METHODS OF RATING AND DISPLAYING FOOD IN TERMS OF ITS LOCAL CHARACTER

• US 20140046869A1
• Filed: 08/10/2012
• Published: 02/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Localize Services, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Localize Services, Ltd.
• Inventors: Dear, Meghan
• Application Number:
  US13/572,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20140046869A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/347
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0278 Product appraisal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

Methods of rating and ranking foods based on various dimensions of where food and food business has originated from are provided. In some embodiments, the methods can comprise scalable and strategic ways to increase the visibility of local food products in grocery stores or food service providers (such as restaurants). In some embodiments, this can be done through on-shelf, on-menu, or on-product labelling, a rating system for how local a food product is, a conventional URL (uniform resource locator) link and/or a quick-response link (a URL that a smart phone can scan) that can allow customers to pursue further information about a product from a point of sale or distribution. The link can lead to a website or other page destination (ie. such as through an app), that can provide a database of participating local food producers/processors who retail in grocery stores or supply restaurants and other food distributors.

Claims

1. A method of rating a food supplied from a company as to how local it is to a point of delivery to a consumer, the method comprising:

a) assessing a degree of local ownership of the company;

b) assessing a degree of local food production or local processing of the food;

c) assigning a score to each assessment; and

d) combining each score into a total rating;

wherein the total rating is an amount that exists on a sliding scale and can be compared to total ratings of other food.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step assessing the degree of local sources of ingredients and assigning a score to this assessment to be combined with the scores from the other assessment to provide the total.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising a step of assessing the sustainability of the food and assigning a score to this assessment to be combined with the scores from the other assessment to provide the total.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of providing the total rating of the food on a food label and linking the total rating of the food from the food label to the consumer.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the linking is performed by an information code on the label to be scanned by the consumer using a scanning device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the information code comprises a QR code.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the labels are grocer labels displayed of grocery shelves.

8. The method of claim 4 wherein the labels are menu labels displayed on a menu of a food service provider.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of periodically reassessing each criteria to produce reassessed scores thereby creating a reassessed total.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of assessing the sustainability of the food and assigning a score to this assessment to be combined with the scores from the other assessment to provide the total.

11. A food label comprising a display surface showing a food total rating resulting from implementing of the method of claim 1.

12. The food label of claim 11 further comprising means for linking the total rating of the food from a food label to a consumer.

13. The food label of claim 12 wherein the linking means comprises an information code on the label to be scanned by a consumer using a scanning device.

14. The food label of claim 13 wherein the information code comprises a QR code.

15. A general purpose computer for implementing a method of rating a food supplied from a company as to how local it is to a point of delivery to a consumer, the computer comprising:

a) means for assessing a degree of local ownership of the company;

b) means for assessing a degree of local food production or local processing of the food;

c) means for assigning a score to each assessment; and

d) means for combining each score into a total rating;

wherein the total rating is an amount that exists on a sliding scale and can be compared to total ratings of other food.

16. The general purpose computer of claim 15, wherein the computer is a smartphone.

17. The general purpose computer of claim 16, further comprising means for assessing the degree of local sources of ingredients and assigning a score to this assessment to be combined with the scores from the other assessment to provide the total.

18. The general purpose computer of claim 15 further comprising means for assessing the sustainability of the food and assigning a score to this assessment to be combined with the scores from the other assessment to provide the total.

19. The general purpose computer of claim 15 further comprising means for linking the total rating of the food from a food label to a consumer.

20. The general purpose computer of claim 19, wherein the linking means comprises an information code on the label to be scanned by a consumer using a scanning device.

21. The general purpose computer of claim 20 wherein the information code comprises a QR code.

22. The general purpose computer of claim 15, further comprising means for assessing the degree of local sources of ingredients and assigning a score to this assessment to be combined with the scores from the other assessment to provide the total.