Fast-casual burrito chain Chipotle is working with the data infrastructure giant Palantir.
\n\nThe company is working on a “food safety risk platform” hosted on Palantir’s flagship software platform Foundry, according to screenshots viewed by WIRED. The platform appears to analyze factors like a store’s health department scores, pest incidents, and employee illnesses to assign a food safety score—basically, the store’s risk level.
\n\nChipotle spokesperson Erin Wolford confirmed the initiative, but declined to comment further. Palantir did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
\n\nIt's not known exactly when the partnership started or how widely the platform has been deployed, but it comes amid a particularly disastrous period for food safety. The Food and Drug Administration identified more than 12,800 illnesses tied to foodborne outbreaks so far this year, most from a massive cyclospora outbreak connected to iceberg lettuce.
\n\nChipotle was not directly impacted by the turbo diarrhea outbreak or the related recall, since it doesn’t serve iceberg lettuce. In July, however, it proactively stopped serving jalapenos from a particular supplier that was linked to a salmonella outbreak that went on to sicken more than 430 people.
\n\nPalantir has substantial offerings aimed at food-and-beverage companies, with contracts with poultry and…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/