PlateWatch
A diner's food-safety companion that watches CDC, FDA, and state health-department outbreak feeds and pings you the moment a restaurant, chain, or ingredient you've recently eaten shows up in an active investigation.
Parents and immunocompromised adults who eat out 2+ times a week and worry about foodborne illness
- Opt-in restaurant check-ins via QR scan or receipt photo that build a 14-day food history
- Real-time outbreak alerts pulled from CDC, FDA, and state health department feeds
- Plain-language symptom checker that maps your recent meals to current GI outbreaks (Cyclospora, Salmonella, Listeria)
- One-tap report to your local health department if you get sick after a flagged meal
Google Trends shows Taco Bell specials spiking alongside an active but-unidentified-source Cyclospora investigation — diners want to know whether their last takeout is safe, and current apps (Yelp, Google Maps) treat food safety as a footnote rather than a feature.
Trend shows Google search interest in fast food at the same moment an FDA investigation is in the news — diners are actively seeking safety info.Current Outbreaks | Foodborne Outbreaks | CDC ↗
No consumer app centers on outbreak alerts; Yelp and Google bury food-safety data in reviews and basic hygiene scores.Current Outbreaks | Foodborne Outbreaks | CDC ↗
Tough to charge premium directly — better as freemium or B2B (sell aggregated exposure data to insurers and grocery chains).Current Outbreaks | Foodborne Outbreaks | CDC ↗
Foodborne outbreaks are perennial; cyclospora and salmonella investigations recur every summer.
Public CDC/FDA feeds are open; receipt OCR and push alerts are mature tech — main work is data normalization across agencies.