The next time you go to Chipotle look in one of the front windows, probably in the corner by the door. You will see a big sticker with a letter on it, hopefully an A. That sticker tells you the restaurant’s grade. Yes, a grade, just like the ones you get in school.

Every Chipotle and, indeed, every restaurant in the U.S. is inspected and graded by the local department of public health. Every locality has a specific set of criteria that they use to assess restaurants on things like cleanliness, hand washing station availability, and safe food preparation methods. All of these standards are established so that you do not contract a foodborne illness from eating at any given restaurant.

A food inspector observes the conditions in the restaurant, issues the inspection report, and then posts the grade of the restaurant. Restaurants are required to display their letter grade. And just like in school, an A is the best, and it goes down from there.

So yes, Chipotle is public health.