FDA product code (device records).
url	text	Link to the recall on the FDA Enforcement Report site.
scrapedAt	datetime	When the Actor collected the record (UTC).

Fields a source does not publish are null. Drug-only and device-only fields are null for other product types.

"New since yesterday" alerts

Turn on Only new and the Actor remembers what it has already returned, so each scheduled run delivers only records you have not seen before.

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console and set the input, with Only new since last run switched on and a fixed alert name (stateKey). Example input:

{
  "productTypes": ["food", "drug", "device"],
  "classifications": ["Class I", "Class II"],
  "reportedWithinDays": 30,
  "maxResults": 200,
  "onlyNew": true,
  "stateKey": "daily-fda-recalls"
}

2. Click Save as task, then open Schedules, create a schedule (for example the cron expression 0 7 * * * for every day at 7:00 in the time zone you pick) and add the task to it.
3. Under the task's Integrations, send the results to Slack, email, Google Sheets, a webhook or your own system.

FDA publishes enforcement reports weekly, so a 30-day window with Only new works well for a daily or weekly schedule.

The first run returns everything that matches your window (all matching recalls reported in the last 30 days); later runs return only unseen records. Use a different alert name for each task so each keeps its own memory. A run with nothing new returns no results.

Cost per run

This Actor uses pay-per-result pricing: $3.00 per 1,000 results ($0.003 per result), with the Apify platform fee included. You are charged for the records a run returns and nothing is added on top for platform usage. A run that finds nothing new returns no results, so it has no per-result charge. The Max results input caps what a run can return (and so what it can cost).

Worked example: a weekly alert that returns 20 new recall records costs 20 × $0.003 = $0.06 per run. Pulling 1,000 recall records costs $3.00.

The pricing is configured in Apify Console; the Pricing tab on this page is the authoritative source if it ever differs from this text.

Example input and output

The output below comes from real test runs of this Actor. Email addresses are masked and very long text is shortened here; the Actor returns the full values.

Input used for the example:

{
  "productTypes": ["food"],
  "classifications": ["Class I", "Class II"],
  "keyword": "undeclared",
  "reportedWithinDays": 14,
  "ongoingOnly": true,
  "onlyNew": true,
  "stateKey": "food-allergen-recalls",
  "maxResults": 200
}

Output (the first 2 records of a test run):

[
  {
    "recallNumber": "H-0015-2027",
    "eventId": "99933",
    "productType": "food",
    "classification": "Class II",
    "status": "Ongoing",
    "reportDate": "2026-10-14",
    "recallInitiationDate": "2026-09-15",
    "classificationDate": "2026-10-07",
    "terminationDate": null,
    "recallingFirm": "QUESO PALMITA GP LLC",
    "city": "Stafford",
    "state": "TX",
    "country": "United States",
    "productDescription": "QUESO PALMITA. Generic Name: Pastel de Queso (Cheese Pie). Intended use: Human consumption. Condition: Frozen. Shelf life or expected life: 90 days. Type of packaging: Vacuum, resealable package. Net weight: 1.2 lbs. UPC…",
    "productQuantity": "20 packages",
    "codeInfo": "Manufacturing code: PQ02. Batch/lot code: PQ-1-0024. Manufacturing date: 04/22/2026. Packing date: 04/22/2026. Best By: 10/22/2026. Expiration date: 10/22/2026.",
    "reason": "Undeclared milk, cheese declared",
    "hazardTags": "undeclared ingredient or allergen",
    "voluntaryOrMandated": "Voluntary: Firm initiated",
    "initialFirmNotification": "Telephone",
    "distributionPattern": "Texas",
    "isNationwide": false,
    "brandNames": null,
    "genericNames": null,
    "activeIngredients": null,
    "ndcCodes": null,
    "manufacturerNames": null,
    "route": null,
    "deviceName": null,
    "medicalSpecialty": null,
    "productCode": null,
    "url": "https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/index.cfm?Event=99933",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-10-23T10:42:40.292Z"
  },
  {
    "recallNumber": "H-0021-2027",
    "eventId": "100043",
    "productType": "food",
    "classification": "Class II",
    "status": "Ongoing",
    "reportDate": "2026-10-14",
    "recallInitiationDate": "2026-10-01",
    "classificationDate": "2026-10-07",
    "terminationDate": null,
    "recallingFirm": "Saint Francis Apizza LLC",
    "city": "Cincinnati",
    "state": "OH",
    "country": "United States",
    "productDescription": "Saint Francis Apizza Frozen Pepperoni Pizza, Net Weight: 17 oz. (482g), packaged individually in vacuum-sealed plastic, UPC: 6 66186 27762 1",
    "productQuantity": "4,931 individual units",
    "codeInfo": "Best By: all dates through 3/30/2027",
    "reason": "Undeclared soy allergen: soybean oil and soy lecithin",
    "hazardTags": "undeclared ingredient or allergen",
    "voluntaryOrMandated": "Voluntary: Firm initiated",
    "initialFirmNotification": "Two or more of the following: Email, Fax, Letter, Press Release, Telephone, Visit",
    "distributionPattern": "KY, OH",
    "isNationwide": false,
    "brandNames": null,
    "genericNames": null,
    "activeIngredients": null,
    "ndcCodes": null,
    "manufacturerNames": null,
    "route": null,
    "deviceName": null,
    "medicalSpecialty": null,
    "productCode": null,
    "url": "https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/index.cfm?Event=100043",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-10-23T10:42:40.299Z"
  }
]

Limits worth knowing

• FDA publishes enforcement reports weekly, and a recall can be listed some time after the firm started it. Check reportDate and recallInitiationDate.
• The report date window defaults to the last 30 days. Set it to 0 to remove the limit.
• Each record is one recalled product, so a single recall event can produce several rows.
• hazardTags and isNationwide are derived from FDA's text by simple rules, not provided by FDA.
• Without an openFDA API key, openFDA allows about 1,000 requests per day per IP address, which is plenty for alerts. Add a free key for heavy use.

FAQ

Do I need an API key?

No. openFDA works without one for normal alert use. You can add a free key from open.fda.gov for heavy use.

What do Class I, II and III mean?

Class I: reasonable probability of serious harm or death. Class II: temporary or reversible harm. Class III: unlikely to cause harm.

Is this the same as FDA's recall press releases?

No. It is the FDA enforcement report data (via openFDA), which includes details such as lot and code information that press releases may not.

Can I get only ongoing recalls?

Yes, turn on Ongoing only.

Does it replace checking FDA before acting?

No. Always confirm on the linked FDA record before taking action.

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Data comes from openFDA and the FDA Enforcement Reports, a US government source. This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FDA. Always check the official FDA record before acting on a recall.