Risk Levels — How We Classify Recall Severity

Product recalls are issued by four U.S. government agencies, each with its own classification system. We normalize these into four standardized risk levels so you can quickly understand the severity of any recall, regardless of which agency issued it.

Our Risk Levels

Critical Risk

Imminent danger of death or serious injury. These recalls involve products that pose the most severe safety threats.

What to do: Stop using the product immediately. Follow the agency's instructions for disposal or return. Do not attempt to repair or continue using.

High Risk

Significant risk of injury or illness. These products can cause serious harm but may not pose an immediate life-threatening danger.

What to do: Take action promptly. Stop using the product as soon as possible and contact the manufacturer or retailer for a remedy.

Medium Risk

Moderate risk of adverse health effects or injury. Exposure is unlikely to cause serious harm in most cases.

What to do: Return or address when convenient. Check the specific recall notice for remedy options such as refunds, replacements, or repairs.

Low Risk

Minor risk. Typically a quality, labeling, or cosmetic issue with limited safety impact.

What to do: Review the recall notice at your convenience. These recalls rarely require urgent action but may involve a product return or exchange.

Unknown Risk

Severity has not been classified yet. Typically a brand-new FDA recall that arrived before the agency assigned a Class I/II/III rating. The badge updates automatically once the agency publishes its classification on the next sync.

What to do: Treat with caution until classified. Read the recall details carefully and stop using the product if you suspect injury or illness; check back later as the badge will update.

Agency Classification Mapping

How each agency's native severity levels map to our standardized risk levels.

Agency	Agency Classification	Our Risk Level
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Learn more about Food and Drug Administration classifications →	Class I	Critical
	Class II	Medium
	Class III	Low
	Not Yet Classified (NC)	Unknown
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)Learn more about U.S. Department of Agriculture classifications →	High Risk / Class I	Critical
	Public Health Alert	High
	Low Risk / Class II	Medium
	Marginal / Class III	Low
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)	Park Vehicle flag (do not drive)	Critical
	Both Park Vehicle and Park Outside flags	Critical
	Park Outside flag (fire risk)	High
	All other recalls	Medium
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)Learn more about Consumer Product Safety Commission classifications →	Class A Hazard (death or grievous injury likely)	Critical
	Class B Hazard (serious injury likely, death possible)	High
	Class C Hazard (serious injury possible)	Medium

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): FDA assigns a numerical class once a recall is fully reviewed. Recalls that reach our site before FDA finishes that review arrive as 'Not Yet Classified' and stay at an unknown risk level until FDA updates their classification on the next sync.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): AI may reclassify medium recalls to a higher or lower level based on the severity described in the recall notice.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): CPSC uses a Class A/B/C hazard classification system internally but does not publish it in their API or recall notices. Our AI analyzes the hazard descriptions and injury reports provided by CPSC to classify each recall into the appropriate risk level.

AI Reclassification

When an agency does not provide a severity rating, or when the default mapping yields "Medium," our AI analyzes the full recall description to determine a more accurate risk level. Each AI classification includes a confidence score. High-confidence classifications are published automatically, while low-confidence ones are flagged for manual admin review before going live.