diff --git a/backend/app/api/recipe_search.py b/backend/app/api/recipe_search.py
index c91356f..516252a 100644
--- a/backend/app/api/recipe_search.py
+++ b/backend/app/api/recipe_search.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ router = APIRouter()
 # we don't want a race between two parallel searches.
 _quota_lock = threading.Lock()
 _points_used: float = 0.0
-_DAILY_LIMIT: float = 140.0  # 150 free, leave 10pt safety margin
+_DAILY_LIMIT: float = 45.0  # 50 free, leave 5pt safety margin (corrected from 140; Sprint 15 + Sprint 16)
 _INFO_URL = "https://api.spoonacular.com/recipes/{id}/information"
 _SEARCH_URL = "https://api.spoonacular.com/recipes/complexSearch"