Question 1

Where does this recall data come from?

Accepted Answer

Directly from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration via the openFDA Food Enforcement API. It covers FDA-regulated food recall and enforcement records and is updated weekly. We query it live for each search, so results reflect the latest published data.

Question 2

How do I check if a product has been recalled?

Accepted Answer

Type the product or brand name into the search box — for example 'peanut butter', 'spinach' or a brand — and optionally filter by state or status. The tool lists matching FDA recalls with the recalling firm, product description, reason and recall class.

Question 3

What do recall classes (I, II, III) mean?

Accepted Answer

Class I is the most serious — a reasonable probability that the product will cause serious health problems or death. Class II involves a temporary or reversible health risk. Class III is unlikely to cause adverse health effects but violates FDA regulations. The class appears as a coloured badge on each result.

Question 4

Does this include meat and poultry recalls?

Accepted Answer

Not directly. Meat, poultry and processed egg products are regulated by the USDA's FSIS, not the FDA, so they aren't in this dataset. This tool covers FDA-regulated foods. For meat and poultry, check the USDA FSIS recall site.

Question 5

Is this an official FDA tool?

Accepted Answer

No. This is an independent search interface built on the FDA's public openFDA data. It's a convenient way to look things up, but for official recall notices and guidance always refer to fda.gov.

Food Recall Checker

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