Source data
The register is built directly from the openFDA Drug Enforcement Reports API, the FDA's canonical public feed of drug recalls and field corrections. Each recall is published with the FDA's own classification (Class I, II, or III), the recalling firm, the distribution scope, the reason for recall, and a status flag (Ongoing, Pending, Completed, Terminated).
FDA recall classifications
- Class I — a strong likelihood that use of, or exposure to, the recalled product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. The highest-impact class
- Class II — use of the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences; remote probability of serious adverse health consequences
- Class III — product violates FDA labeling or manufacturing standards but is unlikely to cause adverse health consequences
What's published here
The register lists every recall returned by the openFDA endpoint (17642 records at last refresh). The index page displays the top 3000 most-actionable recalls (Class I, Ongoing, recent first); the full set is available via the CSV exports.
Per-recall detail pages are published for every Class I recall and every currently-Ongoing recall (whatever the class). For lower-class terminated recalls, the row is searchable on the index and the full record is in the CSV; we do not generate a dedicated page.
The operational response language on Ongoing-recall pages is templated by class. Pull-from-shelf and patient-notification guidance is the pharmacist default; specific operational protocols vary by organization.
Update cadence
The openFDA Enforcement Reports endpoint updates as the FDA publishes new recalls and as existing recalls progress through their lifecycle (Pending → Ongoing → Completed → Terminated). Branmoor re-ingests on each site deploy. The freshness of the register is bounded by the openFDA refresh cadence (typically daily for new recalls, occasional batch updates for status changes).
What's not here
This register is drug recalls only — the openFDA endpoint at
/drug/enforcement.json. FDA also publishes parallel
enforcement endpoints for medical devices, food, animal/veterinary, and
tobacco; those are separate datasets and are not covered here.
The free public register does not yet offer:
- Real-time push alerts — Class I email notifications at the moment of FDA publication. Planned as a free public-good feature once email delivery is wired
- Subscriber-defined NDC watchlists — bring a list of NDCs you dispense; receive a notification if any of them appears in a future recall. Planned for the paid layer
- Cross-reference with RXWatch (shortage register) — a shortage today often becomes a recall tomorrow; surface the combined signal. Planned
Limits
openFDA is FDA-provided but carries a disclaimer that the data should not be the sole basis for clinical or operational decisions. For each individual recall, the canonical record is the FDA's own enforcement report at FDA Recalls. Branmoor presents the openFDA record verbatim and links back to the FDA source on every detail page.