Chipotle and Palantir partner on food safety

The burrito chain is using Palantir's Foundry platform to build a food safety risk system that analyzes health scores, pest incidents, and employee illnesses to flag dangerous restaurants.

Why now? Food safety crisis

The FDA has identified over 12,800 illnesses from foodborne outbreaks this year, including a massive cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce that sickened thousands.

Chipotle's recent food safety scares

In July, Chipotle stopped serving jalapeños from a supplier linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened over 430 people. The chain wasn't hit by the lettuce outbreak since it doesn't serve iceberg lettuce.

How the platform works

The system brings health data together in one place so Chipotle teams can identify trends, spot problems early, and make data-driven decisions about food safety across all restaurants.

“The platform brings key information together in one place, enabling our teams to more effectively identify trends, prioritize follow-up, and make proactive, data-informed decisions.”

Palantir's growing corporate business

Palantir already works with Tyson, General Mills, and Wendy's on supply chain and inventory management. US commercial revenue hit 764 million dollars last quarter, up 149 percent year-over-year.

The immigration controversy looming

Palantir's ICE contracts make this partnership sensitive. Immigrants make up roughly one fifth of restaurant workers, and Chipotle fired hundreds of undocumented workers in 2010 after an ICE audit.