openFDA Drug Recalls & Enforcement Tracker

Pull recent FDA drug recall / enforcement actions from openFDA. Filter by class (I/II/III), recalling firm, product keyword, distribution state, or status. One clean row per recall: id, classification, firm, product, reason, dates, distribution pattern.

Built for cron (daily watchlist for pharma analysts, retail health investors, hospital pharmacies) and ad-hoc audits. No auth: pure openFDA REST.

Inputs

{
  "sinceDays": 30,
  "classifications": ["Class I", "Class II"],
  "firmKeywords": ["Pfizer", "Teva"],
  "productKeywords": ["acetaminophen"],
  "maxResults": 500
}

input	default	notes
sinceDays	30	Reported in the last sinceDays days. Use 1 to 7 for a daily or weekly cron.
classifications	all	FDA recall classes: Class I (most serious: life-threatening), Class II, Class III.
statusFilter	all	Ongoing, Completed, Terminated, Pending.
firmKeywords	none	Recalling firm substring matches. Each is a separate query.
productKeywords	none	Product description substring matches. Each is a separate query.
stateFilter	none	Single US state to filter distribution_pattern.
maxResults	1000	Hard cap.
apiKey	none	Optional openFDA key (boosts daily quota).

Output

One row per recall:

field	example
recallNumber	D-1234-2026
eventId	92341
status	Ongoing, Terminated
classification	Class I
productType	Drugs
recallingFirm	Pfizer Inc.
firmAddress	235 East 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10017, United States
productDescription	Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets 10 mg, ...
productQuantity	850,000 bottles
reasonForRecall	Subpotent: Out of specification dissolution test results.
voluntaryMandated	Voluntary: Firm initiated
initialFirmNotification	Letter, Press Release, Two or more of the following
distributionPattern	Nationwide or specific states
recallInitiationDate	20260510 (YYYYMMDD)
reportDate	20260518
centerClassificationDate	20260520
terminationDate	20261015 (when applicable)
fdaUrl	FDA IRES lookup URL

Daily cron pattern

{ "sinceDays": 1, "classifications": ["Class I", "Class II"] }

Real-world questions this answers

• Retail health investor. Class-I recall just dropped: what's the recalling firm's ticker?
• Hospital pharmacy / 340B. Are any of our inventoried SKUs recalled today?
• Pharma competitive intel. Which competitors are getting hit with quality recalls?
• Compliance journalism. Track recall reasons + classes over time for a vendor.

What it doesn't do

• Doesn't fetch FDA approval events (that's a separate openFDA endpoint: planned for v2).
• Doesn't enrich with stock ticker (firm-to-ticker is a downstream join).
• Doesn't include device or food recalls (separate openFDA endpoints: different schemas).

Pricing

Pay per event. Price per 1,000 events:

Event	Base price	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Drug recall extracted	$5.00	$4.50	$4.00	$3.50

Bronze, Silver and Gold are the discounts Apify gives users of its paid plans. The Pricing tab always shows the current prices.

Run it through the API

Python, with the apify-client package:

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("v0iddo/openfda-drug-recalls").call(run_input={"maxResults": 20})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript, with the apify-client package:

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('v0iddo/openfda-drug-recalls').call({"maxResults": 20});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

One HTTP call that waits for the run and returns the rows (for runs that finish within 5 minutes):

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/v0iddo~openfda-drug-recalls/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxResults": 20}'

Use it from an agent (MCP)

Claude, Cursor, VS Code and other MCP clients can call this actor as a tool through the Apify MCP server. Add it to the client's MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=v0iddo/openfda-drug-recalls",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Do I need an account, cookies or an API key?

No. The actor works without one. openFDA API key (optional) is optional and stored as a secret input; the note under the field on the Input tab says when it helps.

How many results can one run return?

Set Max results (across all filters) (up to 25,000) to the number you need. Large jobs can also be split into several runs or scheduled.

How am I charged?

Pay per event, at the prices on the Pricing tab for your Apify plan (the Pricing section of this page lists them). The platform usage of the run is included in those prices, and your spending limit for a run is always respected.

Why did my run return no results?

The status message and the log of the run say why: usually nothing matched the input, or the source did not answer for a moment. Check the input against the example above and run it again.

Can I run it on a schedule?

Yes. Save your input as a task and add a schedule in the Apify Console (daily, hourly or with a cron expression). Each run gets its own dataset, so you keep a history.

Which formats can I export?

JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, HTML table and RSS from the Output tab or the API. Integrations send the rows to Google Sheets, Slack, Make, Zapier, n8n or a webhook.

Is collecting this data allowed?

The actor collects data that the source publishes openly, without a login. Public data can still be personal data under laws such as the GDPR, and sources have their own terms: make sure your use of the data follows the rules that apply to you.

What happens when the source changes?

An automated test runs the actor every day on the example input and checks the rows, not only that the run finished. When a check fails, the actor is repaired and rebuilt; the build history on this page shows each update.

Something is missing or wrong. Where do I report it?

Open an issue on the Issues tab of this actor with the run link. Requests for a new field are welcome too.

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