Chipotle is piloting a food safety platform with Palantir

Chipotle is investing in a new food-safety risk-management platform in partnership with artificial Intelligence giant Palantir. The pilot comes amid a busy summer of food safety incidents this summer driven largely by a nationwide cyclospora outbreak in which Chipotle was not implicated.

In a statement sent to Nation’s Restaurant News, Chipotle said the platform is designed to provide a more consistent and centralized view of food-safety risk across our restaurants.”

The company added that 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.

“This is another example of how we continue to invest in tools and technology that support our commitment to food safety.”

Chipotle has significantly bolstered its food-safety investments following a 2015 E. coli outbreak that hospitalized dozens and sent sales and its stock price plummeting. Chipotle paid a $25 million fine in 2020 to settle a string of foodborne illness lawsuits related to the outbreak.

The company has since implemented rigorous standards, enhanced pathogen testing, and adjusted preparation and cooking procedures. Chipotle has also created an independent Food Safety Advisory Council and has invested in supply chain traceability and RFID technology.

These investments paid off this summer as Chipotle was able to quickly remove jalapeños from some of its restaurants in Minnesota amid a salmonella outbreak. The company said upon learning of a potential outbreak, it “immediately initiated our ingredient traceability system and was able to identify jalapeños as a potential common ingredient from a common lot, and the restaurants where it was distributed.”

The Food and Drug Administration has identified nearly 13,000 illnesses so far this year tied to foodborne illnesses. There are currently nine foodborne illness outbreak investigations happening at the same time, which is a new record.