Product Safety Recall Digest | CPSC + openFDA Alerts

Protect your retail inventory and customer base by continuously tracking consumer product safety recalls. This specialized web scraper empowers ecommerce merchants, marketplace operators, and supply chain managers to automatically extract the latest enforcement actions directly from official regulatory sources like the CPSC and openFDA. Instead of manually navigating complex government databases to check for recalled inventory, you can schedule this tool to run daily or weekly, turning unorganized alerts into a structured, easy-to-read data digest. Integrate these results into your daily operations to dramatically reduce liability.

By utilizing custom keyword watchlists, retail operators can search specifically for the exact brands, product categories, or retail items they currently sell. This ensures that any dangerous or defective products are flagged before they reach consumers. The scraped results deliver comprehensive regulatory details, including the responsible government agency, publication dates, official docket numbers, document types, and direct URLs to the original federal filings. Whether you are auditing a massive online product catalog, managing a niche dropshipping business, or ensuring vendor compliance, this scraper provides the critical intelligence needed to instantly identify unsafe consumer goods and protect your storefront's reputation.

Store Quickstart

Run this actor with your target input. Results appear in the Apify Dataset and can be piped to webhooks for real-time delivery. Use dryRun to validate before committing to a schedule.

Key Features

• 🏛️ Government-sourced — Pulls directly from official agency feeds — no third-party aggregators
• ⏱️ Timely digests — Daily/weekly rollups of new filings, rulings, or actions
• 🔍 Keyword watchlists — Flag items matching your compliance/legal watch terms
• 📊 Structured metadata — Agency, date, docket, document type, link — all dataset-ready
• 📡 Webhook alerts — Push to legal/compliance teams the moment new items match watchlist

Use Cases

Who	Why
Developers	Automate recurring data fetches without building custom scrapers
Data teams	Pipe structured output into analytics warehouses
Ops teams	Monitor changes via webhook alerts
Product managers	Track competitor/market signals without engineering time

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
feeds	array	—	One entry per monitored feed/source. Each produces one digest row. Leave empty to use all 4 default feeds (CPSC, FDA foo
lookbackDays	integer	30	Number of days back to search for recalls. Applies to all feeds unless overridden per feed.
recallClasses	array	["I","II"]	Filter openFDA results to specific recall classes. Valid values: I (most serious), II, III. Does not apply to CPSC (whic
maxRecallsPerFeed	integer	50	Upper bound on recall records fetched per feed per run. Lower = faster and less data; keep ≤ 50 for recurring digests.
delivery	string	"dataset"	dataset stores digest rows in the Apify dataset. webhook posts the digest JSON to webhookUrl.
webhookUrl	string	—	POST target for the recall digest payload. Leave empty for dataset delivery.
datasetMode	string	"all"	all emits every feed digest row. action_needed emits only feeds with new or first-run recalls. new_only emits only feeds
snapshotKey	string	"product-safety-recall-digest-state"	Stable key used to persist seen recall IDs across recurring runs so new_only and action_needed modes stay comparable. Us

Input Example

{
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "recallClasses": [
    "I",
    "II"
  ],
  "maxRecallsPerFeed": 50,
  "delivery": "dataset",
  "datasetMode": "all",
  "snapshotKey": "product-safety-recall-digest-state",
  "notifyOnNoNew": true,
  "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "batchDelayMs": 800,
  "dryRun": false
}

Input Examples

Example: Single-target audit

{
  "targets": [
    "example-target-1"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerTarget": 30
}

Example: Bulk portfolio

{
  "targets": [
    "target-1",
    "target-2",
    "target-3"
  ],
  "maxResultsPerTarget": 50,
  "snapshotKey": "product-safety-recall-digest-state"
}

Example: Recurring delta watch

{
  "targets": [
    "target-1"
  ],
  "snapshotKey": "product-safety-recall-digest-state",
  "emitChangedOnly": true
}

Output

Field	Type	Description
meta	object
errors	array
digests	array
digests[].feedId	string
digests[].feedName	string
digests[].source	string
digests[].checkedAt	timestamp
digests[].windowStart	timestamp
digests[].lookbackDays	number
digests[].status	string
digests[].newRecallCount	number
digests[].totalRecallCount	number
digests[].actionNeeded	boolean
digests[].recallClassBreakdown	object
digests[].topFirms	array
digests[].recommendedAction	string
digests[].signalTags	array
digests[].newRecalls	array
digests[].evidence	array
digests[].error	null

Output Example

{
  "meta": {
    "generatedAt": "2026-04-01T10:30:00.000Z",
    "now": "2026-04-01T10:00:00.000Z",
    "feedCount": 4,
    "totalRecallsFound": 18,
    "newRecallsFound": 5,
    "actionNeededCount": 3,
    "errorCount": 0,
    "snapshot": {
      "key": "recall-digest-quickstart",
      "loadedFrom": "local",
      "savedTo": "local"
    },
    "warnings": [],
    "executiveSummary": {
      "overallStatus": "action_needed",
      "brief": "5 new recall(s) across 3 feed(s).",
      "actionItems": [
        "Class I recalls detected in: FDA Food Enforcement. Review immediately — Class I indicates serious risk.",
        "CPSC Consumer Product Recalls: 2 new recall(s). Review 2 new CPSC consumer product recall(s) in the past 30 days.",
        "FDA Food Enforcement: 2 new recall(s) (including 1 Class I — serious risk). Review 2 new FDA food enforcement recall(s) in the past 30 days.",
        "FDA Drug Enforcement: 1 new recall(s). Review 1 new FDA drug enforcement recall(s) in the past 30 days."
      ],
      "feedStatuses": [
        {
          "feedId": "cpsc",
          "feedName": "CPSC Consumer Product Recalls",
          "status": "new_recalls",
          "newRecallCount": 2,
          "totalRecallCount": 7,
          "actionNeeded": true
        },
        {
          "feedId": "fda_food",
          "feedName": "FDA Food Enforcement",
          "status": "new_recalls",
          "newRecallCount": 2,
          "totalRecallCount": 4,
          "actionNeeded": true

API Usage

Run this actor programmatically using the Apify API. Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your token from Apify Console → Settings → Integrations.

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/taroyamada~product-safety-recall-digest/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "lookbackDays": 30, "recallClasses": [ "I", "II" ], "maxRecallsPerFeed": 50, "delivery": "dataset", "datasetMode": "all", "snapshotKey": "product-safety-recall-digest-state", "notifyOnNoNew": true, "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30, "batchDelayMs": 800, "dryRun": false }'

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("taroyamada/product-safety-recall-digest").call(run_input={
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "recallClasses": [
    "I",
    "II"
  ],
  "maxRecallsPerFeed": 50,
  "delivery": "dataset",
  "datasetMode": "all",
  "snapshotKey": "product-safety-recall-digest-state",
  "notifyOnNoNew": true,
  "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "batchDelayMs": 800,
  "dryRun": false
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript / Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('taroyamada/product-safety-recall-digest').call({
  "lookbackDays": 30,
  "recallClasses": [
    "I",
    "II"
  ],
  "maxRecallsPerFeed": 50,
  "delivery": "dataset",
  "datasetMode": "all",
  "snapshotKey": "product-safety-recall-digest-state",
  "notifyOnNoNew": true,
  "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "batchDelayMs": 800,
  "dryRun": false
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Tips & Limitations

• Run daily for active watchlists; weekly for passive monitoring.
• Webhook delivery works well for compliance team Slack channels — include docket URL for 1-click access.
• Use watchKeywords generously — false positives are cheap to triage, false negatives miss filings.
• Pair with regulatory-change-monitor for cross-agency coverage.
• Archive Dataset rows weekly for long-term compliance evidence retention.

FAQ

How far back does history go?

This actor monitors forward-only — new items since first run. For historical data, use the agency's own search tool.

What timezones are used?

All timestamps are UTC. Use your downstream pipeline to convert to agency-local time if needed.

Does it translate non-English content?

No — original language is preserved. Use downstream translation services if needed.

Is the data official?

Yes — sourced directly from official government websites and feeds. Not a third-party aggregator.

Can I use this for legal research?

For alerting and monitoring, yes. For litigation research, cross-verify with primary sources (agency websites) — this actor is a monitoring tool, not a legal database.

Related Actors

Government & Regulatory cluster — explore related Apify tools:

• EPA Enforcement Digest | ECHO Compliance Risk Monitor — Monitor EPA ECHO all-media facility search, corporate compliance screener, and enforcement case feeds with one summary-first digest row per watched company, facility, or case feed.
• FDA Warning Letters Digest | Summary-First Feed — Monitor public FDA warning letters with one summary-first digest row per configured feed.
• Federal Register Digest | Agency Rule & Notice Monitor — Monitor Federal Register documents — rules, proposed rules, and notices — per configured agency feed.
• Government Contract Award Monitor | Award & Competitor Watch — Monitor public-sector contract award notices for new wins, notable awardees, incumbent recompetes, and competitor signals — one digest row per configured feed without brittle broad crawling.
• Grants.gov Funding Digest | Opportunity Watch & Signal Digest — Monitor Grants.
• NHTSA Vehicle Recall Digest | Recalls + Complaints Watch — Monitor official NHTSA vehicle recall and complaint endpoints for watched model-family, VIN, and manufacturer feeds.
• Regulatory Change Monitor API — Monitor official regulator update feeds, government bulletin pages, and public compliance notices with one action-oriented digest row per monitored source.
• OFAC Sanctions Change Digest | SDN List Monitor — Monitor the OFAC SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) sanctions list for additions and removals.
• Tariff Trade Change Digest | Federal Register + HTS Monitor — Monitor U.
• Treasury Fiscal Data Digest | Debt, Rates & Budget Monitor — Monitor the U.
• USPTO Patent Monitor API | JSON + Webhook — Search and monitor US patent filings with multi-source fallback.
• Campaign Finance & Lobbying Digest | FEC + LDA Watch — Monitor official FEC OpenFEC committee reports and LDA.

Cost

Pay Per Event:

• actor-start: $0.01 (flat fee per run)
• dataset-item: $0.003 per output item

Example: 1,000 items = $0.01 + (1,000 × $0.003) = $3.01

No subscription required — you only pay for what you use.

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