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。

　　作为本国文化推广的一部分，韩国一直致力于将韩餐世界化。辣味一向是韩国料理口味的一大特色，为有利于出口，韩国将辣椒酱的辣味进行了标准化分级。

　　据韩联社1日报道，韩国将从4月底起引进辣椒酱辣味分级标准。报道称，韩国农林水产食品部和韩国食品研究院1日表示，政府和食品业界最近就辣椒酱的辣味等级标准方案达成了协议。根据该方案，辣椒酱的辣味共分为5个等级，按数字量化，辣味从轻到重依次是“稍辣(小于30)”、“微辣(30-45)”、“中辣(45-75)”、“很辣(75-100)”、“超辣(大于100)”，还特地规定了相应的英文标记。除了文字标记以外，还将用温度表图像形象地表达辣度。对于分级的量化标准，韩国食品研究院研究员郑承元博士对《环球时报》说，依据辣酱中辣椒素的含量，再结合大众口感，用0—100数字对辣度进化量化。

　　辣椒酱厂商可自觉采用该标准，将生产的辣椒酱的辣度标准化、规范化。此举便于消费者选择产品，还有利于出口。(作者：沙飞)