US Product Recall Screening API

The raw sources

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) publishes recalls at recalls.gov — household products, children's items, electronics, appliances. No bulk export and no API. To check whether a specific product is recalled, you search manually.

The FDA maintains separate recall databases for food products and drugs at fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts. Two separate sections, different search interfaces, updated on different schedules.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tracks vehicle and auto parts recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Separate portal, separate search, separate data.

If you're a retailer doing due diligence on suppliers, a marketplace verifying product listings, an insurance platform screening claims, or a logistics company handling returned goods — you're expected to check all three. Manually. Every time.

What the API does

Submit a product name, brand, or description and the API fuzzy-matches it against approximately 4,000 combined active recall records across CPSC, FDA food/drug, and NHTSA.

Response includes matched recall entries with agency source, product description, reason for recall, and the date the recall was issued.

Data sources and freshness

• CPSC Recall API — ~1,958 active records, refreshed every 24 hours
• FDA Food Safety Recalls — ~1,000 active records, refreshed every 24 hours
• FDA Drug Recalls — ~1,000 active records, refreshed every 24 hours
• NHTSA Vehicle Recalls — in progress (rate limit resolving)

Who uses this

• E-commerce platforms and marketplaces screening product listings before publishing
• Retailers conducting supplier due diligence
• Insurance platforms flagging recalled products in claims
• Logistics companies managing product returns
• Any compliance workflow that needs to confirm a product hasn't been subject to a safety recall

Pricing

Free tier: 100 requests/month, no credit card required. Paid plans from $15/month via RapidAPI.