Got questions about the GGN label or the system behind it?

Take a look at our list of frequently asked questions! Click on a question to expand the answer.

About the GGN Label and the GGN Label Portal

What is the GGN label?

The GGN label is a universal mark of certified, responsible farming and transparency. It is designed to help guide you in your day-to-day grocery shopping.

Transparency is at the heart of our label – Our label connects you to the roots of your food and plants. Our 'About GGN' webpage details how we promote responsible farming that benefits farmers, retailers, and consumers around the globe. Through our work, we support worldwide sustainable development for the good of future generations and our planet.

What does the GGN label mean?

The label confirms that the products were farmed in line with good farming practices that cover food safety, sustainability, environmental protection, animal welfare, social responsibility, and supply chain transparency. Find out how here.
ggn.org - certified, responsible farming and transparency

What do the letters GGN stand for?

GGN is short for GLOBALG.A.P. Number. GLOBALG.A.P. is the company behind the GGN label. The GGN is a 13-digit producer or producer group identification number given to every producer registered for certification. Once the production process on the farm is successfully certified, the producer can print this number on their product packaging. The number identifies where the product was produced, and retailers can use it to verify their suppliers.

In combination with the GGN label and its logo, the GGN enables us to give you the transparency you need and lets you trace your product back to its roots. And you can do that right on your mobile device while you're shopping!

What is the GGN label portal and how does it provide transparency?

The portal is at the heart of our promise of transparency. It collects the profiles of all the producers we have verified for you and whose products carry the GGN label logo. The portal also provides information on responsible farming practices and how certification works. Learn more about how the GGN label gives you transparency here.

How can I use the GGN label portal to discover the roots of the products with the GGN label logo I buy?

Provided the product has a GGN label logo, all you have to do is type the GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) into the GGN search and you will learn all about the farm, its location, and the certified products* it produces.

*Please note: The term ‘certified product(s)’ refers to products originating from a farm with GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes.


Can I see a profile of the farm on www.ggn.org if the product has a GGN printed on the package?

Only if the product also has a GGN label logo on the packaging.
The combination of the GGN with the GGN label logo confirms not only that the food and plants you buy were produced in line with responsible farming practices, but also that the integrity of the product was secured from the farm to the market shelf. This means that the product from GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes  was not mixed with products from non-certified production processes along the entire supply chain.

 

Who can use the GGN label?

Packers, suppliers, and retailers who source their products from individual producers or producer groups with certified production processes can use the label.

Currently, the label is available to:
  • Floriculture packers and suppliers who trade in cut flowers, such as tulips and roses, as well as potted plants and Christmas trees sourced from farms with GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes.
  • Aquaculture packers, suppliers, and retailers trading primarily in farmed salmon, trout, mussels, and shrimp sourced from farms with GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes.

Why is there a GGN label logo on salmon but not on swordfish?

The GGN label covers only farmed products and not wild farming. So, you won’t find the label logo on swordfish, because swordfish can’t be farmed in a controlled environment. It can only be fished in the ocean. Salmon, on the other hand, can be farmed in aquaculture farms using GLOBALG.A.P. certified processes that can be regulated, controlled, and monitored, as well as checked by trained auditors and inspectors working for independent and accredited certification bodies.

About Responsible Farming Certification

How does the GGN label back up its claim of transparency and certified, responsible farming?

The GGN label is built on an internationally recognized and accredited set of good farming practices that cover food safety, sustainability, environmental protection, animal welfare, social responsibility, and supply chain traceability.

These good farming practices are defined as a set of rules and requirements in a standard: theGLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA). Producers must comply with these IFA requirements in order to get certified and prove that they use responsible farming practices on their farm. The IFA covers all forms of farming – agriculture, floriculture, aquaculture, and livestock farming. However, the GGN label is currently available only for floriculture and aquaculture.

What is GLOBALG.A.P. certification?

GLOBALG.A.P. is a company that develops accredited standards used to check and certify the production processes in agriculture, floriculture, aquaculture, and livestock farming. The requirements specified in the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard, called control points and compliance criteria, are developed in coordination with everyone involved in the industry, including producers, retailers, government agencies, and NGOs. That’s why they reflect the current demands of the market as a whole.

The GLOBALG.A.P. IFA certification proves that the production process on the farm operates according to science-based and industry-approved responsible farming requirements.

This is a B2B certification, meaning that the certificates are checked by traders and retailers when sourcing products for consumers. The GLOBALG.A.P. IFA standard is one of the leading certification systems in the world, with over 200,000 farmers under GLOBALG.A.P. certification in more than 135 countries worldwide.
Learn more about the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA standard at IFA v6 (globalgap.org).

Who can get GLOBALG.A.P. certified?

Producers receive a GLOBALG.A.P. IFA certificate when they fulfill all the control points and compliance criteria defined in the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard. The IFA covers production processes in agriculture, floriculture , aquaculture, and livestock farming.

How does the certification work?

Producers implementing the IFA standard on their farms receive a GGN and are added to the GLOBALG.A.P. database, which collects and stores the assessment and certification data of more than 200,000 farms in over 135 countries. It is one of the largest online sources of verified farm data on food safety and sustainability. The database provides instant and complete access to the registration and status data of every producer and product within the GLOBALG.A.P. system. Traders and retailers worldwide use the platform’s online certificate validation tool daily to verify their suppliers.
You can learn more about how the certification process works here.

My product has a GGN on the package. Is it certified?

No, the product itself is not certified. The GGN means that the production process on the farm that produced the product is certified. This is an important distinction. GLOBALG.A.P. certification covers the on-farm production process only and NOT the end product.

I found a GGN on the package but no GGN label logo. Is there a difference

The GGN label logo is part of the GGN label. It shows consumers that that product was produced through a production process that is certified according to responsible farming requirements. It also means that you can trace the product back to its roots, the farm where it was produced, and get information on the producer. The GGN label logo also confirms that the integrity of the product was secured from the farm to the market shelf. This means that the product from GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes was not mixed with products from non-certified production processes along the entire supply chain.

Consumers can search the GGN found on products with the GGN label at www.ggn.org.

If the product has a GGN but no GGN label logo on the package, you can use the public search function on the GLOBALG.A.P. database to find out where the product came from. To do so, simply enter the GGN in the field “Search #1 - Identify producer via unique codes”. The results will display the name of the producer.

Please note: Not all producers with certification want to have their information publicly visible. For more information, please contact our customer support at customer_support@globalgap.org

How does the GGN label verify that the product from a certified production process is not mixed with products from non-certified production processes?

The GGN label relies on so-called Chain of Custody (CoC) certification, which enables supply chain transparency by monitoring every step of the way from the farm to the market shelf.

A product passes through many hands before it reaches you. Chain of Custody certification uses a transparent system of documentation to make sure the labeled product you buy in the market consists only of products from certified production processes.

Often, traders will buy products from several sources and package them as one product under a single brand label, such as a bouquet of flowers. To make sure that the products from certified production processes are not mixed with products from non-certified production processes as they make their way from the farm to your home, traders wanting to use the GGN label must also fulfill the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody standard.

What is a trader?

Traders are buyers or packers that source products from various producers and either sell them to other traders or packers in bulk or package them under a specific brand name. These products are often mixed to create another product, such as a bouquet of flowers. That’s why Chain of Custody certification is so important: It ensures that products from certified production processes are not mixed with products from non-certified production processes.

What is the Chain of Custody (CoC) Number?

The CoC Number is a 13-digit trader or packer identification number. Together with the GGN label, this number lets you trace your product back to where it was packaged and confirms it was not mixed with other products from non-certified production processes.

Are the GGN and CoC Number the same thing?

No, they’re not.

The GGN is an identification number for a producer with a certified production process. It is a traceability code for the farm up to the farm gate.

The CoC Number is an identification number for a trader/packer or retailer selling products from certified production processes. It is a transparency code covering the supply chain from the farm gate to the market shelf.

Problems with the Product and/or GGN

There is a problem with my product. Can I contact the GGN label to fix it?

While our customer support is well trained to respond to all your queries, we cannot directly help you fix any problems relating to the actual product. That’s because the GGN label and logo only cover certified production processes. This means that independent third-party certification bodies are responsible for certifying production processes on the farm and NOT the actual products. Our label is not responsible for problems relating directly to the products.

To deal with a problem with the actual product, we highly recommend you do the following:

  1. Contact the retailer where you bought the product and/or the product’s brand owner and inform them directly of your issue. You can usually find their hotline and contact information online and via their social media channels. Retailers and brand owners are generally keen on keeping their customers happy and will gladly assist you with your problem.

  2. If you have no luck with option 1, try contacting the producer directly. You can find the contact information on their farm profile by searching their GGN.

If the product has a GGN but no GGN label logo, please contact our customer support at customer_support@globalgap.org

I can’t find a farm profile with the GGN on my product, or the GGN on my product does not seem to exist.

There can be several reasons for this, such as technical problems or a typo/printing mistake on the package. It can also mean that the farm has not been registered on ggn.org yet.

We can help you find out. Please use the contact form on our website to send us the following:

  1. Clear pictures of both the front and back of the packaging taken with your mobile device. You can upload them as attachments to the contact form.

  2. Exact information about the error message you received. Please select the message that was displayed form the list below:

    1. The farm or farms with this GGN are currently being reviewed.

    2. If the product you have bought is not specified in the farm profile, please contact info@ggn.org for more information.

    3. This GGN does not exist. Please check the GGN for correctness and try again. If you still experience problems, please contact info@ggn.orgfor more information.
    4. This is a valid GGN identifying a GLOBALG.A.P. certified farm but not providing a farm profile. Please contact info@ggn.org for more information.

For more information, please contactinfo@ggn.org.

I found a CoC Number but no GGN with the GGN label logo on the package. Can I still trace the farm?

Yes, you can!
The CoC Number will show you the profile of the product’s packer or trader. Some products with the GGN label logo, such as a bouquet of flowers, were created by combining certified products* from different sources. Since it’s not possible to list all the GGNs of the various sources on the package, the CoC Number of the packer is listed instead.

The CoC Number search on the GGN label portal (www.ggn.org) leads to the profile of the trader or packer, which lists all the certified production processes they source from, complete with links to each producer profile on the GGN label portal.

To find out what a trader is, please go to section 2, question 8 of the FAQs.

How can I find instructions for caring for my flowers or plants?

The best place to get information is from the retailer where you bought them. People working in floriculture retail, such as florist shops and garden centers, have plenty of good tips and advice on how to best care for your flowers and plants.

Alternatively, you can contact the producer directly. You can find the contact information on their farm profile by searching their GGN on the GGN label portal (www.ggn.org).

Why the GGN Label is Important

Why should I purchase products with the GGN label logo?

The GGN label is designed to help you make informed and conscious decisions in your day-to-day grocery shopping. Every time you buy a product carrying the GGN label logo, you are promoting responsible farming and transparency in the aquaculture and floriculture supply chain around the world.

Safe and responsible farming has a wide and sustainable positive impact – socially, environmentally, and economically. At GGN label, our goal is to spread good farming practices and transparency. We believe that by helping small-scale farmers access national and international markets, we help them grow their businesses, raise their living standards, and strengthen their communities. And most of all, we help build a more sustainable future for every generation on this planet.

What does the GGN label prove?

The GGN label confirms that:
  • An auditor or inspector from an accredited and independent certification body approved by GLOBALG.A.P. has checked the production process on the farm and found that it fulfils the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA standard.
  • The farm was also checked to see if it complies with strict rules and regulations to protect its workers’ health, safety, and welfare.
  • Products from GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes that leave the farm gate and reach your market are not mixed with products from non-certified production processes at any point along the supply chain.
  • The certification body has also been checked to make sure that the standard is being implemented correctly.

The GGN label is visible proof that several complex processes have been checked to reassure you, the consumer, in your day-to-day grocery shopping.

Couldn’t find what you’re looking for? Contact us using the form below and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.

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Privacy Policy

ggn.org - certified, responsible farming and transparency

Privacy policy

GGN Label Platform

A. Scope

This privacy policy applies to all personal data collected or processed by GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “GLOBALG.A.P.” or “we”) when using the GGN label platform under www.ggn.org (hereinafter referred to as “GGN label platform”). This website is accessible by everyone (hereinafter referred to as “User”) and provides information about agricultural businesses that are certified against the GLOBALG.A.P. standards (hereinafter referred to as “Certified Company” or “Certified Companies”) and registered on the GGN label platform.

When using any of the websites operated by GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH, e.g., www.globalgap.org or www.database.globalgap.org, the general privacy policy by GLOBALG.A.P. applies.

This GGN label platform privacy policy describes how GLOBALG.A.P. collects, processes, and protects personal data, how we use and protect this data, and your rights in relation to this information. This is performed in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protec-tion Regulation (GDPR), the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), the German Tel-emedia Act (TMG), and other applicable data-protection regulations (hereinafter referred to jointly below as “Applicable Data Protection Law”).

No automated decision-making/profiling is performed.

B. Controller

The body responsible for collecting and handling your data is:

GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH

Spichernstr. 55

50672 Cologne, Germany

E-mail: info@globalgap.org,

Tel: +49 (0) 221-57776-0.

For questions relating to data protection, please contact our data protection officer, either via the contact details above or via e-mail at dataprivacy@globalgap.org.

C. Categories of Data

We collect and process different categories of personal data depending on how you use our GGN label platform.

When you register as a customer with the GGN label platform we will collect your: username, password, first name, surname, work mobile phone, work e-mail address, work address, of-fice phone, office fax, and company you work for. If you provide us with additional infor-mation such as photo/avatar, we will also process this information.

When you contact us through the contact form of the GGN Label platform, we will collect your: name, e-mail address, and message.

Please note that GLOBALG.A.P. may receive messages that require translation. In such cas-es, our employees use translation tools (e.g., Google translator) to process your inquiry. Thus, please ensure that you do not enter personal information into the message field of your in-quiry.

When you contact us by phone, e-mail, in person, or via any other business contact channel, we will collect the information you provide us. Typical information collected is first name and surname, e-mail address, phone, and company you work for, although other types of infor-mation provided by you could be collected.

When you visit our GGN label platform as a User to inform yourself about the Certified Com-panies and our labels, we (or the webspace provider commissioned by GLOBALG.A.P.) col-lect data about every access to the GGN label platform (known as server log files). The ac-cess data includes: name of the webpage or webservice accessed, file, date and time of the access, data volume transferred, any data input, report of successful access, browser type including version, User’s operating system, referrer URL (the page visited previously), IP ad-dress, where relevant user name and the requesting provider. This data is not merged with other data sources or other personal data about you. The IP address is stored for the duration of the session for this purpose. GLOBALG.A.P. further reserves the right to review the log data retrospectively if there are specific indications that justify a suspicion of unlawful use.

D. Purpose and Legal Basis for Processing

When you register as a certified company we need to process your personal data to manage and maintain the business relationship, comply with our contractual obligations (that is, to pro-vide you with the service), and comply with our legal obligations under the law. The legal basis for processing your personal data is a user agreement (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR). In case you submit additional data based on your consent, the legal basis for processing is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

When you place an inquiry with us by using the contact form or via any other of our business contact channels, we need to process your personal data to respond to your request, manage and maintain the business relationship, comply with our contractual obligations (that is, to pro-vide you with the service), and comply with our legal obligations under the law. The legal basis for processing your personal data is a user agreement (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR). In case you submit additional data based on your consent, the legal basis for processing is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

If you visit our GGN label platform as a User to inform yourself about the Certified Company, GLOBALG.A.P. uses the log data solely for statistical analyses and for the purpose of operat-ing, securing, and optimizing the GGN label platform. The system needs to store the IP ad-dresses temporarily to enable the GGN label platform to be delivered to you. Data is saved in server log files to safeguard the functionality of the websites. The data also helps GLOB-ALG.A.P. to optimize the GGN label platform and safeguard the security of the IT systems. These purposes constitute a legitimate interest of GLOBALG.A.P. in data processing. The legal basis here is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.

To the extent we are required to process any of your personal data to comply with a legal obligation, we will process your personal data on basis of Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR.

E. Disclosure to Third Parties and Forwarding of Data to Countries outside the EEA/EU

GLOBALG.A.P. will receive access to your personal data. Only relevant individuals who are acting within their job description and have a need to know will have access to your personal data.

In certain cases, third-party providers may be given access to your personal data. We will only disclose your personal data to third parties if you have provided your consent or subject to another permitted circumstance in accordance with the Applicable Data Protection Law. These include in the first instance service providers commissioned by us who support our business operations (Art. 28 GDPR). This covers e.g. webspace or telemedia-service provid-ers for the operation and/or maintenance of the GGN label platform or the forwarding of in-voicing or tax-relevant information to service providers for the purposes of invoicing and ac-counting or controlling. In these cases, however, the scope of the transmitted data will extend only to the minimum required to achieve the purposes pursued via the data processing.

We will not share your personal data with local authorities or courts except where we are re-quired to do so by applicable law, a court order, or a legally binding injunction. If we are legally obliged to disclose specific personal data on the basis of a judicial decision or following a re-quest for information from law-enforcement or supervisory authorities or authorized third par-ties in conjunction with investigatory proceedings or the suspicion of a criminal act, an unlaw-ful act or other acts that may give rise to legal liability for you or us, we will disclose the data required for the investigation, such as name, address, e-mail address, or other relevant infor-mation (Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR). Similarly, we reserve the right to process and use Users’ per-sonal data to enforce or defend against claims (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Personal data may be passed in this way to third parties that are domiciled in non-EEA or non-EU countries and where the EU Commission has not established a level of data protec-tion comparable to the EU (e.g., USA). In this case, prior to forwarding we will ensure either that an adequate level of data protection is in place at the recipient, in particular by obtaining your consent in advance or through specific guarantees (Art. 44 et seq. GDPR) as well as in particular self-certification of a recipient in the US in accordance with the principles of EU-US Privacy Shield or agreement with the recipient in the third country to what are termed the EU standard contractual clauses. A copy of suitable guarantees can be obtained on request via the -email address set out at the end of this privacy policy. Basic information about the partic-ipants of the EU-US Privacy Shield can further be found under www.privacyshield.go. Basic information about the EU standard contractual clauses can be found here, and information about the adequacy decisions here.

Additional information relevant to the GGN label platform Certified Companies: your personal data is available through the GGN label platform to your company colleagues registered on the GGN label platform. Your personal data is NOT available to other registered and Certified Companies.

F. Retention Periods for Personal Data

We will deactivate or cancel the registered Certified Company data as soon as appropriate to avoid unauthorized access to information. It is then no longer visible in the GGN Label Plat-form and you will not receive any new communications. We will delete personal data of those registered Certified Companies after the end of statutory retention obligations if and where applicable.

In consideration of the applicable provisions under Applicable Data Protection Law, we will delete the stored personal data about you without any action on your part if there is no longer a need for the information to be known to perform the purpose associated with the storage or if the storage of the data is not permitted for other legal reasons. In some cases provided for by law (e.g., statutory retention obligations), your personal data may be blocked instead of deleted.

G. Cookies

We store cookies on our Users’ hard drives unless they actively block them. Cookies are small files that permit specific information relating to the device to be stored on the User’s accessing device (PC, smartphone, etc.). They first enhance the friendliness of websites and thus aid the User (e.g., by storing login data), and second enable the recording of statistical data about website use and analysis to improve websites. You can influence how cookies are used. Most browsers have an option that limits or completely prohibits the storage of cookies. However, it should be noted that usage, and in particular user comfort, may be restricted without cookies. For further information about the use of cookies and how you can deactivate them, see www.meine-cookies.org or www.youronlinechoices.com. The legal basis for setting cookies for the technical operation of our website and providing the services required by the User is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. If you give us your prior consent, we may also use track-ing/analysis cookies within the framework of our websites. The legal basis in these cases is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

H. Integration of Third-party Content and Services

Third-party content, such as YouTube videos, RSS feeds, or graphics from other websites, may be integrated into these online offerings. This usually assumes that the providers of this content (hereinafter referred to as “Third-Party Providers”) will be aware of the Users’ IP ad-dress. This is because they would not be able to transmit the content to the browser of the User in question without the IP address. The IP address is therefore necessary in order to display this content. We endeavor only to use such content where the respective provider solely uses the IP address to deliver the content. At the same time, we have no influence over whether the Third-Party Providers use the IP address e.g., for statistical purposes. Where we are aware of this, we will notify the Users accordingly. The use of enhanced presentation op-tions for information purposes and to optimize your user experience is within our mutual legit-imate interest (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

Further information about the use of YouTube videos can be found below.

I. YouTube Videos

Videos are shown on the GGN label platform via the provider YouTube. These are operated by YouTube, LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA (hereinafter referred to as “YouTube”). If a webpage containing such a button (identifiable by the YouTube icon in the lower right of the video preview) is accessed and you activate the corresponding content (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR), your browser creates a direct connection with the YouTube servers. The showing of videos within the GGN label platform is further a legitimate interest of ours and yours (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR). YouTube transmits the content of the YouTube button directly via your browser and is integrated into the respective webpage. We have no further influence over the data that YouTube collects via the button. It is likely that your IP address is recorded and cookies are set, among other things.

If you are logged on to YouTube as a member, YouTube may allocate information about the webpages accessed and YouTube content to your user account. This may also be the case if you log on to YouTube as a member at another point in time. Further information about the scope and purpose of the data collection and the further use and processing of the data by YouTube as well as your associated rights and configuration options to protect your privacy can be found in the YouTube privacy policy: https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

II. Google Maps

The GGN label platform uses Google Maps API applications. This enables us to display inter-active maps directly on the GGN label platform and enables you to conveniently use the map function. We use Google Maps to allow Certified Companies to search their location, address and geo-position, translate geo-positions into addresses and addresses into geo-positions. You can view Google’s terms of use here: https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en. You can find Google’s privacy policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

III. Google Translation API

The GGN label platform uses Google translate API to allow register Users to automatically translate free texts inputted by other Users into their language. The free-text fields can be sent to Google for translation if required by another registered Certified Company. Please ensure that you do not enter personal information into the GGN label platform free-text fields. You can view Google’s terms of use here: https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en. You can find Google’s privacy policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

IV. Piwik PRO

The GGN label platform uses the web analysis service Piwik PRO from the provider Piwik PRO GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “Piwik PRO”) for the statistical analysis of user ac-cess. Piwik PRO may use cookies, tags, IP addresses, and what is known as fingerprinting to enable an analysis of Users’ website use. This may include the collection or processing of the following data: IP address (anonymized), user ID, date and time of the request, title or URL of the page visited, URL of the page visited previously, screen resolution, time zone, files clicked on and downloaded, links clicked to external websites, display speed of the pages, User’s geo-data (country, region, city, approximate longitude and latitude), browser language, user agent of the browser used, randomly assigned one-off user ID, time of a User’s first visit, time of a User’s previous visit, number of a User’s visits.

This processing is done only subject to your prior consent. Thus, the legal basis for this pro-cessing is (Art. 6 (1) a) GDPR). The information generated by the cookies about the use of the GGN label platform is stored on the servers of Piwik PRO or service providers commis-sioned by them in Europe. The IP address is anonymized immediately after processing and before saving. The information generated by Piwik PRO is not used to identify the User of the GGN label platform personally and is not merged with other personal data of the User.

You can also prevent the installation of the cookies by making a corresponding setting in your browser software. However, GLOBALG.A.P. refers Users to the fact that in this case they may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. For further information about this topic, see https://piwikpro.de/datenschutz/.

V. Use of Social Plugins via Integration using the Two-click Solution

On the GGN label platform we use buttons from social networks, known as social plugins (hereinafter referred to as “Plugins”), as explained in further detail below. These enable you to perform actions related to the contents of the GGN label platform. The legal basis for the pro-vision of the Plugins on the GGN label platform is our legitimate interest in the user-friendly design of our website (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

If you are registered with the respective social network and are logged in, you can communi-cate directly with the social network. To increase the protection of Users’ personal data while visiting the GGN label platform, the Plugins are integrated into the respective webpage using the “two-click solution”. This guarantees that no connection is made with the servers of the provider of the social network at first when our webpages containing such a Plugin are ac-cessed. Only when a User activates a Plugin does the User’s browser create a direct connec-tion to the servers of the provider of the social network. The content of the respective Plugin is transmitted directly to the User’s browser and integrated into the webpage.

Through the integration of the Plugin, the provider of the social network is given the infor-mation that a User has accessed the webpage in question. If the User is logged on to the so-cial network, the provider of the social network can allocate the visit to the User’s account on the social network. When Users interact with the Plugins, for instance by clicking a share but-ton or posting a comment, the corresponding information is transmitted from the User’s browser directly to the social network and saved there. As the provider of this site we are not informed about the content of the data transferred or its use by the social network.

If a User is a member of a social network and does not want the network to collect data about him via the GGN label platform and link it to the membership data saved by the social net-work, he needs to log out of the social network prior to visiting the GGN label platform. Simi-larly, it is generally possible to block Plugins using add-ons for your browser, for example us-ing the “NoScript” script blocker (http://noscript.net/).

Specifically, the following Plugins are integrated into our website using the two-click solution.

  1. Facebook Social Plugins

The GGN label platform uses Plugins of the social network facebook.com, operated by Fa-cebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland, a subsidiary of Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA (hereinafter referred to as “Face-book”). According to Facebook, only an anonymized IP address is stored in Germany. As the provider of the GGN label platform we are not informed about the content of the data trans-ferred or its use by Facebook. We are not told when the User clicked which button. For in-formation about the purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Facebook, as well as your rights in this regard and configuration options to protect your privacy, refer to the Facebook privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/.

Users can also completely prevent the loading of the Facebook Plugins via browser add-ons using “Facebook Blocker”, e.g., for Mozilla Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/facebook-blocker/, for Opera: https://addons.opera.com/de/extensions/details/facebook-blocker/?display=en, or for Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/facebookblocker/chlhacbfddknadmnmjmkdobipdpjakmc?hl=de[U8]

  1. Twitter Social Plugins

We also use Plugins of the social network provider Twitter. These are operated by Twitter Inc., 795 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, USA (hereinafter referred to as “Twitter”). For information about the purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Twitter, as well as your rights in this regard and con-figuration options to protect your privacy, refer to the Twitter privacy policy: https://twitter.com/privacy.

  1. Linkedin Social Plugins

Plugins of the social network LinkedIn, LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (hereinafter referred to as “LinkedIn”) are also integrated into the GGN label platform. For information about the purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by LinkedIn, as well as your rights in this regard and configuration options to protect your privacy, refer to the LinkedIn privacy policy: https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

  1. Instagram Social Plugins

Additionally, Plugins of the social network Instagram, operated by Facebook Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland, a subsidiary of Facebook Inc., 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA (hereinafter referred to as “Instagram”) are integrated into the GGN label platform. For information about the purpose and scope of the data collection and the further processing and use of the data by Instagram, as well as your rights in this regard and configuration options to protect your privacy, refer to the Instagram data policy: https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875.

  1. Facebook Fanpage

Alongside the GGN label platform, we also maintain a dedicated presence on Facebook (hereinafter referred to as “Company Page”) and the GGN label platform may contain links to this Company Page. When you access the Company Page, Facebook processes personal data, which is even possible if you are not logged on to Facebook when the page is accessed. However, Facebook provides us with detailed statistics, which consist of summarized infor-mation relating to the use of our Company Page on Facebook. These statistics enable us to identify for example how often or by how many unique users the Company Page and individ-ual posts on this page are accessed or e.g. rated. However, the statistics do not permit us to identify which specific persons have visited the Company Page or accessed or rated individ-ual posts. As is generally the case with Facebook, however, the Company Page shows which Facebook user has rated or commented on a post.

Facebook provides further information about data processing by Facebook in its privacy poli-cy: http://de-de.facebook.com/policy.php#.

I. Rights of data subjects

You have the following rights:

the right to request confirmation of whether personal data relating to you is being pro-cessed and details of this data and any additional information and a copy of the data (Art. 15 GDPR);

the right to request the completion of incomplete personal data or the rectification of incorrect personal data (Art. 16 GDPR);

under Art. 17 GDPR, the right to request that personal data be deleted immediately, or, if need be under Art. 18 GDPR, that the data processing be restricted (if this data is subject to statutory retention periods, we will block it for the duration of the retention period);

the right to receive, or have transmitted to a third party, the relevant personal data that you have provided to us and that we process in an automated manner on the basis of your consent or in the performance of a contract. The data will be provided in a ma-chine-readable format. If you request the direct transfer of the data to a different con-troller, this will only be done if it is technically feasible (Art. 20 GDPR).

the right to object at any time to the processing of personal data processed by us on the basis of a legitimate interest of ours (Art. 6 (1) f) DGSVO), pursuant to Art. 21 GDPR; and

the right to withdraw any consents granted pursuant to Art. 7 (3) GDPR with future ef-fect. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing performed on the basis of such consent up to the revocation.

We will notify any recipients to whom we have disclosed your personal data about any cor-rection or erasure of the personal data or restriction of the processing, unless this turns out to be impossible or would involve disproportionate effort.

You can assert the above rights against us, e.g., by notifying us by post via the contact details described above or e-mail to dataprivacy@globalgap.org.

That notwithstanding, you have the right to submit a complaint to the competent supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR).

Terms and conditions

User Agreement

GGN Label Platform


1. General Provisions

  1. This User Agreement governs the use of the GGN label platform accessible via (among others) www.ggn.org (hereinafter referred to as “GGN label platform”) provided by FoodPLUS GmbH, Spichernstr. 55, 50672 Cologne, Germany (hereinafter referred to as “GLOBALG.A.P.”).
  2. The website www.ggn.org is accessible by everyone and provides information about ag-ricultural businesses that are certified against the GLOBALG.A.P. standards. Only com-panies that have either concluded a valid GGN aquaculture logo license agreement or that are partners within a supply chain of a licensee are certified (hereinafter referred to as “Certified Company” or “Certified Companies”).
  3. The information about Certified Companies that is available on the GGN label platform is provided in part by the respective Certified Company (see clause 2 (3) and clause 3) and in part by GLOBALG.A.P. (see clause 2 (2), as indicated on the GGN label platform.

2. Setup of a Certified Company Profile

  1. Certified Companies may create a personal profile (hereinafter referred to as “Certified Company Profile”) on the GGN label platform in order to present themselves to the pub-lic. The creation of a personal profile requires the respective Certified Company to register online via the registration form provided by GLOBALG.A.P. on the GGN label platform and to create an account. Certified Company shall complete the registration form truthful-ly and in full.
  2. The following data is automatically uploaded from GLOBALG.A.P.’s database to the Certi-fied Company Profile: GGN/CoC Number, company name, status of certification, certi-fied products, individual producer or producer group (GLOBALG.A.P.’s applicable data-base terms and conditions, https://database.globalgap.org/globalgap/TermsAndConditions.faces, apply accordingly to this data).
  3. Certified Company is required to indicate the year its farm was founded, the number of employees (in ranges), the country, and the city. It is requested to upload a minimum of two (2) images of its farm. Certified Company may additionally upload further images and specify further information, e.g., their website. It can decide whether to make its full ad-dress available or not and whether it agrees to the extended use of uploaded pictures for further purposes, such as social media.
  4. Certified Company and GLOBALG.A.P. may terminate the contract for the use of the GGN label platform at any time by notifying the other party in text form (e.g., by e-mail). Certified Company may also terminate the contract by closing its Certified Company Pro-file via the appropriate function on the GGN label platform. Certified Company should ver-ify if the termination of the contract for the use of the GGN label platform complies with the requirements set forth by its contractual partners, e.g., packers (as termination may affect the right of the contractual partner to use the GGN label logo for aquaculture).

3. Content Provided by Certified Company

  1. Certified Company is exclusively responsible for the uploaded content and information provided under clause 2 (3) above (hereinafter referred to as “User-Generated Con-tent”). GLOBALG.A.P. does not review such User-Generated Content and therefore does not assume any warranty or liability for the compliance of the User-Generated Content with the statutory provisions or third-party rights. Therefore, GLOBALG.A.P. will not be re-sponsible or liable for User-Generated Content or the accuracy of the information con-tained therein. GLOBALG.A.P. will remove User-Generated Content if it breaches the terms of this User Agreement, violates applicable law, or infringes third-party rights.
  2. Certified Company warrants to GLOBALG.A.P. that the User-Generated Content does not breach this User Agreement, violate applicable law (e.g., criminal law, competition law and the law concerning the protection of minors), or infringe the rights of third parties (e.g., name, trademark, copyright, and data protection rights). Certified Company shall there-fore ensure in particular that copyright-protected User-Generated Content is only upload-ed with the consent of the respective copyright holder(s).
  3. With regard to the warranties assumed by Certified Company under clause 3(2) above, Certified Company shall indemnify GLOBALG.A.P. against all liability and all third-party claims on first request and shall compensate GLOBALG.A.P. for any and all losses and/or costs (including court costs and lawyers’ fees at the statutory rate) arising in connection with the infringement of the respective warranty.
  4. Certified Company shall retain all of its rights regarding the User-Generated Content. GLOBALG.A.P. may use the User-Generated Content only for the purposes of this User Agreement, i.e., by making it available to the public via the GGN label platform and for the purpose of conducting marketing activities for the GGN label platform, the GGN Aquacul-ture program, and/or GLOBALG.A.P.

4. Use of GGN Label Platform

  1. Certified Company shall keep access data for its accounts secret at all times and safe-guard the access data carefully. In addition, Certified Company is obligated to inform GLOBALG.A.P. immediately if there are any indications that the access data has been misused by any third party. GLOBALG.A.P. will not disclose the Certified Company’s passwords to third parties and will never ask Certified Company for the password by e-mail or telephone.
  2. GLOBALG.A.P. will provide an annual average availability of the GGN label platform of at least 95%. This does not include times in which the GGN label platform is not available and/or is available only to a limited extent via the internet due to technical or other prob-lems for which GLOBALG.A.P. is not responsible and due to appropriate and reasonable maintenance work.
  3. GLOBALG.A.P. may limit access and availability to the GGN label platform if this is nec-essary for network operation security, maintaining network integrity, and in particular for avoiding serious disruptions to the platform, the network, the software or the data saved, the interoperability of the services, or data protection.

5. Data Privacy Protection

  1. GLOBALG.A.P. processes data only in accordance with the applicable data protection law.

6. Limitation of Liability

  1. GLOBALG.A.P. is liable for the full extent of any damage in the event of intentional con-duct or gross negligence by GLOBALG.A.P. itself or its vicarious agents. In addition, GLOBALG.A.P. is fully liable in the event that warranties are not fulfilled and other assur-ances are not complied with and in the event of culpable injury to life, body, and health.
  2. In the event of a culpable breach of essential contractual obligations, meaning principal obligations that are material to the proper execution of the contract and upon which the other party therefore relies and may rely, GLOBALG.A.P. assumes liability on the merits. GLOBALG.A.P.’s liability will in this case be limited to damage that is typical for the con-tract and that can be reasonably foreseen. In all other respects, any claims for direct or indirect damages are excluded.

7. Final Provisions

  1. This User Agreement is governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.
  2. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes with Certified Company and other users who are not consumers in terms of section 13 German Civil Code (BGB) arising in con-nection with this User Agreement is Cologne, Germany.
  3. This User Agreement sets out the entire agreement and understanding relating to the sub-jects addressed herein and supersedes all other agreements, whether verbal or written, previously made with regard to this subject matter. General terms and conditions of Certi-fied Company or other users of the GGN label platform shall not apply.
  4. If individual provisions of this User Agreement are or become invalid, or if there is an omission that needs to be rectified, this shall have no bearing on the validity of the re-mainder of the User Agreement.
  5. GLOBALG.A.P. may periodically make changes to this User Agreement and will notify Certified Company by posting a revised version on GLOBALG.A.P.’s website and e-mailing it to Certified Company’s registered e-mail addresses. The revised User Agree-ment will take effect unless Certified Company explicitly objects to the revised User Agreement within thirty (30) days following such notice.