FDA Recalls Monitor: Food, Drug and Device Recalls

What does FDA Recalls Monitor do?

FDA Recalls Monitor pulls recall and enforcement reports for food, drugs and medical devices straight from the official openFDA API, so you can track new recalls without checking FDA pages by hand. It returns what the FDA publishes; it does not add or change recall decisions.

It collects data from openFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and returns clean, structured results you can download or pull through the Apify API.

Why use FDA Recalls Monitor?

• Retail and e-commerce compliance: check whether products you sell, or their suppliers, appear in recent recalls.
• Supplier and brand monitoring: filter by recalling firm or keyword and schedule daily runs to catch new recalls early.
• Safety, quality and regulatory teams: pull Class I recalls for a period and export them to a spreadsheet or BI tool.
• Research and journalism: build datasets of recalls by reason, state, class or product type.
• AI agents: clean, consistent JSON with a verification link on every record, ready to use in agent workflows.
• Runs on the Apify platform: schedule runs, call it through the API, connect it to integrations, and get notified when a run fails.

What data can FDA Recalls Monitor extract?

Field	Type	Description
recallNumber	string	FDA recall number, unique per recalled product.
category	string	Which enforcement report the record came from: food, drug or device.
productType	string	FDA product type as published (Food, Drugs, Devices).
classification	string	Recall class: Class I (most serious), Class II or Class III.
status	string	Recall status: Ongoing, Completed, Terminated or Pending.
recallingFirm	string	Company that initiated the recall.
productDescription	string	Description of the recalled product as published by the FDA.
reasonForRecall	string	Why the product was recalled.
productQuantity	string	Quantity of product affected, as published.
codeInfo	string	Lot numbers, codes and dates that identify the affected product.
distributionPattern	string	Where the product was distributed.
voluntaryMandated	string	Whether the recall was voluntary or FDA-mandated.
initialFirmNotification	string	How the firm first notified customers.
recallInitiationDate	string	Date the firm started the recall (YYYY-MM-DD).
centerClassificationDate	string	Date the FDA classified the recall (YYYY-MM-DD).
reportDate	string	Date the recall appeared in the FDA enforcement report (YYYY-MM-DD).
terminationDate	string	Date the recall was terminated, if it has been (YYYY-MM-DD).
eventId	string	FDA recall event ID; one event can cover several products.
address	string	Street address of the recalling firm.
city	string	City of the recalling firm.
state	string	State of the recalling firm.
postalCode	string	Postal code of the recalling firm.
country	string	Country of the recalling firm.
brandNames	array	Brand names from openFDA's product annotations, when available (mostly drugs).
genericNames	array	Generic names from openFDA's product annotations, when available.
manufacturerNames	array	Manufacturer names from openFDA's product annotations, when available.
sourceUrl	string	openFDA API link that returns this exact record, for verification.
scrapedAt	string	When this result was collected (UTC, ISO 8601).

How to use FDA Recalls Monitor

1. Open the actor and select Try for free.
2. Fill in Product types, Days back. The prefilled example works as a first test.
3. Set Maximum results to control how much data, and cost, a run produces.
4. Select Start and wait for the run to finish.
5. Download the results as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or fetch them through the API.

How much does it cost to use FDA Recalls Monitor?

You pay per result: $6.00 per 1,000 results ($0.006 each), plus Apify's small start fee of $0.0001 per run. For example, 1,000 results cost about $6.00. You can set a maximum cost per run in the run options, and the actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

Subscribers to Apify's paid plans pay less per result: 10% off on Bronze, 20% off on Silver and 30% off on Gold and higher plans.

Get only new results

Turn on Only new results and schedule the actor (for example daily) to use it as a monitor: each run skips what earlier runs already returned, so you get a feed of new records and pay only for those. The first run returns everything that matches. The memory lives in your own Apify account; give runs the same Monitor name to share it when you change other inputs.

Use it from AI agents

AI agents can find and run FDA Recalls Monitor as a tool through Apify's MCP server (mcp.apify.com) or the Apify API, and get the same structured results, billed per result. Without code, Apify's Zapier, Make and n8n integrations can start it and send each new result to a sheet, CRM or chat.

Input

See the Input tab for every option. The main fields:

Field	Type	Default	Description
categories	array	["food", "drug", "device"]	Which FDA enforcement reports to search: food, drugs, medical devices, or any combination.
daysBack	integer	30	Look back this many days from today. Ignored when a start date is set.
dateFrom	string	""	Only recalls on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Leave empty to use Days back.
dateTo	string	""	Only recalls on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Leave empty for today.
dateField	string	"report_date"	Report date is when the FDA published the recall in its weekly enforcement report; initiation date is when the firm started the recall.
classification	array	[]	Recall severity. Class I is the most serious. Leave empty for all classes.
status	array	[]	Recall status. Leave empty for any status.
keyword	string	""	Phrase to find in the product description or the reason for recall, for example peanut or listeria.
recallingFirm	string	""	Company name, or part of it, as it appears in FDA records.
state	string	""	Two-letter US state code of the recalling firm, for example CA.
apiKey	string	-	Your free openFDA API key raises the daily request limit. Most runs do not need one.
maxResults	integer	1000	Stop after this many results. Each result costs $0.006, so this also caps the cost of a run. Use 0 for no limit. Keep it low for a first test.
onlyNew	boolean	false	Monitoring mode: skip results this monitor returned in earlier runs, so a scheduled run returns, and bills, only what is new. The first run returns everything that matches.
monitorName	string	""	Runs with the same name share one memory of returned results, even if you change other inputs. Leave empty to keep a separate memory for each distinct input.

Example input:

{
  "categories": [
    "food",
    "drug",
    "device"
  ],
  "daysBack": 60,
  "maxResults": 20
}

Output

You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel. Example items:

[
  {
    "recallNumber": "H-1407-2026",
    "category": "food",
    "productType": "Food",
    "classification": "Class I",
    "status": "Ongoing",
    "recallingFirm": "TODD'S SEEDS LLC",
    "productDescription": "Todd's Seeds Salad Sprouting Mixture - Broccoli, Mustard, Alfalfa and Cabbage, packaged in heat-sealed resealable bags in the following sizes: 1/4 lb., 1/2 lb., and 1 lb.",
    "reasonForRecall": "Products contain alfalfa seed recalled by the supplier and may be contaminated with E. coli and/or Salmonella (downstream recall)",
    "productQuantity": "37,481 retail units (TOTAL)",
    "codeInfo": "Lot No: TS-633-2 Use By: 12/31/2029",
    "distributionPattern": "Nationwide; through Amazon or direct to consumer",
    "voluntaryMandated": "Voluntary: Firm initiated",
    "initialFirmNotification": "E-Mail",
    "recallInitiationDate": "2026-09-11",
    "centerClassificationDate": "2026-09-30",
    "reportDate": "2026-10-07",
    "terminationDate": null,
    "eventId": "99887",
    "address": "1011 Volunteer Dr",
    "city": "Cookeville",
    "state": "TN",
    "postalCode": "38506-5026",
    "country": "United States",
    "brandNames": [],
    "genericNames": [],
    "manufacturerNames": [],
    "sourceUrl": "https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22H-1407-2026%22",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-10-19T18:38:52+00:00"
  },
  {
    "recallNumber": "H-1402-2026",
    "category": "food",
    "productType": "Food",
    "classification": "Class II",
    "status": "Ongoing",
    "recallingFirm": "Galil Importing Corp",
    "productDescription": "Lior brand Cinnamon Ground Seasoning; 90g transparent plastic container; UPC 794711005484.",
    "reasonForRecall": "Product contains elevated levels of lead.",
    "productQuantity": "162 cases",
    "codeInfo": "GAP11304 printed on the side of the container under the ingredient line.",
    "distributionPattern": "NY, NJ, PA, TX, FL, IL",
    "voluntaryMandated": "Voluntary: Firm initiated",
    "initialFirmNotification": "Press Release",
    "recallInitiationDate": "2026-09-24",
    "centerClassificationDate": "2026-09-29",
    "reportDate": "2026-10-07",
    "terminationDate": null,
    "eventId": "99954",
    "address": "45 Gilpin Ave",
    "city": "Hauppauge",
    "state": "NY",
    "postalCode": "11788-4755",
    "country": "United States",
    "brandNames": [],
    "genericNames": [],
    "manufacturerNames": [],
    "sourceUrl": "https://api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json?search=recall_number:%22H-1402-2026%22",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-10-19T18:38:52+00:00"
  }
]

Tips

• Set Days back to 7 and schedule the actor weekly to get only new recalls; the FDA publishes enforcement reports weekly.
• Use Classification = Class I to focus on the most serious recalls.
• If you run many large queries, add your free openFDA API key under Advanced to raise the daily request limit.
• Schedule the actor to keep a dataset fresh, and use the API or integrations to send new results where you need them.

FAQ, disclaimers, and support

Where does the data come from?

From openFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) (api.fda.gov). Data is used under: U.S. federal government data (public domain under 17 U.S.C. 105), published by openFDA under its license at https://open.fda.gov/license/. See the source's terms: https://open.fda.gov/terms/

Is it legal to use this data?

This actor only collects publicly available data from openFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and does not collect personal data about private individuals. Check that your use complies with the source's terms and the laws that apply to you. This actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by openFDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).

How fresh is the data?

As fresh as openFDA: enforcement reports are published weekly, and openFDA updates its data shortly after. The actor queries the live API on every run.

Can I rely on this data for medical decisions?

No. openFDA states that its data should not be relied on to make decisions regarding medical care and that results should be assumed unvalidated. Always confirm with the FDA or the manufacturer.

What does each recall class mean?

Class I: a reasonable probability that the product will cause serious health problems or death. Class II: may cause temporary or medically reversible problems. Class III: unlikely to cause adverse health consequences.

Why do some fields come back empty?

The FDA does not fill every field for every recall, and product annotations (brand, generic and manufacturer names) exist mainly for drugs.

Something is not working

Open an issue in the Issues tab with your run link and we will look at it. For programmatic access, see the API tab.