Data Sources & Methodology

Primary data sources

FDA recall data on Civic Data is sourced from OpenFDA, a free public API maintained by the US Food and Drug Administration. OpenFDA provides programmatic access to official FDA enforcement records, including recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts.

USDA recall data is sourced from FSIS.gov, maintained by the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Because the FSIS recall API blocks automated requests, this data is exported manually from FSIS and refreshed on a weekly schedule.

We do not create, edit, or supplement recall records. Every field displayed on a recall page — product description, reason for recall, classification, distribution pattern, lot numbers — is reproduced directly from the corresponding OpenFDA or FSIS record.

Data categories

FDA Food Recalls

Sourced from the OpenFDA food/enforcement endpoint. Covers recalls from the FDA Human Foods Program, including packaged foods, beverages, dietary supplements, and infant formula. Historical coverage begins approximately 2004.

FDA Drug Recalls

Sourced from the OpenFDA drug/enforcement endpoint. Covers prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and biologics. Historical coverage begins approximately 2004.

FDA Device Recalls

Sourced from the OpenFDA device/enforcement endpoint. Covers medical devices, diagnostic equipment, and radiation-emitting products.

USDA Recalls

Sourced from the FSIS recall API (fsis.usda.gov/fsis/api/recall). Covers meat, poultry, and processed egg product recalls, plus public health alerts. Records are categorized into Poultry, Meat, Eggs, and Other based on the FSIS processing classification.

Update frequency

FDA recall detail pages are cached and re-fetched from OpenFDA every 24 hours via Next.js Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR). Listing and category pages follow the same 24-hour revalidation cycle. The OpenFDA database itself is updated by the FDA on a rolling basis — typically within days of a recall being announced.

USDA recall data is exported from FSIS and reprocessed on a weekly schedule, then served from a static cache with the same 24-hour ISR revalidation as FDA pages.

For time-sensitive health decisions, always verify against the official FDA recalls page or the official USDA FSIS recalls page, both of which are updated in real time.

What we add

Beyond displaying raw OpenFDA data, Civic Data adds the following:

• Full-text search across product descriptions, company names, and recall reasons
• Filtering by classification (Class I / II / III), status, and date range
• Brand pages aggregating all recalls for a given company
• Category pages grouping recalls by product type
• Reason pages grouping recalls by contaminant or defect type
• Classification pages with plain-English explanations of what each class means
• FAQ sections on every recall page answering common questions about the recall
• Structured data (JSON-LD) for search engine rich results

Limitations & disclaimer

Civic Data is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Department of Agriculture, or any government agency.

FDA recall data may be delayed by up to 24 hours relative to OpenFDA, and OpenFDA itself may lag the FDA's internal systems. USDA recall data reflects the most recent weekly FSIS export and may not include changes made since that export. Some records contain incomplete or inconsistent fields — this reflects the source data and is not an error introduced by this site.

This site is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for official FDA or USDA guidance. For health or safety emergencies related to a recalled product, contact the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or visit fda.gov, or contact USDA FSIS at 1-888-MPHotline or visit fsis.usda.gov.