Canada Product Recall Database: How to Check Safety Alerts and Subscribe

Health Canada’s official recalls database lets you search consumer products, food, health products, medical devices, cannabis, and vehicle-related alerts in one place.
Before buying, using, or reselling an item, compare its brand, model, lot, serial, UPC, or other identifying details with the recall notice.
You can subscribe to email alerts by product category, use RSS feeds for ongoing monitoring, or check separate Transport Canada and U.S. databases when appropriate.

What Canada’s product recall database can tell you

Canada’s official Recalls and Safety Alerts database is the best starting point for checking whether a product has been recalled or is subject to a safety warning. It brings together notices for consumer products, food, health products, medical devices, cannabis products, and vehicle-related recalls.

The important distinction is that a general product search is not the same as confirming that your exact item is affected. A notice may apply only to certain model numbers, production dates, lot codes, serial-number ranges, sizes, flavours, or Canadian distribution channels.

That matters when you’re buying second-hand, accepting a hand-me-down, listing something for resale, or checking an appliance, charger, toy, cosmetic, baby product, or household item already in your home.

How to search for a recall in Canada

Start with the official database and search using the product name, brand, manufacturer, or a distinctive phrase from the label.

Search the official Canadian Recalls and Safety Alerts database

Gather the identifying details. Look for the brand, product name, model number, serial number, UPC, lot code, date code, size, colour, or expiry date. Electronics often place this information on a rear label or inside the battery compartment. Food and cosmetics usually use lot or batch codes.
Search more than once. Try the manufacturer’s name, the product family, and the model number separately. A notice may use a formal product name that differs from the name used by a retailer.
Open the full notice. Read the hazard, affected products, locations sold, recall date, and corrective action. The headline alone may not tell you whether your particular item is included.
Compare the details carefully. Match the numbers and dates on your item with the affected range in the notice. If the notice lists several versions, do not assume every version is recalled.

The database also includes archived notices, which is useful when researching older products or checking an item offered through a used-goods marketplace.

How to read a Canadian recall notice

A recall notice normally answers four practical questions: what is wrong, which products are affected, what risk is involved, and what consumers should do next.

Notice section	What to look for
Product identification	Brand, model, lot, serial number, size, UPC, date code, or other matching details.
Hazard	The possible risk, such as fire, electric shock, choking, burns, laceration, poisoning, or food contamination.
What consumers should do	Stop using the product, unplug it, discard it, return it, contact the company, or arrange a repair, replacement, or refund.
Where it was sold	Retailers, online marketplaces, provinces, dates of sale, or distribution locations.

Follow the remedy in the notice rather than relying on a general internet comment or a seller’s informal explanation. Some recalled products can be repaired or replaced, while others should be discarded immediately. For food, medicine, cosmetics, and products that may have caused an injury, the notice may include additional handling or medical guidance.

How to subscribe to recall and safety alert updates

Health Canada offers a free email subscription service. You can choose English or French notifications, receive a daily digest or individual messages as alerts are posted, and select categories such as electronics, appliances, toys, household products, food, allergens, drugs, medical devices, or natural health products.

Subscribe to Health Canada recall email alerts

Enter and confirm your email address.
Choose your correspondence language.
Select Daily for one combined digest or Immediately for individual notifications.
Select at least one product or alert category.
Submit the form and confirm your subscription if requested.

Vehicle recall email subscriptions are not offered through this Health Canada form. For cars, trucks, tires, and child car seats, use Transport Canada’s manufacturer lookup and notification information instead.

Check Transport Canada vehicle, tire, and child car seat recall information

RSS feeds and recall data for regular monitoring

If you want more control than email, Health Canada also provides RSS feeds for categories including consumer products, cannabis, health products, medical devices, food, allergens, vehicles, tires, and child car seats.

Open Health Canada recall RSS feeds and data options

RSS is useful for retailers, resale businesses, libraries, childcare organizations, journalists, and anyone who wants alerts to appear in a feed reader. Health Canada also publishes recall and alert data in CSV and JSON formats, with the dataset updated daily. That makes the database more useful for structured research or internal product-checking systems.

Recalls and Safety Alerts dataset

For an occasional household check, the searchable website and email subscription are usually simpler. RSS and data feeds make more sense when you monitor many product categories or need a repeatable process.

What to do if your product is recalled

Stop using the product if the notice says to do so, especially when the hazard involves fire, overheating, electric shock, choking, poisoning, or serious injury. Unplug or isolate it only if doing so is safe. Keep the product away from children and pets, and do not give it away or list it for resale.

Then follow the company’s remedy instructions. You may be asked to contact the manufacturer, upload proof of purchase, return the item, schedule a repair, or dispose of it in a specific way. Keep photos of the label and your receipt until the issue is resolved.

If the product caused an injury, near miss, property damage, bad reaction, or other safety concern, you can report the incident to Health Canada. Include what happened, when it happened, where you obtained the product, identifying numbers, and photos if available.

Report a consumer product safety incident to Health Canada

You do not need to report a recall that Health Canada has already published simply to notify the department. The incident-reporting form is for additional experiences or safety concerns that may help identify broader risks.

Canada and the United States use separate recall systems

A product sold in both countries may have related Canadian and U.S. notices, but the affected models, retailers, remedies, and distribution dates may differ. A U.S. recall is not automatic proof that the same item is recalled in Canada, and a Canadian notice may not appear in a U.S. database.

For products sold in the United States, check the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall database. It supports keyword searches, filters, downloadable recall data, and links to email notifications.

Search U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls

For a Canadian purchase, give priority to the Canadian notice and the Canadian manufacturer or retailer instructions. For a cross-border purchase, check both databases and keep the original seller’s documentation.

A simple recall-check routine

Before buying used: Search the brand and model, then check the identifying number on the actual item.
After buying new: Register the product with the manufacturer when registration is available, especially for appliances, vehicles, tires, child car seats, and battery-powered products.
For household safety: Subscribe to categories that match the products you regularly use.
For resale: Check every product before listing it and do not sell an item covered by an active safety recall unless the official notice clearly permits resale after the specified remedy.
When details do not match: Contact the manufacturer using the contact information in the official notice rather than guessing.

Helpful Links

Recalls and Safety Alerts – Search current and archived Canadian recalls and safety alerts by product, brand, or keyword.
Health Canada Recall Email Subscription – Choose product categories and receive daily or immediate email notifications.
Health Canada RSS Feeds – Follow recall updates through category-specific RSS feeds.
Report a Consumer Product Incident – Report an injury, near miss, property damage, bad reaction, or other consumer product safety concern.
Transport Canada Vehicle, Tire, and Child Car Seat Recalls – Look up Canadian vehicle, tire, and child car seat recalls and manufacturer notification options.
U.S. CPSC Recalls and Product Safety Warnings – Search recalls and product safety warnings issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does a product have to appear in the database to be unsafe?

A. No. The database contains published Canadian recalls, advisories, and safety alerts, but a product may still be under investigation or may have a problem that has not yet led to a public notice. You can report an injury, near miss, property damage, or safety concern to Health Canada.

Q. Are all products with the same brand automatically recalled?

A. No. Recalls commonly apply to specific models, production dates, lot codes, serial-number ranges, sizes, or versions. Compare the identifying details on your item with the full recall notice.

Q. Can I sell a recalled product after finding it in my home?

A. Do not list or give away a product covered by an active safety recall. Follow the official notice and complete the stated repair, replacement, refund, or disposal process first. If the notice does not clearly explain resale after a remedy, contact the manufacturer or the relevant Canadian authority.

Q. Why did I receive a recall notice for food or health products but not vehicles?

A. Health Canada’s email subscription includes selected food, consumer product, and health-related categories, but its subscription form says vehicle recall notifications are not offered there. Use Transport Canada and the vehicle, tire, or child car seat manufacturer for those notices.

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