Hyundai Green Food Obtains Intellectual Property Office Patent for "Safety Score"

On November 24, Hyundai Green Food announced that it has obtained a patent from the Intellectual Property Office (formerly known as the Korean Intellectual Property Office) for its processed food health index labeling system, the "Safety Score."

The Safety Score is an innovative nutrition information labeling system that displays the health index of each product in the form of star ratings, making it easier for consumers to identify healthy processed foods. Hyundai Green Food analyzed nutritional information, additive content, and the degree of raw material processing for approximately 35,000 processed food products sold at Hyundai Department Stores, Hyundai Outlets, and the official online store Greeting Mall, assigning a health score to each item.

Safety Score guide banner developed and patented by Hyundai Green Food.
[Photo by Hyundai Green Food]

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The system analyzes the nutritional information indicated on the product packaging and awards higher scores to products with lower levels of ingredients that are unhealthy when consumed in excess, such as sugar, sodium, trans fats, and saturated fats. It also uses the global standard for processed foods, NOVA, adopted by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), to calculate the degree of processing, with less processed products receiving higher scores.

Additionally, products receive higher scores if they contain fewer additives or if the amount of additives is low relative to the daily intake allowance. Products that score above 80 points receive one star, those with 85 points or more receive two stars, and those above 90 points are awarded three stars. These stars are displayed on the product price tags in stores or in the product information section of the online mall. Products scoring below 80 points do not receive any stars, and only the product name and price are shown as before.

A Hyundai Green Food representative explained, "The acquisition of this patent demonstrates the technological distinction of the Safety Score, which has been recognized externally for its comprehensive evaluation criteria that go beyond just nutritional content to include additive content and the degree of raw material processing, unlike similar systems that score products based solely on nutritional components."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Green Food conducted a full analysis of 20,000 processed food products over three years starting in 2019 to develop the Safety Score. Since the system was introduced in 2022, the company has continued to analyze an additional 5,000 products annually to further refine the evaluation criteria. With the acquisition of the Safety Score patent, Hyundai Green Food aims to further solidify its vision of becoming a "company that provides healthy food options with a positive impact on dietary habits." To this end, the company is also considering developing a nutrition labeling system applicable not only to processed foods but also to fresh products such as fruits and vegetables.

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