Data Sources & Methodology

RecallDex aggregates publicly available recall notices from three major U.S. government agencies into a unified search experience. We normalize dates, categories, manufacturers, and remedy fields to make cross-agency comparisons simple and consistent.

Our Data Sources

CPSC — Consumer Product Safety Commission

The CPSC oversees the safety of more than 15,000 types of consumer products, from toys and cribs to power tools and household chemicals. We ingest recall data from the CPSC's public API, which includes product descriptions, hazard information, remedy instructions, images, and manufacturer details.

Browse CPSC recalls →

FDA — Food and Drug Administration

The FDA is responsible for protecting public health by ensuring the safety of food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics. We collect both food enforcement reports and drug enforcement reports from the FDA's openFDA API. These records include classification levels (Class I, II, III), distribution patterns, and product identification details.

Browse FDA food recalls → Browse FDA drug recalls →

NHTSA — National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA manages vehicle safety standards and investigates defects. We pull recall data from NHTSA's public recalls API, covering cars, trucks, motorcycles, car seats, tires, and other vehicle-related equipment. Records include campaign numbers, affected makes and models, component descriptions, and remedy details.

Browse NHTSA recalls →

How We Process Data

Collection

We run automated import jobs on a weekly schedule that pull the latest recall records from each agency's public API. New records are added and existing records are updated if changes are detected at the source.

Normalization

Each agency uses different field names, date formats, and classification systems. We map these into a consistent schema: every recall record includes a title, description, recall date, source agency, classification (where available), status, remedy information, and the responsible firm. Product categories are standardized across sources.

Update Frequency

Import jobs run weekly (every Sunday at 02:00 UTC). Site-wide statistics are refreshed daily at 05:00 UTC. Cached data on the frontend is refreshed at regular intervals to ensure near-current information.

Limitations

While we strive for completeness, there are inherent limitations:

  • Data is only as current as the last import cycle. Real-time updates are not available.
  • Some older records may have incomplete fields depending on what was available in the original source data.
  • Classification levels (Class I/II/III) are primarily available for FDA recalls. CPSC and NHTSA use different risk categorization systems.
  • Distribution patterns and unit counts may not be available for all records.

Data Accuracy

RecallDex presents information as provided by government sources. We do not modify the substance of recall notices. Always verify recall information with the original agency source or the product manufacturer for the most current status.

Disclaimer: RecallDex is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by CPSC, FDA, NHTSA, or any U.S. government agency.