On this page
Start with the official instruction
A recall site's score can help you sort a list, but it should not replace the recall notice. Read the product identifiers, hazard and action in the issuing authority's or manufacturer's notice before deciding what to do. For food, the FDA tells consumers to check whether their product matches and follow the recall instructions. FDA recall guidance
Separate a site's score from an agency classification
The Recall Desk publishes its own five-point scale. Its methodology allows a score of five for documented deaths or serious injuries, rather than deaths alone. It gives Class I recalls a minimum score of four; Class I classification alone does not establish a reported death. Those are the site's stated scoring rules, not an official universal agency severity scale. The Recall Desk methodology
Use the score as a pointer to the supporting evidence. If the evidence shown does not explain the score, open the original notice. A number without an identifiable notice is an incomplete record.
Audit one recall in four rows
| Row | Evidence to copy into your notes |
|---|---|
| Identity | Issuer, notice URL, publication date, product and affected identifiers |
| Hazard | The notice's stated hazard, keeping reported events separate from possible outcomes |
| Classification | Any agency classification, plus the separate site's score and methodology date |
| Action | The exact instruction relevant to your product, with contact details from the notice |
This is an original comparison worksheet. It deliberately gives the action its own row so a low displayed score cannot hide a stop-use instruction.
Work through an apparent disagreement
Imagine that a listing shows score three while its linked notice is classified Class I. Under The Recall Desk's published minimum-four rule, that needs investigation. Record the listing URL, notice URL and dates; do not quietly reinterpret the agency classification to make the score fit. This is a hypothetical consistency check, not a claim about a particular current recall. Methodology used for the example
For another case, a score of five could reflect serious injuries without a reported death. That is why the old shortcut “five means deaths” is unreliable under the published method. Read the underlying event evidence and retain its qualifications.
Keep timing tied to the notice
Do not convert scores into invented waiting periods such as “deal with this next week.” Copy the notice's instruction and contact the named organisation when its application to your product is unclear. Your completed record should distinguish what the authority instructed, what the site calculated and what you have independently confirmed.
