About Public Health Trace
Public Health Trace makes official food and drug recall, outbreak, and disease surveillance data easier to find and understand. Every record on the site is drawn from a public government source and links back to that source, so you can always verify what you're reading against the original.
Our mission
Public health data is already public, but it's often scattered across separate agency websites, published in inconsistent formats, and hard to search across sources. Public Health Trace brings recall, outbreak, surveillance, and air quality data from the CDC, FDA, USDA, and EPA into one place, connects related records to each other, and lets anyone search or subscribe to alerts for free. The goal is simple: help people find out sooner when a food or medication they buy has been recalled, an outbreak is affecting their state, or air quality is turning unhealthy.
Independence
Public Health Trace is an independent information service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of the CDC, FDA, USDA, EPA, or any other government agency. It republishes and organizes data those agencies have already made public, and every recall, outbreak, surveillance, and air quality record links to its official source so you can confirm the details directly with the issuing agency.
Accuracy and transparency
We aim to represent source data accurately and to be upfront about how it's collected, how often it refreshes, and where it falls short. Our methodology page explains exactly how data moves from each agency into Public Health Trace, our data sources page lists every source we pull from (including the ones that aren't fully connected yet), and our editorial policy explains how titles and summaries are generated. If something looks wrong, our corrections policy explains how to report it.
How Public Health Trace works
Collect
We gather recall, outbreak, and surveillance data from official public sources.
Organize
Records are connected by food, illness, company, brand, and location.
Inform
You can search the data and subscribe to alerts that matter to you.
Principles
- Source first. Every record links to its official government source. Public Health Trace never asks you to trust it instead of the original.
- No invented data. We don't estimate, guess, or fill in gaps with placeholder figures. If a source hasn't published something, Public Health Trace says so rather than making it up.
- No AI-written narrative content. Titles and summaries are generated deterministically from official fields, not by a language model. See our editorial policy.
- Free access. Search and email alerts are free, with no account or login required to unsubscribe.
- Not medical advice. Public Health Trace is an information service, not a substitute for professional medical guidance. See our medical disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Public Health Trace affiliated with the CDC, FDA, USDA, or EPA?
- No. Public Health Trace is an independent information service. It is not operated by, endorsed by, or affiliated with any government agency. It organizes data those agencies have already published and links every record back to its official source.
- Where does Public Health Trace's data come from?
- Public Health Trace currently pulls from the CDC's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) and National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS), the FDA's food enforcement (recall) database, FDA drug enforcement (recall) database, and recall RSS feed, USDA FSIS recall data, and the EPA's AirNow air quality data. See the data sources page for the full list, including which sources are fully live.
- How often is the data updated?
- Refresh frequency varies by source; most active sources are checked at least once every 48 hours. The methodology page explains exactly how each source is imported and how staleness is tracked.
- Does Public Health Trace use AI to write its content?
- No. Recall and outbreak titles and summaries are generated deterministically from the official fields each agency publishes -- not by a language model, and not rewritten as narrative copy. See our editorial policy.
- Is Public Health Trace a substitute for medical advice?
- No. Public Health Trace is an information service, not a source of medical advice. If you believe you have a foodborne illness, contact a healthcare provider. See our medical disclaimer.
- How do I get notified about new recalls or outbreaks?
- You can subscribe to free email alerts and choose which states, foods, diseases, companies, or brands to watch. See the alerts page.
- I found an error in a record. How do I report it?
- See our corrections policy for what to include, then contact us with the details.
Have a question that isn't answered here? Contact us.
