# openFDA Food Recall & Enforcement Scraper (USA) (`scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper`) Actor
Scrape FDA food recall and enforcement actions from the official openFDA API. Extract recall number, hazard class, product description, reason, recalling firm, city, state and dates across the United States. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrapers\_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Scrapers Lat](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars
## Pricing
from $6.15 / 1,000 results
This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
[](https://console.apify.com/actors/KscpXChjegCnrEQLM/input)
## openFDA Food Recall & Enforcement Scraper (USA)
> Extract FDA food recall and enforcement actions from the official openFDA API, covering thousands of US food safety recalls
**📥 [Input](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/input-schema) · 📤 [Output](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/output-schema) · 💰 [Pricing](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/pricing) · ▶️ [Examples](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples)**
32 fields per record
9 filters to target results
United States coverage
JSON / CSV / Excel output formats
The most complete openFDA food recall scraper available. It returns every field the FDA food enforcement database exposes for each recall, plus derived fields for faster analysis, and gives you nine filters to target exactly the recalls you need.
### What you get
Each record includes all of these fields:
| Group | Fields |
|---|---|
| Recall identity | `recallNumber`, `eventId`, `status`, `active`, `classification`, `classificationLevel`, `productType` |
| Product | `productDescription`, `productQuantity`, `codeInfo`, `moreCodeInfo` |
| Reason and scope | `reasonForRecall`, `distributionPattern` |
| Recalling firm | `recallingFirm`, `addressLine1`, `addressLine2`, `city`, `state`, `postalCode`, `country` |
| Process | `voluntaryMandated`, `initialFirmNotification` |
| Dates | `recallInitiationDate`, `centerClassificationDate`, `reportDate`, `terminationDate`, `recallAgeDays` |
| Recalling firm | `recallingFirm`, `addressLine1`, `addressLine2`, `city`, `state`, `postalCode`, `country`, `firmAddress` |
| Geographic reach | `distributionPattern`, `distributionStates`, `distributionNationwide` |
| Extra | `openfda`, `observedAt` |
Derived helpers such as `classificationLevel` (1 for Class I, 2 for Class II, 3 for Class III), `active` (true while a recall is Ongoing or Pending), `distributionStates` (the affected US states parsed from the distribution text), `distributionNationwide`, a ready-to-map single-line `firmAddress`, and `recallAgeDays` let you sort, map and flag serious open recalls without extra parsing. All dates are normalized to `YYYY-MM-DD`, and empty or `N/A` values are returned as `null` so nothing is invented.
### Filters
Combine any of these to target the exact recalls you need:
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Search Query | Keyword matched to the recall reason, or a raw openFDA field expression |
| Classification | Class I, II or III hazard level |
| Status | Ongoing, Completed, Terminated or Pending |
| Recalling Firm | Firm or manufacturer name, for example Dole or Tyson |
| Product Keyword | Word or phrase in the product description, for example cheese or spinach |
| State / City / Country | Location of the recalling firm |
| Voluntary or Mandated | Firm-initiated versus FDA-ordered recalls |
| Date range | Filter on report, initiation, classification or termination date, with a selectable date field |
| Recall Number / Event ID | Look up one recall, or pull every recall grouped under one FDA event |
Results can be sorted newest or oldest first on the date field you choose.
### Who is it for
| Use case | Who benefits |
|---|---|
| Food safety and recall monitoring | Food safety and QA teams |
| Tracking recalls by firm, state or contaminant | Compliance and supplier risk teams |
| Building food recall datasets for research | Public health and data science teams |
| Allergen and pathogen recall alerting | Retail and grocery operations teams |
| Feeding recall data into internal dashboards | Data engineers |
### Frequently Asked Questions
**What data does this scraper cover?**\
It covers the openFDA food enforcement database for the United States, which holds food recall and enforcement actions including the product, reason, classification, recalling firm, distribution and status.
**How many records can I pull in one run?**\
openFDA paginates with a skip offset up to 25000 records per query. For larger pulls, narrow the filters or the date range so each run stays under that ceiling.
**How do I find serious recalls only?**\
Set Classification to Class I, which marks recalls with a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death. You can combine it with a keyword such as listeria or salmonella and a state filter.
**How does the search work?**\
A simple keyword is matched to the recall reason, for example listeria, salmonella or undeclared allergen. You can also paste a raw openFDA expression with a field, such as product\_description:cheese or recalling\_firm:Tyson.
**What happens to missing fields?**\
Fields that openFDA does not provide for a record, such as a termination date on an ongoing recall, are returned as null. The scraper never invents values.
### Example use cases
Ready-to-run example tasks, each preconfigured for a common scenario. Open one and press run, or use it as a template:
- [openFDA Dietary Supplement Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-dietary-supplement-recalls): Scrape FDA dietary supplement recalls. Extract recalling firm, product description, hazard classification, recall status, state, and report dates.
- [openFDA E. coli Food Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-ecoli-food-recalls): Scrape FDA food recalls caused by E. coli contamination. Get recalling firm, product description, classification, status, state, and report dates.
- [openFDA Foreign Material Food Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-foreign-material-food-recalls): Scrape FDA food recalls caused by foreign material contamination such as metal or plastic. Get firm, product, classification, status, and dates.
- [openFDA Ice Cream Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-ice-cream-recalls): Scrape FDA ice cream and frozen dessert recalls. Extract recalling firm, product description, hazard classification, status, state, and report dates.
- [openFDA Infant Formula Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-infant-formula-recalls): Scrape FDA infant formula recalls. Get recalling firm, product description, hazard classification, recall status, state, and FDA report dates.
- [openFDA Undeclared Milk Allergen Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-undeclared-milk-recalls): Scrape FDA food recalls for undeclared milk allergens. Extract recalling firm, product, hazard classification, status, state, and FDA report dates.
- [openFDA Undeclared Peanut Allergen Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-undeclared-peanut-recalls): Scrape FDA food recalls for undeclared peanut allergens. Get recalling firm, product description, classification, status, state, and report dates.
- [Find Class I Allergen Food Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-allergen-class-i-recalls): Find Class I Allergen Food Recalls
- [Track Listeria Food Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-listeria-food-recalls): Track Listeria Food Recalls
- [Monitor Salmonella Food Recalls](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper/examples/openfda-salmonella-food-recalls): Monitor Salmonella Food Recalls
### Export, API and AI agents (x402 + MCP)
Export the scraped data to **JSON, CSV or Excel**, pull it as a **dataset** through the Apify **API**, or wire it into your app with **no code**. This web scraper and data extractor also works for bulk data extraction and scheduled runs.
For AI agents: this Actor is available on **x402**, Apify's agentic payment standard built with Coinbase. An AI agent can discover, pay for and run it on its own with a funded wallet and a single HTTP request: no account, no subscription, no API key and no human in the loop. It also runs as an **MCP** tool inside Claude, Cursor and other AI clients out of the box. Learn more about [x402 agentic payments on Apify](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/x402).
### Related scrapers
Need data from the same space? Here are other scrapers we build and maintain:
- [SEC EDGAR Company Filings Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/sec-edgar-filings-scraper): Scrape SEC EDGAR company filings by ticker or CIK. Get form type, filing date, accession number...
- [USAspending Federal Award Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/usaspending-awards-scraper): Scrape US federal prime awards from USAspending.gov. Get recipient, UEI, award amount, awarding...
- [openFDA Drug Events & Recalls Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/openfda-drug-events-scraper): Scrape FDA drug adverse event reports (FAERS) and drug recall and enforcement actions from the...
- [OFAC Sanctions List Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/ofac-sanctions-scraper): Download and parse the US Treasury OFAC SDN and Consolidated sanctions lists. Get each sanctioned...
- [Grants.gov Opportunity Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/grants-gov-scraper): Extract U.S. federal grant opportunities from the official Grants.gov API. Scrape title, agency...
- [Federal Register Document Scraper](https://apify.com/scrapers_lat/federal-register-scraper): Search and extract documents from the U.S. Federal Register by keyword, document type, agency and...
### Why teams choose this scraper
- **You are never charged for empty or failed runs** — you only pay for data you actually receive.
- **Maintained and monitored** — if the source site changes, we fix it fast.
- **Clean, typed output** — one record per result, ready for your CRM, spreadsheet or database.
If this scraper saves you time, a quick ⭐ review on Apify helps other people find it and helps us keep improving it.
### More scrapers at scrapers.lat
This actor is built and maintained by [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat), where we publish scrapers for Latin American and US public platforms: real estate, jobs, e-commerce, company registries and government data. Browse the full catalog, see live sample output for each one, or ask us for a custom scraper at [scrapers.lat](https://scrapers.lat).
***
> This actor is an independent tool and has no affiliation with the FDA or openFDA. It only accesses data that is publicly available through the open FDA API. Use it in accordance with the openFDA terms of service.
# Actor input Schema
## `maxRecalls` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of food recall records to collect. Optional. openFDA paginates with skip up to 25000, so for very large pulls narrow the filters or date range.
## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):
A simple keyword (matched to the recall reason, for example listeria, salmonella, undeclared allergen), or a raw openFDA search expression containing a field, for example product\_description:cheese or recalling\_firm:Tyson. Leave empty to pull the most recent food recalls.
## `classification` (type: `string`):
Recall hazard class. Class I is the most serious (reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death).
## `status` (type: `string`):
Recall status.
## `state` (type: `string`):
Two-letter US state code of the recalling firm, for example CA, NY, TX.
## `recallingFirm` (type: `string`):
Filter by the recalling firm or manufacturer name, for example Tyson, Dole, Nestle. Matches firms whose name contains this phrase.
## `productDescription` (type: `string`):
Filter by a word or phrase in the product description, for example cheese, spinach, ice cream, peanut butter.
## `city` (type: `string`):
Filter by the city of the recalling firm, for example Los Angeles, Chicago.
## `country` (type: `string`):
Filter by the recalling firm country, for example United States, Canada, Mexico. Leave empty for all countries.
## `voluntaryMandated` (type: `string`):
Whether the recall was firm-initiated (voluntary) or ordered by the FDA (mandated).
## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):
Only include recalls with a date on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Applies to the Date Field selected below.
## `dateTo` (type: `string`):
Only include recalls with a date on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD). Applies to the Date Field selected below.
## `dateField` (type: `string`):
Which recall date the Date From / Date To range applies to.
## `sortOrder` (type: `string`):
Order results by the selected Date Field. Leave as default to use the openFDA relevance order.
## `recallNumber` (type: `string`):
Look up one exact FDA recall number, for example F-0609-2015.
## `eventId` (type: `string`):
Pull every recall that belongs to one FDA recall event, for example 69516. A single event often groups many related product recalls.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"maxRecalls": 50,
"searchQuery": "listeria",
"classification": "",
"status": "",
"state": "",
"voluntaryMandated": "",
"dateField": "report_date",
"sortOrder": ""
}
```
# Actor output Schema
## `results` (type: `string`):
No description
# 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 '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"maxRecalls": 50,
"searchQuery": "listeria"
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper").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 '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"maxRecalls": 50,
"searchQuery": "listeria",
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"maxRecalls": 50,
"searchQuery": "listeria"
}' |
apify call scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrapers_lat/openfda-food-recalls-scraper",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/KscpXChjegCnrEQLM/builds/Fq6TYIhHhftfmEPpa/openapi.json