AU Food Recalls API

Base URL: https://api.techcompass.com.au. FSANZ food recall notices with structured JSON. Updated every 2 hours. Free tier.

About this Dataset

The AU Food Recalls API exposes food recall notices published by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), the joint AU/NZ government authority responsible for food safety regulation under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. Recall data is also published on the productsafety.gov.au consumer product safety portal. The Tech Compass API returns the same notices as structured JSON, with 2-hourly updates and historical accumulation, including product category, hazard type, supplier ABN, and distribution states on every record.

What is a food recall?

A food recall is issued when a food product is found to pose a health or safety risk and must be removed from sale. FSANZ coordinates recalls across all Australian states and territories. Each recall notice includes the product name, the responsible supplier (often identified by ABN), the reason for recall (e.g. undeclared allergen, microbial contamination, foreign matter), the distribution states, and the issuing authority.

Update frequency

The Tech Compass pipeline polls the FSANZ recall feed every 2 hours. New recalls are typically available within 2 hours of FSANZ publication. The pipeline accumulates all recalls over time via unique recall_id — historical data is preserved even after a product recall is resolved.

Data lineage

Every response includes a data_lineage block with source, source_attribution, license, and retrieved_at for audit purposes.

Licensing

FSANZ recall data is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Commercial use is permitted with attribution. The data_lineage.license field in every response carries the attribution string.

Authentication & Tiers

All endpoints require an API key:

Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>

Recall Object

All endpoints return recall objects with the following fields:

Endpoints

GET /v1/au/recalls/food

List food recalls. Returns active recalls by default, newest first.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food?status=active&state=NSW&limit=20" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

{
  "recalls": [
    {
      "recall_id": "FSANZ-2026-0142",
      "product_name": "Organic Cashew Butter 250g",
      "recall_type": "Consumer Level",
      "hazard_description": "May contain undeclared peanuts — risk to peanut-allergic consumers",
      "hazard_type": "undeclared_allergen",
      "recall_initiator": "Nut Co Pty Ltd",
      "initiator_abn": "51824753556",
      "states_affected": ["NSW", "VIC", "QLD"],
      "recall_date": "2026-07-04",
      "recall_status": "active",
      "fsanz_url": "https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-recalls/...",
      "first_ingested_at": "2026-07-04T08:12:00Z",
      "last_updated_at": "2026-07-04T08:12:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "limit": 20,
  "offset": 0,
  "data_lineage": {
    "request_id": "a1b2c3...",
    "source": "fsanz_recalls",
    "source_url": "https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-recalls",
    "source_attribution": "Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)",
    "license": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: Food Standards Australia New Zealand.",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-07-07T10:00:00Z"
  }
}

GET /v1/au/recalls/food/search

Search by product name or exact ABN. The endpoint auto-detects ABN input (11 digits, with or without spaces/hyphens).

# Search by product name
curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food/search?q=cashew" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

# Search by ABN
curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food/search?q=51824753556" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

GET /v1/au/recalls/food/{recall_id}

Retrieve the full detail for a single recall by its FSANZ recall ID. Returns HTTP 404 if the recall ID is not in the database.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food/FSANZ-2026-0142" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>"

POST /v1/au/recalls/food/screen

Batch screen multiple ABNs for active food recalls. Returns a per-ABN results dict. Useful for periodic supplier audits.

curl -X POST "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food/screen" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey tc_live_<your_key>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"identifiers": ["51824753556", "88123456789", "31632578342"]}'

{
  "results": {
    "51824753556": [
      {
        "recall_id": "FSANZ-2026-0142",
        "product_name": "Organic Cashew Butter 250g",
        "recall_type": "Consumer Level",
        "hazard_description": "May contain undeclared peanuts",
        "hazard_type": "undeclared_allergen",
        "recall_initiator": "Nut Co Pty Ltd",
        "initiator_abn": "51824753556",
        "states_affected": ["NSW", "VIC", "QLD"],
        "recall_date": "2026-07-04",
        "recall_status": "active",
        "fsanz_url": "https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-recalls/...",
        "first_ingested_at": "2026-07-04T08:12:00Z",
        "last_updated_at": "2026-07-04T08:12:00Z"
      }
    ],
    "88123456789": [],
    "31632578342": []
  },
  "data_lineage": { ... }
}

Error Reference

Common Use Cases

1. Monitor for active recalls in a state

Who uses this: State health authorities, supermarket chains, and food distributors tracking active recalls in their region.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food?status=active&state=VIC" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_KEY"

2. Screen a new food supplier by ABN before onboarding

Who uses this: Procurement teams, supermarkets, and food service businesses conducting supplier due diligence.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food/search?q=51824753556" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_KEY"

3. Filter by hazard type for allergen compliance

Who uses this: Food manufacturers, hospitality operators, and school food programs managing allergen risk.

curl "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food?hazard_type=undeclared_allergen&status=active" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_KEY"

4. Weekly batch supplier audit (Pro)

Who uses this: Supermarket chains and food distributors with a known supplier list, running weekly compliance checks.

curl -X POST "https://api.techcompass.com.au/v1/au/recalls/food/screen" \
  -H "Authorization: ApiKey YOUR_KEY" \
  -d '{"abns": ["51824753556", "88123456789", ...]}'