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Heinz recently released its new condiment, the innovative Mayochup made up of Heinz Mayonnaise and Heinz Ketchup, to Canada for a limited time — only to discover it translates to an insulting phrase in the Indigenous Cree language.
The new pre-mixed mayonnaise and ketchup condiment was introduced to the US last fall after a viral Twitter campaign crowd-sourced the name from a list of suggestions, only arriving in Canada on May 6.
However, Kraft Heinz acknowledged that there is an unexpected Cree translation of their new condiment that they did not anticipate.
Arden Ogg, director of the Cree Literacy Network, explains that around Moos Factory the name can be understood as "sh*t face."
According to Ogg, the word mayo is phonetically similar to "meyiwi," which means feces, while the pronunciation of the word chup sounds like eye — which in parts of Northern Ontario means face.
A spokesperson for Heinz said the company has heard of the "unfortunate translation," and has acknowledged the incident.
"The only thing we want our consumers, whichever dialect of Cree they speak, to have on their faces this summer is our newest condiment mash-up," said spokesperson Michael Mullen.
With files from The Canadian Press
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