Recall vs. market withdrawal vs. safety alert
Recall
The firm removes or corrects a marketed product that violates the law and poses a risk. FDA/USDA recalls get a severity class (I, II, III) after a health hazard evaluation and appear in enforcement reports — the data behind this site.
Market withdrawal
The product has a minor issue that is not a legal violation — a quality problem, say. The firm pulls it voluntarily; no class is assigned, and it generally does not appear in the enforcement database.
Medical device safety alert / public health alert
Issued when a product may present an unreasonable risk but a recall isn't possible or sufficient — USDA-FSIS uses Public Health Alerts when, for instance, the product is no longer in commerce but may still be in home freezers.
Why the same recall appears twice
A company announcement (press release) is typically posted within days; the classified enforcement entry follows after the agency's evaluation, sometimes weeks later. Recall Bench shows both feeds and says which is which.
More: recall classes explained · methodology
Reviewed against agency definitions; page rebuilt nightly (as of ).