Our Methodology

FoodRecall makes FDA food recall data searchable so consumers can quickly find out if products in their kitchen have been recalled. We present official FDA data clearly and factually — not alarmist, but not dismissive.

Data Sources

Our sole data source is the FDA openFDA Food Enforcement API (api.fda.gov/food/enforcement.json), the official public interface to FDA food recall and enforcement data. This API provides recall notices including the recalling firm, product description, reason for recall, distribution pattern, classification, and status.

We do not use any third-party or scraped data. Every recall shown on FoodRecall comes directly from FDA enforcement records.

FDA Classification System

Recalls are classified by the FDA into three levels of severity, which we display prominently on every recall page:

• Class I — Dangerous. Reasonable probability that use of or exposure to the product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. Examples: undeclared allergens, pathogen contamination (Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli).
• Class II — Potentially Harmful. Use of or exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or the probability of serious adverse consequences is remote.
• Class III — Unlikely Harmful. Use of or exposure to the product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences. Examples: mislabeling that does not involve allergens.

These classifications are determined by the FDA, not by FoodRecall. We present them without modification.

Brand Recall History

We aggregate recalls by brand/manufacturer to create brand-level recall history pages. This allows consumers to assess a brand's overall recall track record, including the number of recalls, severity distribution, and most common recall reasons.

Data Collection Process

We query the openFDA Food Enforcement API for all food recall records, parse and normalize brand names (handling variations in how companies are identified across recalls), and organize by recall status (ongoing, completed, terminated). Geographic distribution is parsed from the distribution_pattern field to identify affected states.

Update Frequency

The openFDA API is updated as the FDA publishes new enforcement reports, typically within days of a recall announcement. We refresh our database daily to ensure consumers have access to the most current recall information.

Known Limitations

• FDA recall data only covers FDA-regulated food products. USDA-regulated products (meat, poultry, egg products) are tracked by FSIS, not the FDA, and are not included in our database.
• Brand name normalization is imperfect — the same manufacturer may appear under slightly different names across recalls.
• Recall classification is sometimes updated after initial publication. We update to the most current classification but there may be brief delays.
• Not all food safety issues result in formal recalls. Voluntary market withdrawals and safety alerts may not appear in the enforcement database.

How to Cite This Data

If you use data from FoodRecall, please cite:

FoodRecall. "[Brand Name] Recall History." foodrecallwatch.com, 2026. Accessed [date].

Underlying data is sourced from the FDA openFDA Food Enforcement API and is in the public domain.