South Korea is promoting its cuisine to the world to put its culture on display。
As chili sauce is a common component of Korean food, Seoul is working on a ranking system to gauge the different strengths of its chilies, in a bid to increase their exportation。
According to a report Thursday by the Korea Associated Press, Seoul will introduce the industry standard for measuring the hotness of chili sauces later this month。
The government and the food industry have agreed on the standard of hotness classification, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Korea Food Research Institute said Thursday。
The quantitative criteria sorts the hotness from "slightly spicy," which is rated 30 or less on a numerical scale, "a little spicy (30-45)，" "medium spicy (45-75)，" "heavy spicy (75-100)，" and "super spicy (over 100)."
Aside from the ratings displayed in English, a graph featuring a thermometer will be used to show spiciness。
Jeong Seung-won, a researcher with the Korea Food Research Institute, said that it quantifies the hotness from zero to 100 based on the content of the chili's capsaicin in the recipes and popular tastes。
Manufacturers of chili sauces will use such criteria to standardize their products, which is expected to make it easier for consumers to choose。