Label Lapses: Haribo's Translation Blunder

Yesterday I was shopping at World Market, looking for a sweet reminder of Germany for a family member - and I chanced upon HARIBO Deutschland 's Licorice Parade. However, the label listed a strange ingredient: 'Strength'. To a linguist's eye, this screamed of a mistranslation from 'St?rke' – German for 'starch' in a food context.

Why does it matter?

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) ensures that food labels are a clear map to what's inside the package. When 'St?rke' turns into 'Strength', it's not just a typo; it's a roadblock to people’s understanding. An error like that can confuse consumers, especially those who depend on accurate labels for dietary or allergy reasons. In addition, this type of issue can potentially put a product at odds with FDA regulations, and that can have a serious impact on consumer trust and brand reputation.

It's not always the fault of machine translation

More than 15 years ago, when I was managing terminology at 美敦力 , I developed a controlled vocabulary paired it with a simple dictionary-based machine translation system to generate high-quality (machine) translations of customs forms [which resulted in a publication and conference presentation: An excellent application for crummy machine translation].

This solution was based on an automatic terminology extraction process I developed years earlier [which led to a patent application: Verfahren zur Erstellung projekt-spezifischer Terminologielisten].

The highly automated solution I implemented at Medtronic was designed to enable the organization to ship medical devices to international destinations in emergency situations where they didn’t have time to wait for human translation. And it worked.

The missing piece: terminology management

For organizations, especially in regulated industries, managing terminology isn't just about avoiding translation gaffes; it's about ensuring clarity, compliance, and consumer safety. The technology and methods for achieving high-quality translations through effective terminology management have been available for many years. Isn't it time that everyone involved in content creation took advantage of them?

Terminology extraction is now easier than ever

If you're interested in learning how to create terminology extraction lists and build multilingual glossaries quickly and easily, my new book, "Terminology Extraction for Translation and Interpretation Made Easy," offers a practical guide. Whether you're a freelance language professional or part of a multi-billion-dollar global business, this book can help you take the guesswork out of translation-oriented terminology management.

Don't be a dummy gummy and get your copy of Terminology Extraction Made Easy today!