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halban Plats // halban Heerd (Plattdeutsch)

Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Nahrungs- und Genussmittel (2)

English translation:

Staple and luxury foods

Added to glossary by itla
Mar 15, 2008 11:27
16 yrs ago
34 viewers *
German term

Nahrungs- und Genussmittel

German to English Marketing Nutrition Generic term
I would like to restart the discussion about this term which Steffen Walter, whose expertise I very much respect, was entered into the glossary as "food and beverages". Google has about 40k entries for "food and luxuries" but IMHO, contexts suggest that Nylon stockings can also be "luxuries". I don't like stimulants for Genussmittel either, although Wiki categorizes coffee and tea as stimulants, and both are typical constituents of the Genussmittel continuum as a native German speaker would interpret it. Chocolate, sugar, spices, beer, wine, and spirits are all classified as Genussmittel. To all you English speakers out there, how about "staple foods and stimulants" or "staple and non-staple foods"? Is it possible that there is no direct English equivalent? Thanks to all in advance! - Erich
Proposed translations (English)
4 Staple and semi-luxury food and drinks and tobacco
4 +1 food, beverages and tobacco
3 +2 comment
4 Foodstuffs,drinks and tobacco
4 Essential and non-essential food products, acohol and tobacco products

Discussion

Nicole Schnell Mar 16, 2008:
And the term that was not supposed to be official made its way into our glossary? What's the (2)? Stuff like this only makes sense when (1) is entered as well. Ah, chaos is beautiful...
itla (asker) Mar 16, 2008:
Kudoz When I read the article on Genussmittel at de.wikipedia.org a second time, I noticed the proposed translation "luxury food". Since then, I have seen enough entries on Google of the type "luxury foods such as coffee/luxury foods such as wine", etc. to warrant the omission of beverages/drinks and even (for my non-legal context) tobacco. I hugely appreciate the constructive notes and suggestions you all provided. Proz is the place to be with questions like this. THANKS!
MMUlr Mar 16, 2008:
... these are foods and beverages (incl. icecream, sweets, bakeries ....and tea and coffee) but NOT tobacco or alcohol.
MMUlr Mar 16, 2008:
To make the German definition clear, in the first place: --> http://www.sachon-diedeutscheindustrie.de/cl/sid.php?PHPSESS... (click on the term on the left, and you will find: ...
Nicole Schnell Mar 16, 2008:
Just don't forget that coffee and tea are Genussmittel, too.
Jeanette Phillips Mar 15, 2008:
There might not be a direct English equivalent, but how about "consumer goods"? or "other consumer goods" as distinct from staple goods/items?
Jeanette Phillips Mar 15, 2008:
I'm not very confident about this, but a word for Genussmittel could be delicacies. In my experience Genussmittel include chocolates, truffles, sweets, i.e. food that is nice, for pleasure and taste, but not the main nutrition of the day.
hazmatgerman (X) Mar 15, 2008:
From a hazmat POV, the term would be "foodstuffs". But I doubt this would suffice here. German clearly adds basics (bread, eggs...) and luxuries (wine, cigars, anything legal) for form this hyphenated term.

Proposed translations

2 hrs
Selected

Staple and semi-luxury food and drinks and tobacco

How 's that? It covers all the angles, though it's not as brief as the German. But then, many German expressions need twice as many words at least to translate them adequately...
Note from asker:
David, when I saw this: "luxury foods such as sugar, coffee, cocoa (chocolate), and tea" (website of African Studies Center, Michigan State University), I decided that staple and luxury foods is adequate for my purposes, and your suggestion encouraged me to make this choice. Thank you!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "See my note."
1 min

Foodstuffs,drinks and tobacco

OK
Reference:

http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/SearchByQuery.do

Note from asker:
Thanks for your suggestion, Dolores, but it's not generic enough for me. I you invite someone over for a drink, you don't mean coffee or tea or even wine, you mean something like a gin & tonic. And as far as I know, tobacco isn't socially accepted as a Genussmittel anymore.
Something went wrong...
+1
39 mins

food, beverages and tobacco

That's how this sector is called in EU documents.

Example:

"EMCC dossier on the European food and beverage sector
The European food and beverage sector is faced with an unprecedented number of challenges today, leading to an increase in restructuring activity across the EU."

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:o34cDLHzwJIJ:www.eurofou...

"These data come from a report2 issued by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. The results presented refer to the survey on food, beverages and tobacco carried out in 2006 in the 37 participatingcountries. This survey covered a total of approximately 500 comparable products."

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:89oNs3Mc6wsJ:epp.eurosta...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 mins (2008-03-15 12:08:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

ICT and eBusiness in the food, beverages and tobacco industry
According to the first eBusiness Market Watch newsletter of July 2002, the EU is the world’s largest producer in the food industry. Major changes in the industry are expected from deregulation, food safety and antitrust laws, biological production and new standards for genetically modified foods.

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:o34cDLHzwJIJ:www.eurofou...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 48 mins (2008-03-15 12:16:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I just noticed your concerns regarding "tobacco":

"Bei Tabakerzeugnissen handelt es sich um Genussmittel, bei deren bestimmungsgemäßer Verwendung Gesundheitsschäden regelmäßig auftreten (BVerfG, B. v. 22. Januar 1997, Az. 2 BvR 1915/91, in: BVerfGE 95, 173)."

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:gB-bcZv24qoJ:de.wikipedi...
Note from asker:
Nicole, I appreciate your answer and your helpful links. However, I was really after a descriptive equivalent in English rather than the legal term that is indelibly written in stone in EU legislation. But I'm beginning to realize that maybe food & beverages will turn out to be the consensus after all – even though backtranslated, this would be Lebensmittel und Getränke (which just doesn't quite tally up).
Sorry about that glossary entry. I can't find any way to delete it. - Erich
Peer comment(s):
agree AriadneR : there is no better translation
1 day 1 hr
Thanks, Ariadne!
Something went wrong...
+2
10 hrs

comment

IMO there's no exact mapping between the German terms and the English terms, so the translation will depend on the context and the intended audience. For example, in a legal or quasi-legal context, you have to use 'food, beverages and tobacco', while in an informal, consumer-oriented context 'food and beverages' might be adequate. If your text is for the grocery trade, you may or may not need to include tobacco products. In short, I don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer.
Peer comment(s):
agree Nicole Schnell : Thanks! :-)
2 hrs
agree MMUlr : yes.
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

Essential and non-essential food products, acohol and tobacco products

There, that ought to cover it all. Genussmittel are non-essential
food products. Of course, I would beg to differ in the case of chocolate.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2008-03-15 23:41:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

oops, of course it should be "alcohol"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 hrs (2008-03-16 03:25:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Actually, you can find many links where tea and coffee are included under the heading of food:
Manufacturing: Food products including coffee, tea, chocolate and confectionery, ice cream, dietetic and infant foods product Nestle Bolivia S.R.L. ...
goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/browse_CI_2099-15 - 49k - Cached - Similar pages
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