# FDA Recalls & Safety Alerts (openFDA Food, Drug, Device) (`survivalstudent/fda-recalls-safety-alerts`) Actor

FDA food, drug and device recall enforcement records from the official openFDA API. Filter by product type, classification (I/II/III), keyword and date. Normalized fields with firm, reason, distribution and openFDA identifiers for matching. Public safety data — not medical advice.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/survivalstudent/fda-recalls-safety-alerts.md
- **Developed by:** [Shaun Hill](https://apify.com/survivalstudent) (community)
- **Categories:** News, AI, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 recall records

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 & Safety Alerts (openFDA)

Pull **FDA food, drug and medical-device recall enforcement records** from the official [openFDA](https://open.fda.gov/apis/) APIs. Each record includes the recall number, product description, reason, classification (I / II / III), status, recalling firm, distribution pattern, report and termination dates, useful openFDA identifiers (NDC, brand/generic name, etc. when present), and a detail URL.

Useful for compliance teams, retailers, pharmacies, importers, insurers, journalists and safety monitors who need a clean, filterable feed of recent FDA recalls.

### Why this Actor

- **Official data only**: openFDA enforcement endpoints (`/food/enforcement.json`, `/drug/enforcement.json`, `/device/enforcement.json`). Public US government data — no login and no key required for modest use.
- **Filters that matter**: product type (food / drug / device / all), classification, status, free-text keyword, lookback days or an explicit date range.
- **Normalized output**: camelCase fields ready for pipelines, plus `openfda` identifiers for product matching.
- **Cheap and predictable**: pay per recall record returned. Runs are small (256 MB).

### Input example

```json
{
  "productType": "all",
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "classification": ["I", "II"],
  "keyword": "Listeria",
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

### Output example (truncated)

```json
{
  "recallNumber": "H-0629-2025",
  "productType": "Food",
  "productDescription": "…",
  "reason": "Potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes",
  "classification": "Class I",
  "status": "Terminated",
  "recallingFirm": "Middlefield Original Cheese Cooperative",
  "distribution": "…",
  "reportDate": "2025-10-01",
  "terminationDate": "2025-10-01",
  "openfda": null,
  "detailUrl": "https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/index.cfm?Event=…"
}
```

### Pricing

Pay per event: one **recall-record** event per recall returned (planned **$0.002** / record = $2 / 1,000). The synthetic `apify-actor-start` event is kept. Set `maxItems` or a spending limit to control cost.

### Data source, freshness and rate limits

- Source: [openFDA Drug / Device / Food Enforcement](https://open.fda.gov/apis/) APIs.
- Dates use the FDA `report_date` field (when the recall appears in the Enforcement Report).
- **Rate limits** (no API key): about **240 requests/minute** and **120,000 requests/day**. This Actor pages at ≤100 results per request with a short delay between pages, which stays well under those limits for typical runs. Heavy scheduled use may need an [openFDA API key](https://open.fda.gov/apis/authentication/).
- openFDA data can lag the FDA Enforcement Report by a short period and may be incomplete. Always treat results as unvalidated.

### Legal notice — not medical advice

This Actor returns **public FDA safety / recall data** from openFDA. It is **not medical advice**, not a substitute for professional judgment, and not an official FDA product. Do **not** present this data to end users as medical advice, a diagnosis, a treatment recommendation, or as confirmation that a product is safe or unsafe for a specific patient. openFDA itself states: *"Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care."* You are responsible for how you display and use this data, including any regulatory, consumer-protection or healthcare-communication requirements. This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

# Actor input Schema

## `productType` (type: `string`):

Which openFDA enforcement endpoint(s) to query.

## `keyword` (type: `string`):

Free-text search across product description, reason for recall, recalling firm and code info (e.g. peanut, Listeria, enoxaparin).

## `classification` (type: `array`):

FDA recall class. Empty = all. Class I = serious health consequences; Class II = temporary/reversible; Class III = not likely to cause health consequences.

## `status` (type: `array`):

Recall status filter. Empty = all.

## `lookbackDays` (type: `integer`):

Used when Date from is empty: report_date from today minus N days. Default 30 returns recent recalls.

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

report_date range start. Overrides Lookback days.

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

report_date range end (default: today).

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

Maximum recall records to return. You are charged per record.

## `contactEmail` (type: `string`):

Identifying contact for the openFDA User-Agent. Prefer leaving the default.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "productType": "all",
  "classification": [],
  "status": [],
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "maxItems": 100,
  "contactEmail": "agent-a96b3323e8199901@agentmail.to"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One item per FDA recall enforcement record.

# 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("survivalstudent/fda-recalls-safety-alerts").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("survivalstudent/fda-recalls-safety-alerts").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 survivalstudent/fda-recalls-safety-alerts --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/a1OSIoM5wUvD4jinq/builds/Lwp5icWqo7GSyfcqm/openapi.json